Surface activity and radiation field measurements of the TMI-2 reactor building gross decontamination experiment

Technical Report · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5564986· OSTI ID:5564986

McIsaac, C V

Surface samples were collected from concrete and metal surfaces within the Three Mile Island Unit 2 Reactor Building on December 15 and 17, 1981 and again on March 25 and 26, 1982. The Reactor Building was decontaminated by hydrolasing during the period between these dates. The collected samples were analyzed for radionuclide concentration at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The sampling equipment and procedures, and the analysis methods and results are discussed. The measured mean surface concentrations of /sup 137/Cs and /sup 90/Sr on the 305-ft elevation floor before decontamination were, respectively, 3.6 +- 0.9 and 0.17 +- 0.04 ..mu..Ci/cm/sup 2/. Their mean concentrations on the 347-ft elevation floor were about the same. On both elevations, walls were found to be considerably less contaminated than floors. The fractions of the core inventories of /sup 137/Cs, /sup 90/Sr, and /sup 129/I deposited on Reactor Building surfaces prior to decontamination were calculated using their mean concentrations on various types of surfaces. The calculated values for these three nuclides are 3.5 +- 0.4 E-4, 2.4 +- 0.8 E-5, and 5.7 +- 0.5 E-4, respectively. The decontamination operations reduced the /sup 137/Cs surface activity on the 305- and 347-ft elevations by factors of 20 and 13, respectively. The /sup 90/Sr surface activity reduction was the same for both floors, that being a factor of 30. On the whole, decontamination of vertical surfaces was not achieved. Beta and gamma exposure rates that were measured during surface sampling were examined to determine the degree to which they correlated with measured surface activities. The data were fit with power functions of the form y = ax/sup b/. As might be expected, the beta exposure rates showed the best correlation. Of the data sets fit with the power function, the set of December 1981 beta exposure exhibited the least scatter. The coefficient of determination for this set was calculated to be 0.915.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570
• OSTI ID: 5564986
• Report Number(s): GEND-037; ON: DE84003469
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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CESIUM 134
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COBALT 60
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STRONTIUM 90
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