Cooling tower drift studies at ORGDP. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Jul 31 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5143705

Park, S H; Taylor, Jr, F G

During the 1970s, a major consideration in environmental impact studies of electric power plant operations was the effects of cooling tower drift. In 1973 the distribution and magnitude of drift from mechanical draft cooling towers at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP), Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was investigated (Taylor et al., 1975). That study provided evidence of the transport and deposition of drift to the terrestrial environment, but only depicted a single season from over three decades of continuous operation. Results of that study suggested that increased quantities of trace elements (chromium) in vegetation attained an equilibrium concentration with environmental losses (weathering, leaching) compensated by chronic deposition. The cooling towers investigated in the 1973 study were built in the early 1950s, but were constantly remodeled and upgraded over this time period. However, 0.03% to 0.1% drift percentage obtained in the 1973 study (Jallouk et al., 1974) was considerably higher than some of similar towers constructed later. The ORGDP diffusion process production rate is varied by changing the operating power level of the plant which, in turn, is related to the recirculating cooling water (RCW) flow rate. Drift fraction is a function of the RCW flow, such that variations (seasonal) in plant operation influence drift emissions.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OT21400
• OSTI ID: 5143705
• Report Number(s): K/PS-1123; ON: DE85018438
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200101 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Cooling & Heat Transfer Equipment & Systems
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290400* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Energy Resources
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
COOLING TOWERS
DESIGN
ELECTRIC POWER
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ISOTOPE SEPARATION PLANTS
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ORGDP
POWER
TOWERS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS