Construction of a Post-Irradiated Fuel Examination Shielded Enclosure Facility PDF Download

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Book Description
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed to provide funding to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for new post-irradiation examination (PIE) equipment in support of advanced fuels development. This equipment will allow researchers at the INL to accurately characterize the behavior of experimental test fuels after they are removed from an experimental reactor also located at the INL. The accurate and detailed characterization of the fuel from the reactor, when used in conjunction with computer modeling, will allow DOE to more quickly understand the behavior of the fuel and to guide further development activities consistent with the missions of the INL and DOE. Due to the highly radioactive nature of the specimen samples that will be prepared and analyzed by the PIE equipment, shielded enclosures are required. The shielded cells will be located in the existing Analytical Laboratory (AL) basement (Rooms B-50 and B-51) at the INL Material and Fuels Complex (MFC). AL Rooms B-50 and B-51 will be modified to establish an area where sample containment and shielding will be provided for the analysis of radioactive fuels and materials while providing adequate protection for personnel and the environment. The area is comprised of three separate shielded cells for PIE instrumentation. Each cell contains an atmosphere interface enclosure (AIE) for contamination containment. The shielding will provide a work area consistent with the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable (ALARA) concept, assuming a source term of 10 samples in each of the three shielded areas. Source strength is assumed to be a maximum of 3 Ci at 0.75 MeV gamma for each sample. Each instrument listed below will be installed in an individual shielded enclosure: Shielded electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) Focused ion beam instrument (FIB) Micro-scale x-ray diffractometer (MXRD). The project is designed and expected to be built incrementally as funds are allocated. The initial phase will be to fund the construction activities, which will include facility modifications and construction of one shielded enclosure. Follow-up activities will be to construct two additional shielded enclosures to complete the suite of three separate but connected remote operated examination areas. Equipment purchases are to be capital procurement spread out over several years on a funded schedule. This paper discusses safety and operational considerations given during the conceptual design phase of the project. The paper considers such things as project material at risk (MAR), new processes and equipment, potential hazards, and the major modification evaluation process to determine if a preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA) is required. As part of that process, an evaluation was made of the potential hazards with the new project compared to the existing and historical work and associated hazards in the affected facility.