German nuclear development company Siempelkamp NIS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH said it had developed a chemical additive for nuclear power plant cooling systems that works by detaching radioactive contamination adhering to the inner system surfaces with the help of ion exchangers.
This system “decreases the contamination significantly,” the company said. With the new procedure the dose rate can be reduced on average by a factor of 85. Thus, the scheduled dismantling of the power plant systems “is significantly simplified,” according to a press statement. With regard to the personnel carrying out the dismantling work, the new procedure focuses in particular on minimizing the exposure to radiation.
The ASDOC_D-MOD procedure was used for the current project. This procedure specifically considers materials that, when using conventional decontamination solutions, can be susceptible to corrosion and therefore, it prevents impairment of the functional safety and integrity of the power plant systems included in the decontamination process.
The modified ASCDOC_D-MOD procedure was developed and successfully tested at the technical center of Siempelkamp NIS. One of the goals for the procedure was to minimize chemical reactions between the decontamination solution and metallic materials so that a safety-relevant formation of hydrogen wouldn’t occur. For the current project the hydrogen levels stayed below or right at the detection limit.
“The development of the procedure was very complex and a highly technical and scientific challenge. We suffered some setbacks until we arrived at the point where we could successfully demonstrate the practical use of it, which to date we have done twice,” said Dr. Aldo Weber, Spokesperson of the Management of Siempelkamp NIS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH.
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This seems to be the intial start of reducing radioactivity on decommissioning power plants and components. The next process should be reduction of radwaste material of exhausted Uranium that looms throughout the industry. If true, this is finally the beginning of radiation depletion and should enhance the nuclear industry as we all know it today......