Evaluation of existing United States` facilities for use as a mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility for plutonium disposition Page: 2 of 6
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EVALUATION OF EXISTIIyIG UNITED STATES' FACILITIES
FOR USE AS A MIXED-OXIDE (MOX) FUEL FABRICATION
FACILITY =OR PLUTONIUM DISPOSITION
Carl A. Beard, John J. Buksa, Kenneth Chidester,
Stacey L. Eaton, Frank E. Motley, Donald A. Siebe
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, New MexicoABSTRACT
A number of existing United States' facilities were evaluated for
use as a mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility for plutonium
disposition. These facilities include the Fuels Material
Examination Facility (FMEF) at Hanford, the Washington Power
Supply Unit 1 (WNP-1) facility at Hanford, the Barnwell Nuclear
Fuel Plant (BNFP) atBarawell, S.C., the Fuel Processing Facility
(FPF) at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), the
Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS),
and the P-reactor at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The study
consisted of evaluating each facility in terms of available process
space, available building support systems (i.e., HVAC, security
systems, existing process equipment, etc.), available regional
infrastructure (i.e., emergency response teams, protective force
teams, available transportation routes, etc.), and ability to
integrate the MOX fabrication process into the facility in an
operationally-sound manner that requires a minimum amount of
structural modifications.
INTRODUCTION
One of the options under review for disposition of surplus
plutonium is the fabrication of the material into mixed-oxide
(MOX) fuel and subsequent burning in nuclear reactor facilities.
Potential reactor facilities include existing light-water reactors
(LWRs), partially-completed LWRs, new advanced or
evolutionary LWRs, or CANDU heavy-water reactors. Each of
these reactor types has specific MOX fabrication and bundle
assembly requirements. It is the responsibility of the Nuclear
Fuels Technologies project to evaluate the requirements with
regard to MOX fabrication and bundle assembly, resolve any
uncertainties that might inhibit implementation, and produce the
data required to initiate a Title I design of a MOX fabrication
facility. Inherent in this responsibility is evaluation of MOX
fabrication facility requirements and options with regard to
facility construction and operation. In order to reduce the capital
requirements of constructing a new MOX fabrication facility, the
use of existing facilities, modified to meet the MOX fabrication
requirements, has been suggested. Therefore, the purpose of this
paper is to provide an evaluation of the suitability of existing
facilities for modification and use as a MOX fabrication facility
capable of meeting the needs of the disposition program so that
follow-on efforts to develop more detailed conceptual designs can
be initiated.FACILITY REQUIREMENTS
The requirements for a MOX fabrication facility fall into five
main categories:
" Process space requirements
" Physical security requirements
" Structural integrity requirements
" Personnel safety requirements
" Infrastructure requirements
A brief description of each of these areas is given below.
Process S ace Requirements
The MOX fabrication facility requires adequate space to house
the fuel fabrication process lines, as well as supporting functions
such as materials receiving and storage, waste management,
general administration, and security. Only those functions
involving special nuclear material (SNM) need to be contained
within a category I facility. However, the support operations
need to be near the fabrication operations. The exact amount of
space required depends on the reactor type selected due to
variations in fuel bundle size, required heavy-metal throughput,
and process line requirements (i.e., some reactors require a
combination of fuel fabricated with depletable neutron absorbers
and without absorbers presents; hence, two separate fabrication
lines are required for these operations to avoid cross-
contamination). Table 1 gives estimates for process space
requirements that should accommodate all reactor options.
Physical Security Requirements
Clearly defined physical barriers, such as fences, walls, and
doors must be used to control, impede, or deny access to the
protected area (PA) which contains the MOX fabrication facility.
The PA perimeter must be defined by two 8-ft security fences,
separated by a 30-ft clear zone that contains a Perimeter Intrusion
Detection Alarm System (PIDAS). The perimeter lighting must
comply with the latest DOE Orders (5632.7 series) and be
compatible with both visual observation by security police
officers and an event-actuated closed circuit television system
(CCTV). The perimeter lighting must be powered by commercial
power and provided back-up through a back up generator. A
detection system must be installed (using up-to-date technology)
at all PA/Material Access Area (MAA) boundaries, vaults, and
vault-like rooms to signal attempted intrusion, unauthorized
attempt at access, or other anomalous situation. This detection
system must include access control facilities at each portal, where
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Beard, C. A.; Buksa, J. J.; Chidester, K.; Eaton, S. L.; Motley, F. E. & Siebe, D. A. Evaluation of existing United States` facilities for use as a mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility for plutonium disposition, article, December 1995; New Mexico. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc673315/m1/2/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.