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Decontamination of the Head End Cells at the West Valley Demonstration Project
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Drake, John Schneider, Ken M. |
| Copyright Year | 2002 |
| Abstract | Clean-up efforts at the West Valley Demonstration Project have shifted from their long focus on high-level radioactive waste processing to decontamination and dismantlement (D&D) of the former nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. Initial D&D efforts are being focused on the clean-up of the Head End Cells (HECs). The HECs were originally used to mechanically prepare spent nuclear fuel (SNF) for chemical processing for the recovery of uranium and plutonium. The HECs are heavily shielded hot cells formerly used to shear the SNF, store the sheared SNF prior to chemical dissolution, and receive the leached SNF hulls for eventual transfer to an on-site disposal area. The HECs contain a significant quantity of loose debris generated during SNF recovery operations and, as a result, are heavily contaminated with spent fuel, activation products, and fission product radionuclides. Radiation levels in the HECs range from general area dose rates of 100 R/hr to hot spots of 2,000 R/hr. Beta/gamma removable contamination levels are on the order of billions of disintegrations per minute. All the clean-up work in the HECs must therefore be performed remotely. HEC clean-up efforts are further complicated by the need to replace the majority of the remotehandling equipment (e.g., cranes and power manipulators) in areas with limited access and limited space. To date, the HEC project has completed the repair and replacement of this critical facility equipment and has initiated clean-up in one of the hot cells. The significant challenges associated with decontamination of these highly radioactive and highly contaminated cells, and the lessons learned from initiating clean-up, are applicable to hot cell clean-up work throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) Complex. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://xcdsystem.com/wmsym/archives//2002/Proceedings/54/220.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
