• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.481-487
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• 2021

This study was conducted for the purpose of efficient radioactive waste disposal and management. Experiment was evaluated the decontamination efficiencies of the four types decontamination materials(Water, Alcohol, Decontamination Water, Decontamination Gel) with radioactive wastes generated during radio-pharmaceutical production process at Korea Institute Radiological and Medical Sciences(KIRAMS). The radioactive waste sample used in experiment is a lead plate of the fume hood that was disposed in April, 2019. In the experimental method, radioactive waste was measured before and after decontamination using a HPGe semiconductor detector and Gamma survey meter. The measured values before and after decontamination were evaluated for decontamination efficiency as a percentage. As a result, it was confirmed that a lot of specific activity and surface dose rate was removed from the radioactive wastes. In particular, when decontamination water was used, most of the radioactivity of radioactive wastes was removed. Considering these results, if decontamination water is used in decontamination of radioactive waste, decontamination efficiency equivalent to the disposition criteria can be expected with just one decontamination treatment. In addition, in the case of water and alcohol, only on decontamination was effective in approximately 75% and 95%. Otherwise, when decontamination gel was used, it was confirmed that the largest deviation occurred among all experimental results.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2016

Decontamination is one of the most important technologies for the decommissioning of NPP. The purpose of decontamination is to reduce the Risk of exposure of the decommissioning workers, and to recycle parts of the plant components. Currently, there is a lack of data on the efficiency of the decontamination technologies for decommissioning. In most cases, the local radiation level can be lowered below a regulatory limitation by decontamination. Therefore, more efficient decontamination technology must be continuously developed. This work describes the practical experiences in the United States and the European countries for NPP decommissioning using these decontamination technologies. When the decommissioning of domestic nuclear power plant is planned and implemented, this work will be helpful as a reference of previous cases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.438-446
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• 2003

This paper presents the development of the remotely operated decontamination systems for use in a highly radioactive zone of the DUPIC Fuel Development facility of the Irradiated Material Examination Facility at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The remotely operated decontamination systems were designed to completely eliminate human interaction with hazardous radioactive contaminants. These decontamination systems are mainly classified into three systems depending on the task environment - a fabrication equipment decontamination system, a hot-cell floor decontamination system, and an isolation room floor decontamination system. A decontamination system for contaminated fabrication equipment utilizes dry ice pellet blasting method to decontaminate contaminated surface of the equipment. The decontamination systems for the hot-cell floor and isolation room floor employ a vacuum cleaning method to decontaminate the contaminated floor and collect loose dry spent nuclear fuel debris and other radioactive waste placed on the floor. The human operator from the out-of-cell performs a series of decontamination tasks remotely by manipulating decontamination systems located in-cell via a handcontroller with the aid of vision feedback information. The environmental, functional and mechanical design considerations, control system and capabilities of the remotely operated decontamination systems at a high radioactive environment are also described.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2023

With the improvement of laser technology, the strategic needs of efficient and precise decontamination of various components in nuclear application units can be fulfilled by laser decontamination. The surface contaminants of nuclear facilities mainly exist both as loose contaminated layer and fixed oxide layer. The types of radionuclides and contamination layer thickness are closely related to the operation status of nuclear facilities, which have an important influence on the laser decontamination process. This study reviewed the mechanism of laser surface treatment and the influence of laser process parameters on the decontamination thickness, decontamination factor, decontamination efficiency and the distribution of aerosol particle. Although multiple studies have been performed on the mechanism of laser processing and laser decontamination process, there are few studies on the microscopic process mechanism of laser decontamination and the influence of laser decontamination on surface properties. In particular, the interaction between laser and radioactive contaminants needs more research in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.237-238
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• 2017

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1892-1900
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• 2023

A protective oxide layer forms on the material surfaces of a Nuclear Power Plant during operation due to high temperature. These oxides can host radionuclides, the activated corrosion products of fission products, resulting in decommissioning workers' exposure. These deposited oxides are iron oxides such as Fe₃O₄, Fe₂O₃ and mixed ferrites such as nickel ferrites, chromium ferrites, and cobalt ferrites. Developing a new chemical decontamination technology for domestic CANDU-type reactors is challenging due to variations in oxide compositions from different structural materials in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) system. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has already developed a chemical decontamination process for PWRs called 'HyBRID' (Hydrazine-Based Reductive metal Ion Decontamination) that does not use organic acids or organic chelating agents at all. As the first step to developing a new chemical decontamination technology for the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) system, we investigated magnetite dissolution behaviors in various HyBRID inorganic acidic solutions to assess their applicability to the PHWR reactor system, which forms a thicker oxide film.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.52-62
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• 2023

Various decontamination technologies have been developed for removing contaminated areas in industries. Although it is important to consider parameters such as safety, cost, and time when selecting the decontamination technology, till date their comparative study is missing. Furthermore, different decontamination technologies influence the decontamination effects in different ways. Therefore, this study compares different decontamination techniques for the steam generator using a multicriteria decision-making method. A steam generator is a large device comprising both low- and very low-level waste (LLW, VLLW) and reflects the difference in weights of the standards according to the classification of the waste. For LLW and VLLW decontaminations, chemical oxidizing reduction decontamination (CORD) and decontamination grit blasting were used as the preferred techniques, respectively, considering the purpose of decontamination differs based on the initial state of waste. An expert survey revealed that safety in LLW and waste minimization in VLLW exhibited high preference. This evaluation method can be applied not only to the comparison between each process, but also to the creation of process scenarios. Therefore, determining the decontamination approach using logical decision-making methods may improve the safety and economic feasibility of each step in the decommissioning process and ensure a public acceptance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.339-340
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• 2018

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2021

Decontamination of systems, structures and components (SSC) during the decommissioning of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) can be for a variety of reasons. The main reasons for decontamination are: to reduce the contamination of SSC to a reasonably low level, to reduce the potential for the spread of contaminants into the environment and to reduce the cost of disposal due to the reduced level of contamination in a particular SSC. The decontamination technique can be aggressive or non-aggressive depending on the intent after the decontamination process. Aggressive decontamination technique is used when the intent is not to reuse the SSC while a non-aggressive decontamination technique is used with the intent of SSC reuse. For different SSCs there are different decontamination techniques that can be used, each having its own advantages and drawbacks. Metal components such as pipes in the nuclear power plant account for a large amount of nuclear wastes generated. Some of these wastes can be reused if the contaminant level is reduced to an acceptable level. Laser ablation is a non-aggressive decontamination technique that can be used to reduce the contamination in pipes to an acceptable level with no secondary waste generated during the process. The operation and control of a laser ablation device must be precise to achieve a high decontamination factor. This precision can be achieved by a well-designed motion control system. For this purpose, a motion control system was developed consisting of two parts: the first part being the precise control of the laser ablation device inside the pipe and the second part is the control of the laser ablation device outside the pipe. This paper describes the Systems Engineering approach for the development process of a motion control system for the Laser decontamination system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.3949-3956
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• 2022

Kori Unit 1 is planning a system decontamination project to reduce radiation exposure of decommissioning workers, prevent the spread of contamination and down-grade the level of classification of radioactive waste. The system decontamination range for Kori Unit 1 will be the entire primary system, including RCS, CVCS and RHRS. Some system design modifications are required for the system decontamination operation. In this paper, major system design modifications were evaluated based on the conditions that system restoration is needed after completion of system decontamination. The major system design modifications are CIDF connection location to system, system decontamination operating pressure control, RCP seal water injection and formation of letdown flow. It was evaluated that there was no negative effect on the system due to the system design modifications. However, as the RCP seal water is injected into the system in the oxidation process, the concentration of the oxidizing agent is diluted. Therefore, the oxidizing agent injection and system decontamination operation procedures should be developed to address the dilution effect of the oxidizing agent. The system design modifications dealt in this paper will be finally confirmed through on-site investigation in the future, and if necessary, the system design modifications will be re-evaluated.