How the CANDU 600 meets the ALARA principle

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6342216

Barber, D; VanBerlo, J P

In recent years, the application of the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable (ALARA) criterion has gained prominence in the design of nuclear power plants. In the evaluation of the design of Canada deuterium-uranium pressurized heavy-water reactor (CANDU PHWR) plants, the criterion has been applied to the areas of radiation protection and radioactive waste management. Five factors that have shown themselves to be important in demonstrating compliance with ALARA principles are the production of radioactive materials during reactor operation, in-plant radiation fields, radiation exposure of the operating staff, releases of radioactive materials to the environment, and the production and storage of radioactive solid wastes. For most reactor types, the principal radioactive source terms that have to be considered are fission and activation products. For heavy-water reactors, an additional product is tritium, which occurs primarily as an activation product of the heavy water. The CANDU plants adopted radiation exposure and radioactive waste management as two of the major design considerations. Well-defined radiation protection and waste management programs have been developed and are used during the design phase of each generation of the CANDU nuclear power plant.

• Research Organization: Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario (CA)
• OSTI ID: 6342216
• Report Number(s): CONF-870837-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 54:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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