Year
2005
Abstract
Blend Down Monitoring System (BDMS) was successfully installed at the Enrichment Plant (EP) of the Siberian Group of Chemical Enterprises (SGChE) in October 2004 including the final calibration and certification of the system in February 2005 in the frame of HEU Transparency measures implementation. BDMS continuously monitors the flow rate and assay of enrichment of the fissile material in all flows of the blending facility where highly enriched uranium (HEU) extracted from the former nuclear weapons components is blended down with low enriched uranium (LEU) resulting in LEUproduct intended for nuclear power application after further reprocessing. In addition BDMS confirms that gaseous UF6 identified in HEU pipe is fed to the LEUproduct pipe through the blending point. The present system is an integral part of the Russian-American Government Agreement on HEU Transparency. The paper summarizes the following: 1. Peculiar features of BDMS configuration at SGChE EP blending facility. 2. Specific preparation of the pipelines for BDMS equipment installation. 3. Personnel training. 4. Installation of the system with the sources of ionizing radiation. 5. Setup, calibration and acceptance of BDMS.