Year
2010
Abstract
In the summer of 2010, the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center (REDC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will be installing a hybrid k-edge system. This will be the first system built and installed into a nuclear facility within the United States in at least 20 years. The REDC provides unique capabilities for the US DOE in that various U/Pu (and minor actinide) solutions can be prepared, handled, and measured in one facility. Testing and evaluation of this system will be carried out in collaboration with the Savannah River National Laboratory. Enabling this capability within an operating Category 2 nuclear facility requires a significant amount of planning and effort to ensure the system can be safely and securely operated. This paper will present the methods that ORNL will use for assuring that the installation is performed smoothly and without incident, including how to meet the design basis analyses for nuclear safety, management and control of the material balance area, radcon oversight, industrial hygiene, and review by the Radiation Generating Device committee. The ORNL experience will provide guidance for the installation and operation of HKED systems at the U.S. MOX plant. In addition, under the NGSI program, the University of Tennessee-ORNL governor’s chair is making available a set of students to set up an MCNP model of the system, to research new algorithms for analysis of the XRF and K-edge spectra, and to improve the electromechanical design of sample handling and control, when coupled directly to a hot cell. In order to create a sustainable laboratory for further research, development, and deployment, an international working group will be established, and partnerships with Los Alamos National Laboratory, ITU-Karlsruhe, LaHague, Sellafield, and Rokkasho will be established.