Mechanical cutting of irradiated reactor internal components
- MOTA Corporation: 3410 Sunset Boulevard, West Columbia, SC, 29169 (United States)
Mechanical cutting methods to volume reduce and package reactor internal components are now a viable solution for stakeholders challenged with the retirement of first generation nuclear facilities. The recent completion of the removal of the Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) from within the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's (SMUD) Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant demonstrates that unlike previous methods, inclusive of plasma arc and abrasive water-jet cutting, mechanical cutting minimizes exposure to workers, costly water cleanup, and excessive secondary waste generation. Reactor internal components were segmented, packaged, and removed from the reactor building for shipment or storage, allowing the reactor cavity to be drained and follow-on reactor segmentation activities to proceed in the dry state. Area exposure rates at the work positions during the segmentation process were generally 1 mR per hr. Radiological exposure documented for the underwater segmentation processes totaled 13 person rem. The reactor internals weighing 343,000 pounds were segmented into over 200 pieces for maximum shipping package efficiency and produced 5,600 lb of stainless steel chips and shavings which were packaged in void spaces of existing disposal containers, therefore creating no additional disposal volume. Because no secondary waste was driven into suspension in the reactor cavity water, the water was free released after one pass through a charcoal bed and ion exchange filter system. Mechanical cutting techniques are capable of underwater segmentation of highly radioactive components on a large scale. This method minimized radiological exposure and costly water cleanup while creating no secondary waste.
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, Illinois 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21144214
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: DD and R 2007: ANS Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination, and Reutilization 2007, Chattanooga, TN (United States), 16-19 Sep 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2007 ANS Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination, and Reutilization - DD and R 2007, 336 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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