Initial operation and maintenance turnaround at the new waste calcining facility

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

OSTI ID:6929178

Waite, T H

The New Waste Calcining Facility (NWCF) has successfully processed a large quantity of radioactive liquid waste. The design concept of remote operation, maintenance, and repair has proven successful for both plant operating efficiency and maintenance capability. The system design and lessons learned from the system operation have been used to incorporate additional desirable system design changes and have resulted in a facility that will perform its objective with minimal personnel exposure and operational downtime. The NWCF processes high-level radioactive liquid waste byproducts from reactor fuel reprocessing into solids using a process known as calcining. The solids provide an eight-to-one volume reduction and allow easier and safer long-term storage. Due to the high radioactivity of the liquids being processed and the severe operating environment, the design of the NWCF includes many specially designed features to allow remote handling and maintenance of the equipment. This capability was used to maintain and repair equipment both during the initial hot run, which began in September 1982 and ended in June 1984, and during the maintenance period that took place afterward. The remote capabilities have successfully allowed radiation exposures to personnel to meet the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable goals.

• OSTI ID: 6929178
• Report Number(s): CONF-8711195-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 55
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
42 ENGINEERING
420203* -- Engineering-- Handling Equipment & Procedures
ALARA
CALCINATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEANING
DECOMPOSITION
DECONTAMINATION
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
EQUIPMENT
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
LIQUID WASTES
MAINTENANCE
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
PROCESSING
PYROLYSIS
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REMOTE HANDLING EQUIPMENT
REMOTE VIEWING EQUIPMENT
REPROCESSING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHIELDING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES