U1.01/06A2 Sorting Facility & Fragmentation tools - lot 2

In the framework of the TACIS 2006 Programme, the European Commission agreed with NAEK-Energoatom and Rivne Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) on the funding of the Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment Project for RNPP (hereafter SRWT project), which included the design, purchase and installation of equipment for the retrieval and the treatment of solid radioactive waste on the Rivne NPP site.

The objective of the Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment project was to resolve the issues of treatment of solid radioactive waste, whether already accumulated or to be produced during plant operation. The project enabled RNPP to produce waste packages meeting the acceptance requirements for storage, in accordance with IAEA recommendations and with norms and regulations in force in Ukraine. The SRWT facilities to be installed on the RNPP site, aimed at:

• reducing the volume of solid radioactive wastes,
• conditioning them for safe interim and long term storage

The SRWT facility had to fulfil the following main functions:

• Waste retrieval from the vaults located in 2 storage buildings
• Preparation of waste retrieved from the storage building vaults, if needed, before transportation to the rad-waste treatment building,
• Waste transportation to the rad-waste treatment building (RNPP responsibility),
• Waste acceptance and treatment,
• Waste sorting and cutting; placement into drums,
• Solid waste volume reduction
• Waste drying in drums, if necessary,
• Gamma activity measurement of the drums and radiation monitoring inside the SRWT process,
• Waste package preparation for interim and long-term storage

The TACIS-financed contribution to the SRWT process line was split into 4 lots:

Lot 1: Retrieval facility.
Lot 2: Sorting and Fragmentation facility.
Lot 3: Super Compaction facility.
Lot 4: Activity measurement (spectrometry).

The present project covered the supply of Lot 2: Fragmentation and Sorting Facility

• The Fragmentation and Sorting Facility (FSF) and its equipment are part of the integrated solid waste treatment process for RNPP.
• The FSF facility is designed for the treatment of solid radioactive waste with a dose rate below 280 μGy/h at 10 cm distance.
• The facility is located in the rad-waste treatment building.
• In the solid waste treatment process, the FSF is implemented after the incoming packages identification cell, and before the super compaction system.
• The FSF includes the following main functional stations:
  • waste sorting ;
  • metal fragmentation;
  • waste shredding and cutting;
  • sorted waste packaging in 200 l and 170 l drums
  • in-drum compaction of 170 l drums;
  • drums drying
  • drums closing;
  • internal transportation.

In addition, the FSF includes waste and drum transport and handling systems, monitoring and control equipment, operator’s control panels, etc.
Liquid waste produced during the FSF operation is collected, but not treated in the frame of the project.
Gaseous releases from the FSF are collected by the exhaust ventilation system (EVS) that is connected to the rad-waste treatment building ventilation system.
The FSF is operated in the radiation controlled area. This involves the necessity of radiation monitoring of personnel and equipment at the entrance and at the exit of the working area (the radiation monitoring equipment is under the responsibility of the End User).

The project included:

• supply of the equipment
• supply of spare parts
• design, manufacture, acceptance tests, certification, delivery, supervision of installation and commissioning and training of End user personnel

The first set of Technical Specifications for the project was developed in 2004 under the service contract "Solid Radioactive Waste Treatment for Rovno NPP – U1.01/01B" (Contract 95161). After failure of the tender procedure in 2007 the Technical Specifications were revised under the service contract "On-site Assistance to Rovno NPP – U1.01/06" (Contract 126843) and retendered in 2008.

The contract with the supplier of the system NUKEM (Germany) was signed in January 2009. The equipment was installed by RNPP under supervision of the supplier. The site acceptance test (SAT) was performed in November 2014 and the Provisional Acceptance Certificate (PAC) was signed on 19.11.2015. The Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) was signed after expiration of the warranty period.
The achievement of this project, when the rad-waste building is completed and all equipment (EU and Energoatom financed) is installed, is to ensure the safe handling and storage of radioactive waste originating at Rivne Nuclear Power Plant.