Use of Air Modeling to Reduce Facility Demolition Costs

Conference · Wed Feb 26 04:00:00 EST 2003

OSTI ID:825750

Smith, Dennis; Sanford, Peter; Parsons, Duane A

DOE faces the problem of decommissioning facilities contaminated with plutonium, uranium, and beryllium. The standard process has been to remove the contaminated process equipment from a facility, and then decontaminate the residual radiological and hazardous contamination from the facility structure to an ''unconditional release'' level. The facility would then be taken down as a clean demolition. Several beryllium-contaminated facilities were identified that will be particularly difficult to decontaminate to these release levels. A number of alternative decommissioning approaches were investigated that would require less decontamination, and thus reduced cost and schedule. Initial alternative approaches proposed erection of barriers (i.e. building-size tent structures with ventilation controls) to minimize the release of contamination to the environment. More recently we have investigated methods to control contamination at the structure surfaces before and during demolition, and model the risk posed to the workers, public, and the environment by the small residual material actually dispersed. This approach promises to minimize decontamination by removing only the highest contamination levels, and eliminates the need for erecting large contamination control structures along with the attendant ventilation equipment and administrative controls. The modeling has demonstrated the regulatory acceptability of this approach, and the approach is ready to be discussed with the regulators and the public.

• Research Organization: Science Applications International Corporation, Lakewood, CO (US); D& D Safety Consultants Inc., Loveland, CO (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: none (US)
• OSTI ID: 825750
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BERYLLIUM
CONTAMINATION
DECOMMISSIONING
DECONTAMINATION
DEMOLITION
PLUTONIUM
SIMULATION
URANIUM
VENTILATION
WASTE MANAGEMENT