Integrated five-station NDA (nondestructive analysis) system to support decontamination and decommissioning of plutonium fabrication facilities

Conference · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)

OSTI ID:6927038

Caldwell, J T

Pajarito Scientific Corporation has been selected by Nuclear Fuel Services and their subsidiary, Ecotek, to provide an integrated, multistation nondestructive assay (NDA) system to support the decontamination and decommissioning (D D) of a plutonium mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility. This effort involves the design, fabrication, checkout, and calibration of all NDA equipment as well as system integration, assay algorithms, and software development. The safe, efficient, and economic D D of a plutonium fuel fabrication facility can be greatly enhanced through the intelligent use of several types of neutron-based NDA equipment integrated into a unified data acquisition and management system. At the front end of the D D process, it is advantageous to obtain an accurate estimate of the plutonium inventory in individual glove boxes and other discrete items such as piping or ducting that will be inserted into the decontamination cell. A neutron NDA measurement at this point helps to ensure that safe operating limits will not be exceeded. An additional safety factor is achieved by neutron NDA monitoring of all D D cell holdup points such as particulate filters and shear/compaction units. In the present system, both the predecontamination and in-cell holdup NDA stations consist of high-sensitivity, moderated {sup 3}He proportional counter passive neutron detectors with plutonium detection sensitivities of {approximately}0.1 g.

• OSTI ID: 6927038
• Report Number(s): CONF-891103--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Journal Volume: 60
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050700 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Fuels Production & Properties
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACTINIDES
ALGORITHMS
CALIBRATION
CAMAC SYSTEM
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CLEANING
COMPUTERS
DATA ACQUISITION
DECOMMISSIONING
DECONTAMINATION
DESIGN
DIGITAL COMPUTERS
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
FUELS
GLOVEBOXES
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
METALS
MICROCOMPUTERS
MIXED OXIDE FUELS
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
PLUTONIUM
PULSED NEUTRON TECHNIQUES
SAFETY
SENSITIVITY
SOLID FUELS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS