LLD Determination for PFP Residues Using the ANTECH Calorimeters
- FH
The Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) facility performs waste characterization measurements for disposal of transuranic waste (TRU) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The WIPP's performance assessment requires monitoring and tracking of the following ten radionuclides in the waste that is accepted and disposed of at the WIPP facility. Activities and mass values must be reported for: {sup 241}Am, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239}Pu, {sup 240}Pu, {sup 242}Pu, {sup 233}U, {sup 234}U, {sup 238}U, {sup 90}Sr and {sup 137}Cs on a payload container basis. In addition the system must be able to report other nuclides, which contribute to the FGE, decay heat or contribute to more than 95% of the total radiological hazard. PFP reports the activity and mass of these radionuclides when positively identified in any waste container. In situations where one of the 10 WIPP tracked radionuclides is not positively identified on a PFP assay, PFP either reports a ''zero'', indicating the nuclide was not positively identified in the waste assay and is not identified by the acceptable knowledge (AK), or ''<LLD'' (less than the lower limit of detection) indicating the nuclide exists in the AK, but was not positively identified above its lower limit of detection or the minimum detectable activity (MDA). This document is the second revision of HNF-14038, ''LLD Determination for PFP Residues using the ANTECH Calorimeters''. This revision addresses the LLD for all (AR-1, AR-5, AR-8, P-13, P-14, P-15, and Q-1) of the calorimeters. This revision also makes significant changes in the way in which the LLD is evaluated and reported. The primary change in the evaluation is from using base power measurements to using zero power measurements. This is because over time the base power can fluctuate do to seasonal variations in temperature as well as other effects. Basing the evaluation on the base power causes the LLD to be unacceptably high on some systems. Using the 0 power measurements is more consistent from system to system. The other change is to base the LLD on the wattage rather than a gram value. This is important since many of the items being measured have significantly higher specific wattages than weapons grade (WG) Pu. Therefore establishing an LLD based on WG Pu makes the LLD value unnecessarily conservative. The following table provides information about previous revisions of this document.
- Research Organization:
- FH (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-96RL13200
- OSTI ID:
- 814759
- Report Number(s):
- HNF-14038, Rev.2; HNF-EDC-03-17116
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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