High sensitivity assay of cement encapsulated spent nuclear fuel sludge using the Imaging Passive Active Neutron (IPAN) system
- BIL Solutions Inc, Santa Fe, NM (United States)
- Fluor Hanford, Richland, WA (United States)
A new technique has been developed for high sensitivity assay of grouted spent nuclear fuel (SNF) sludge waste in 208 liter drums. The method uses the Imaging Passive Active Neutron (IPAN{sup TM}) system to provide regulatory acceptable measurements. At the Waste Receiving and Processing (WRAP) Facility in Hanford, two IPAN{sup TM} systems have been successfully calibrated and validated for assay of SNF grouted sludge drums (encapsulated with a cement mixture). The systems have been demonstrated to be capable of performing low level waste (LLW) / transuranic (TRU) waste sorting even in the presence of high gamma radiation fields emitted by the fission and activation products associated with SNF. The active and passive modes of the IPAN{sup TM} provide a wide dynamic range of assay: from below the TRU/LLW sorting threshold (100 nCi/g or 3700 Bq/g) up to several hundred grams of Weapons Grade Pu Equivalent. A new calibration technique was developed that uses a radial weighted average method to define the imaging response matrix. This method provides the required sensitivity to the height distribution of special nuclear material within the 208 liter drum, and makes use of the uniform radial distribution that will occur for a distribution of a large population of small particles in a homogeneous matrix. Extensive validation and testing with specially designed surrogate grouted sludge drums and radioactive standards have resulted in regulatory acceptance of this technique, permitting ultimate disposal of the SNF sludge drums at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21290845
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-07250; TRN: US10V0170038256
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'07: 2007 Waste Management Symposium - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 25 Feb - 1 Mar 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 9 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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