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Nuclear Plant Decommissioning
Challenges and Opportunities
OR:
How to spend a health physics career transitioning
from operations through decommissioning
Eric M. Goldin, CHP
Disclaimer: all the opinions expressed are mine and do not
reflect any views of the HPS, SCE, BHI or anyone else.
If it sounds sarcastic, don't take it seriously. If it sounds
dangerous, do not try this at home or at all. And if it offends
you, just don't listen to it.
Dexter Holland, the Offspring © 1997
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Outline
• Commercial Nuclear Power Operations
• Decommissioning
• Dismantlement
• Site Restoration
• License Termination & Final Status Survey
• Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel
• Health Physics Society
Chapter Visits 2
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Commercial Nuclear Power
Chapter Visits 3
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No Free Lunch
• Every form of electricity generation has pros and cons:
– Wind – raptor kills, construction, noise, visual, intermittent
generation
– Solar PV – hazardous materials, intermittent generation
– Hydroelectric – environment, siting
– Coal – CO2 generation, particulates, mercury, mining
– Natural Gas – volatile pricing, hydrofracturing production,
CO2 generation
– Nuclear – accident scenarios, waste disposal or
reprocessing
– Conservation – is this realistic? Global issues
Chapter Visits 4
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Almost 100 Operating Nuclear Power Reactors
Chapter Visits 5
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How does a Nuclear Power Plant work?
Fission Process
• Uranium 235
• Atoms split into two or more fission fragments generating heat
and additional
neutrons.
• Not capable of exploding
Chapter Visits 6
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Nuclear Engineering
Chapter Visits 7
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Fuel Equivalents
3 barrels of oil, 126 gallons
1 ton of coal, 2000
lbs
5000 lbs of wood
17,000 ft3 of natural gas
1 Uranium fuel
pellet
Source: www.cleanenergy4america.org
Chapter Visits 8
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How the plant works
Chapter Visits 9
file:///F:/Work/Outreach/Nuclear Energy.wmv
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Uranium Fuel Rod
Barrier #1
• Fuel and Control Rods
• Fuel pellets as big as the end of your finger and made of
dense ceramic
materials
• Pellets are placed end to end and sealed inside long metal
tubes called
fuel rods
• Rods are grouped in bundles and arranged so that control rods
can be
placed into them
• Control rods contain a substance that absorbs
neutrons and are used to slow or stop
the fission process
Chapter Visits 10
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Reactor Vessel
Barrier #2
• The reactor vessels are 8-inch thick steel structures,
43 ft high, over 14 ft diameter, 450 tons
• This is where the fission process occurs
• The energy released heats water to about 600
degrees Fahrenheit and 2,200 pounds per square inch
of pressure
• Reactor water creates a source of heat for the steam
generators and slows the movement of neutrons within
the fuel’s atoms
• The reactor and surrounding piping system are sealed
Chapter Visits 11
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Containment Domes
Barrier #3
• Reinforced concrete structure 160-
foot high and at least 4-foot thick
• House steel nuclear reactor vessel
where the fission process occurs
• Air tight steel lining
• Design pressure: 60 psig
(car tire = 32 psig)
Chapter Visits 12
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Decommissioning
• What does it mean?
– Remove radioactive material or decontaminate
– Terminate license
• What does this entail?
– New and revised RP programs
– Materials and equipment release for unrestricted use, or for
radwaste disposal
Chapter Visits 13
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Decommissioning Process
• Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report
– Plans, schedule, finances, end-state, etc.
• Demolition & Dismantlement
• License Termination Plan (Decommissioning Plan for Mat’ls
Licensees)
– Two years before forecast license termination
– Site Characterization
– Remaining dismantlement
– Site remediation
– End-state of site
– Final costs
– Environmental Report supplement
• Final Status Survey (MARSSIM)
Chapter Visits 14
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Major tasks during decommissioning
Year Major Activities
Total Personnel
with Measurable
Doses
Collective Dose
(person-rem)
Average
Measurable Dose
(rem)
1999 Prep and ship spent resin, some RCS component removal,
decon containment and cavity 241 15.863 0.07
2000 RCS Severance, RVI preps, remove systems and interferences
416 71.214 0.17
2001 Large Component Removal Preps, RVI Segmentation Preps 338
57.785 0.17
2002 LCR, Reactor Vessel Segmentation, Turbine and Safety
Equipment Building Demolition 308 61.214 0.20
2003 Fuel transfer, containment systems removal, Turbine and
Safety
Equipment Building Demolition 226 35.596 0.16
2004 Fuel transfer, Containment Building Demolition Preps 169
14.899 0.09
2005 Radwaste system and spent fuel removal 198 20.624 0.10
2006 Spent fuel pool liner removal, Containment Building
Demolition 183 22.490 0.12
2007 Site Restoration. No major RP activities 20 0.417 0.02
2008 Site Restoration. No major RP activities 2 0.043 0.02
2009 Site Restoration. No major RP activities 0 0.000 ---
300.145 person-rem
Chapter Visits 15
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Reactor Vessel Internals Segmentation
Chapter Visits 16
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Large
Component
Removal
Chapter Visits 17
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Large Component Lifts
Chapter Visits 18
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Heavy Haul Shipments for Disposal
Chapter Visits 19
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Burial at Energy Solutions Clive Facility
Chapter Visits 20
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Building Demolition
Chapter Visits 21
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Maine Yankee Containment Demolition
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kToZfbKbd4
Chapter Visits 22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kToZfbKbd4
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Materials Disposition
Chapter Visits 23
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Materials Management
Chapter Visits 24
• Airborne contamination without confinement, controls
• Very large quantities of barely detectable contamination
• Surveys for release
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Excavations for foundations
Chapter Visits 25
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Time after shutdown implications
• What does this mean?
– Aged unit high on activation products
– Aged unit high on fission products
– Note that beta decay intensity may be important
• i.e. Cs-137 (95%), Cs-134 (70%), Co-58 (15%)
• Really old facility
– Alpha contribution builds in due to decay rates of beta-gamma
emitters
• During decommissioning
– Instrument selection for Final Status Survey
Chapter Visits 26
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MARSSIM – EPA, NRC, DOE, DOD
• Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation
Manual
• Statistical approach to demonstrating that a site/area has
been sufficiently
decontaminated to meet Derived Concentration Guideline Levels or
the equivalent
of the license termination criterion
• Very rigorous process
• Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and
Equipment
Manual (MARSAME)
• Surveys for license termination – after remediation
– Planning – area classification, Final Status Survey design,
MDCs
– Conducting – instrumentation requirements, samples
– Evaluating – review DQOs, statistical tests, elevated
measurements
– Documenting – did survey unit demonstrate compliance with
regulations?
Chapter Visits 27
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And then there’s the “regulatory gap”
• Surface Contamination Guidance
– 5000 dpm/100 cm2 total
• License Termination Criterion
– 25 mrem per year
– 10,000 – 20,000 dpm/100 cm2 (based on radionuclide mix)
• Residual radioactivity left behind
• What to do with rad material and no license?
Chapter Visits 28
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Used Nuclear Fuel
• Fuel is stored safely and securely in dry cask storage
facilities
• Used nuclear fuel has been safely stored for 50+
years
• Used nuclear fuel stored on site until the Department
of Energy has a permanent repository available to
accept the fuel (Yucca Mountain, Nevada)
29 Chapter Visits
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Spent Fuel Pools
• Enclosed, steel-lined concrete pools
are filled with water
• Fuel assemblies are submerged with
23 feet of water above top
• Pool water is recirculated to ensure
cooling, remove residual heat and
provide radiation protection
• Designed to withstand seismic and
other external events
30 Chapter Visits
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Dry Cask Storage
• Used nuclear fuel sealed in airtight stainless steel
canisters
• Used nuclear fuel can be transferred from spent fuel pools to
dry cask storage after
it has cooled in a pool for approximately 5 to 7 years
• Designed to withstand natural phenomena including floods,
projectiles from a
tornado, temperature extremes, seismic events and lightning
strikes
• Certified by the NRC as meeting strict design and performance
specifications
31 Chapter Visits
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NUHOMS Horizontal Storage Design
Chapter Visits 32
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NUHOMS Dry Cask Storage Pad
Chapter Visits 33
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Holtec Above Ground Vertical Storage Pad
Chapter Visits 34
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Holtec Below Ground Vertical Cask Storage Pad
Chapter Visits 35
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Dry cask loading
Chapter Visits 36
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Holtec Vertical Cask Transporter
Chapter Visits 37
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Spent Fuel Shipment for Offsite Disposal/Storage
• In 2006, The National Research Council’s Committee on
Transportation of
Radioactive Waste found:
– There is no fundamental technical barrier to the safe
transport of spent fuel in the U.S.
– U.S. regulations are adequate to ensure package containment
effectiveness over a wide range of
transport conditions
– The accident fatality risk associated with spent fuel
shipments is more than three orders of
magnitude less than for some other common hazardous
materials
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu1YFshFuI4
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1nvRBk4W3o
Chapter Visits 38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu1YFshFuI4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1nvRBk4W3o
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From this
Chapter Visits 39
To this
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Health Physics Society
What can it do for you?
And what can you do for it?
Chapter Visits 40
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Health Physics Society Strategic Plan
Chapter Visits 41
HPS is a professional organization whose mission is excellence
in the science and practice of radiation safety. HPS activities
include encouraging research in radiation science, developing
standards, and disseminating radiation safety information. HPS
members are involved in understanding, evaluating, and controlling
the potential risks from radiation relative to the benefits. HPS is
the largest radiation protection society in the world with members
in many countries and has established numerous chapters in the
United States, chapters in non-U.S. countries, student branches,
and technical sections.
Our Mission
Excellence in the science and practice of radiation safety
Our Strategies
The strategies we employ to accomplish our mission are simple:
Promote the science and sound practice of radiation safety Advance
member careers Ensure HPS as the trusted source of expertise in
radiation safety
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Our Core Services
• For more than 60 years HPS has served its members, the public,
and the radiation protection profession. HPS currently serves these
stakeholders through the following core activities:
• Advocate for radiation safety and scientifically sound
information
• Provide radiation safety information to the public and
government
• Support academic programs and students
• Provide continuing education for radiation safety
professionals
• Publish Health Physics/Operational Radiation Safety
• Publish Health Physics News and HPS.org
• Publish HPS standards, positions, and position papers
• Collaborate with international radiation safety
organizations
• Host technical meetings, workshops and networking
opportunities
• The core activities of the HPS serve our stakeholders well,
but we know that stakeholders’ needs are dynamic. The HPS Board of
Directors (Board) developed a vision for HPS to remain relevant to
its members, the public, and the radiation protection
profession.
• Our Vision
• HPS will be the home for radiation safety specialists and the
trusted source of radiation safety information that enables the
safe use of radiation to improve people’s lives.
Chapter Visits 42
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Membership Benefits:
• Operational Radiation Safety and Health Physics Journal and HP
News
• Full library of previous publications
• Members directory
• Discounted registration fees and hotel reservations for HPS
meetings
• Discounts on registration for Radiation Research meetings
• Discounts on NCRP publications, PDFs of older publications are
free
• Free ANSI standards developed by HPS
• Discounted subscription available for Physics Today
• Membership in IRPA, access to newsletters of some
international societies
• Access to past HPS meeting presentations
• HP Tool Box – online resources (calculators, impact
assessment, etc.)
• Employment postings
• Chapter resources
• Specialized Sections such as Medical,
Academic/Industrial/Research, Accelerator, . . . .
• HPS membership is a pre-req for Section membership, local
Chapter President
• Dues: free for first year students, then $40. Reduced for
early associate or member
Chapter Visits 43
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Chapter Visits 44
Questions?