Year
2007
Abstract
The Department of Energy (DOE) selected Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (CSSX) as the preferred technology for the removal of radioactive cesium from High-Level Waste (HLW) at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The CSSX process is a continuous process that uses a novel solvent to extract cesium from highly radioactive waste and concentrate it in dilute nitric acid. Inline analyses are performed with gamma-ray monitors to measure the C-137 concentration in the decontaminated salt solution (DSS) and in the strip effluent (SE). Sodium iodide (NaI) monitors are used to measure the Cs-137 concentration before the DSS Hold Tank, while Geiger-Mueller (GM) monitors are used for Cs-137 measurements before the SE hold tank. Tungsten shields were designed using Monte Carlo calculations and fabricated to provide the needed reduction of the process background radiation at the detector positions. A one-inch tungsten cylindrical shield reduced the background radiation by a factor of fifty that was adequate for the GM detectors, while a three-and-one-half-inch tungsten cylindrical shield was required for the NaI detectors. Testing of the NaI shield was performed at the SRS Instrument Calibration Facility. Based on this testing, the as-built shield is predicted to be able to detect the MCU DSS stream at concentrations above 0.003 Ci/gal under the “worst case” field conditions with a MCU feed solution of 1.1 Ci/gal and all of the process tanks completely full. This paper discusses the design, fabrication, testing and implementation of the tungsten shields in the MCU facility.