Low impact plutonium glovebox D&D
A dilemma often encountered in decontamination and decommissioning operations is the lack of choice as to the location where the work is to be performed. Facility siting, laboratory location, and adjacent support areas were often determined based on criteria, which while appropriate at the time, are not always the most conducive to a D&D project. One must learn to adapt and cope with as found conditions. High priority research activities, which cannot be interrupted, may be occurring in adjacent non-radiological facilities in the immediate vicinity where highly contaminated materials must be handled in the course of a D&D operation. The execution of a project within such an environment involves a high level of coordination, cooperation, professionalism and flexibility among the project, the work force and the surrounding occupants. Simply moving occupants from the potentially affected area is not always an option and much consideration must be given in the selection of the D&D methodology to be employed and the processes to be implemented. Determining project boundaries and the ensuring that adjacent occupants are included in the planning/scheduling of specific operations which impact their work area are important in the development of the safety envelope. Such was the case in the recent D&D of 61 gloveboxes contaminated with plutonium and other transuranic nuclides at the Argonne National Laboratory-East site. The gloveboxes, which were used in Department of Energy research and development program activities over the past 30 years, were decontaminated to below transuranic waste criteria, size reduced, packaged and removed from Building 212 by Argonne National Laboratory personnel in conjunction with Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. with essentially no impact to adjacent occupants.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 198694
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/TD/CP-86095; CONF-950868-37; ON: DE96005084; TRN: 96:008288
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ER `95: environmental remediation conference: committed to results, Denver, CO (United States), 13-18 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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