Inventory of radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning of the heavy water research reactor HWR of ITEP.

The service activities in the frame of the project BIS/00/022/014 started at DECOM in Slovakia (Consultant premises).

The key experts of the Consultant were defined during the preparation of the contract between the Contracting Authority and the Consultant. The key experts had the responsibility for performing the planned work and for achieving the target results. Three key experts were identified - team leader, senior expert in operation and senior expert in radiation safety.

The local experts from the ITEP staff were hired with qualifications to cover all activities to be done at HWR premises. The selected experts were - local team leader (1 person), expert for reactor installations (3 persons), expert for radiation safety (1 person), technology engineer (1 person). Based on planned staff for the project, three junior experts of the Consultant were incorporated into the working group - junior expert for decommissioning and radiation safety (1 person), junior expert for decommissioning and decommissioning technologies (1 person), junior expert for decommissioning and reactor structures (1 person).

The present project had the objectives:

• To put up the Technical Specification for purchasing the equipment needed for the radiation inventory of the site.
• To study the radiation situation in rooms of the HWR reactor.
• To conduct radiation inventory identification and certification.

The project was carried out according to the Terms of Reference. The results task by task were the following:

Task 1: Preparing the Technical Specification for equipment. 

During the first planning period were elaborated the Inception Report, the Technical Specification of equipment needed for conducting the planned activities and additional list of possible suppliers of the equipment. The selection of local experts (ITEP members) was performed and documented (final approval in March 2004). The 1st working meeting was held at the premises of the Consultant in Jan 16-21. The final working group of the Consultant was enhanced by three junior experts in March 2004.

Task 2: Radiation survey of different locations of HWR. 

The actualised documentation of all HWR premises was elaborated as the first pre-assumption for dosimetric charts and the database of HWR locations. The procedure for elaborating the dosimetric charts was elaborated and the structure of the database of HWR locations developed and used by the Consultant was proposed for the Task 2. The 2nd working meeting was held at ITEP premises on April 14-16. The responsible person of the Contracting Authority, the Consultant key experts and local experts took part at this meeting. The main aim of this visit was to make the Consultant key experts familiar with the situation at the HWR premises. Because time delays occurred in tender for purchasing the equipment for radiation survey, defined in Technical Specification, the dose rate and surface contamination measurement of HWR location started with available ITEP equipment with parameters suitable for performing the measurements. The spectrometric measurements needed for full radiation survey and for radioactive material inventory could not be performed with the instruments of ITEP, however drafts of dosimetric maps of HWR locations and the database of HWR locations were elaborated. The drafts were checked during the 3rd working meeting held at HWR premises on June 6-11. The differences with the real situation were identified and for achieving of the final versions of the dosimetric charts and of the database. It was agreed to deliver additional and corrected data before the holiday season at ITEP. The corrected versions of dosimetric charts and database were elaborated for the 4th working meeting held at the HWR premises on Sept 7-10. The detailed inspection of all HWR premises and reference measurements of the dose rate were performed during this meeting. After final corrections, the final versions were prepared for the 5th working meeting held at premises of the Consultant on Sept 20-24. The final versions were approved by ITEP authorities during the 6th working meeting at ITEP premises on Oct 25-29. This step of approval of final documents was not considered in planning.

Task 3: Full inventory of the existing radioactive material. 

The introductory meeting on inventory of the existing radioactive materials, wastes and radiation sources (RMWRS) was held in the frame of the 2nd working meeting at HWR premises. The structure of inventory database developed and used by the Consultant was proposed for the Task 3 and the approaches for identification and certification of RMWRS were discussed and agreed. The identification of RMWRS includes their localisation, identification of physical/material and radiological parameters. The certification represents preparation of parameters needed for elaborating the certificates of RMWRS before transporting to RADON. The agreement with the RADON on conditions for the acceptance of RMWRS was in the meantime discussed between the ITEP experts and RADON and the final agreement was concluded on Jan 22, 2004. The identification of RWMRS started during the 3rd working meeting at the HWR premises. The basic groups of RMWRS were identified - remaining reactor structures, radioactive materials and waste stored at HWR premises, contaminated storing systems, sealed radiation sources and contaminated soils at the HWR territory. The procedure for identification of parameters was agreed. The draft of the inventory database was elaborated and discussed during the 4th working meeting at HWR premises, Sept 7-10. The final version of the inventory database was prepared and agreed during the 5th working meeting at Consultant premises on Sept 20-24. The estimated or substitute parameters which should be derived from spectrometric measurements were prepared for the 6th working meeting at ITEP premises on Oct 25-29. The inventory database was approved during this meeting by the ITEP authorities.