Full reactor coolant system chemical decontamination qualification programs

Conference · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:54683

Miller, P E ^[1]

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1. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

Corrosion and wear products are found throughout the reactor coolant system (RCS), or primary loop, of a PWR power plant. These products circulate with the primary coolant through the reactor where they may become activated. An oxide layer including these activated products forms on the surfaces of the RCS (including the fuel elements). The amount of radioactivity deposited on the different surface varies and depends primarily on the corrosion rate of the materials concerned, the amount of cobalt in the coolant and the chemistry of the coolant. The oxide layer, commonly called crud, on the surfaces of nuclear plant systems leads to personnel radiation exposure. The level of the radiation fields from the crud increases with time from initial plant startup and typically levels off after 4 to 6 cycles of plant operation. Thereafter, significant personnel radiation exposure may be incurred whenever major maintenance is performed. Personnel exposure is highest during refueling outages when routine maintenance on major plant components, such as steam generators and reactor coolant pumps, is performed. Administrative controls are established at nuclear plants to minimize the exposure incurred by an individual and the plant workers as a whole.

• Research Organization: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Regulatory Applications; Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
• OSTI ID: 54683
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CP--0143; BNL-NUREG--52440; CONF-940505--; ON: TI95008770
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
ALARA
CORROSION
DECONTAMINATION
FUEL ELEMENTS
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
PRIMARY COOLANT CIRCUITS
REMOVAL
SUMMER-1 REACTOR