ML12339A478

Official Exhibit - NRC000052 -00-BD01 - 2008 Health Physics Society Annual Meeting Presentation Slides. Decontamination of Cs-137, Pu-239, and Am-241 from Hard Surfaces Using a Peelable Polymer-based Hydrogel.

ML12339A478
Person / Time
Site:	Indian Point
Issue date:	07/14/2008
From:	Edington G, Holt-Larese K, O'Neill M, Mallecia Sutton Cellular Bioengineering, Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL), Sandia
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
References
RAS 22152, 50-247-LR, 50-286-LR, ASLBP 07-858-03-LR-BD01
Download: ML12339A478 (12)

Text

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Official Hearing Exhibit NRC000052 Submitted: March 30, 2012 Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.

In the Matter of:

(Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units 2 and 3) Decontamination of Cs-137, Pu-239, ASLBP #: 07-858-03-LR-BD01 and Am-241 from Hard Surfaces using Docket #: 05000247 l 05000286 Exhibit #: NRC000052-00-BD01 Identified: 10/15/2012 a Peelable Polymer-based Hydrogel Admitted: 10/15/2012 Withdrawn:

Rejected: Stricken:

G. J. Edgington1, M. P. ONeill1, and K.C. Holt-Larese2 Other:

Additional work by M. Sutton3, R. P. Fischer3, and M. M. Thoet3 1 Cellular Bioengineering, Inc. (CBI), Honolulu, HI 2 Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 3 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA 2008 HPS Annual Meeting Pittsburgh, PA MPM-D.7 07/14/08

Decon Gel 1101 - What is It?

Apply Dry Peel

- Near neutral-pH, low-odor polymer hydrogel

- Utilizes surfactants to lift contaminants

- Soluble chelators bind contaminants for transport

- Contaminants pulled into polymer upon drying

- Entrapped in rehydratable polymer matrix

October 2007 - Coupon Initial Activity after Activity after December 2007 -

Name Activity 1st Decon 2nd Decon (PCi) (PCi) (PCi)

CBI commissioned efficacy

• Sandia applied 2nd C Pu-1 1.005 0.176 0.078 testing for DG1101 on: C Pu-2 0.902 0.257 0.146 coat of DG1101 to CS Pu-1 0.983 0.009 0.001 same test coupons that

• Concrete (C) CS Pu-2 0.977 0.021 0.002 had been deconned in SS Pu-1 1.045 0.181 0.082

• Carbon steel (CS) October.

SS Pu-2 0.978 0.056 0.021 P Pu-1 0.859 0.403 0.320

• Results show 2nd

• Stainless steel (SS)

P Pu-2 0.903 0.405 0.310 C Am-1 0.980 0.169 0.063 decon efficacies as

• Plexiglas (P) good or better than 1st C Am-2 0.888 0.149 0.050 Contaminated with: CS Am-1 0.994 0.012 0.001 application.

CS Am-2 0.949 0.031 0.003

• Pu-239 SS Am-1 0.961 0.210 0.172 SS Am-2 0.947 0.171 0.135

• Am-241 P Am-1 1.002 0.011 0.001 P Am-2 0.913 0.012 0.001

• Cs-137 C Cs-1 1.006 0.834 0.737 C Cs-2 0.974 0.822 0.745 CS Cs-1 0.998 0.010 0.002 CS Cs-2 1.002 0.014 0.002 SS Cs-1 0.998 0.039 0.008 SS Cs-2 0.986 0.019 0.003 P Cs-1 0.912 0.005 <MDA P Cs-2 0.953 0.004 <MDA Notes: MDA = Minimum detectable activity C Pu = concrete, plutonium; CS Am = carbon steel, americium; SS = stainless steel; P = Plexiglas; etc

Decontamination Testing of DG 1101 Radionuclide Solutions

- NIST traceable

- Prepared 1uCi/ml from stock solutions

- Am-241: AmCl3 in 1N HCl

- Pu-239: Pu(NO3)4 in 4M HNO3

- Cs-137: CsCl in 0.1M HCl Coupon Materials

- Construction grade concrete cores, uniformly sectioned

- Carbon steel 3 x 3 x 1/8

- 300-series Stainless steel 3 x 3 x 1/4

- PlexiGlas 3 x 3

Decontamination Testing of DG 1101 Coupon Contamination

- Placed on wire racks

- ~1 PCi each deposited using pipettor

- Carbon steel showed visible corrosion Coupon Coating Application and Removal

- Initial counts measured

- Coupons coated with DG1101, spread with spatula and excess allowed to drip off

- 24 hr. dry time

- All coupons easy to peel, most difficult was concrete

- Coatings all removed in single sheet with no fracture

- Carbon steel no longer had visible corrosion on surface

Decontamination Testing of DG 1101 Analytical Method and Data Workup

- Cs-137 counted for 1000 s w/Canberra Ge detector, peak area used to calculate activity

- Am-241 and Pu-239 counted for 120 s w/Ludlum 43-1 and Eberline E600

- Calibration coupons used for all cases

- % Decon = Initial Activity - Final Activity x 100 Initial Activity

Results 100%

90%

80%

70%

1st decon 60%

Pu 50% Am Cs

% Decon 40%

2nd 30% decon 20%

10%

0%

Concrete Carbon steel Stainless steel PlexiGlas Material

Pu Glovebox Decon at LLNL Glovebox (~ 4 1/2 ft x 8 ft x 9 ft)

- Cast steel floor, Al walls, Lexan windows and Hypalon gloves

- Commissioned in 1964 to cold roll Pu metal

- In 1996 a spill of Pu-238 occurred

- Measurements at < 1 inch >>1,000,000 cpm (off-scale)

- Previous unsuccessful decontamination efforts involved a commercially available strippable film coating

Field Test DG 1101 Application

- Applied with trowel, allowed to dry overnight

- Lexan window deconned 2x, Steel floor and Al siding 3x

- DFs measured as ratio of original alpha activity at 1.5 inch stand-off to activity measured after each decon

- Initial contamination levels averaged

• 74,000 dpm for cast steel horizontal floor

• 56,000 dpm for aluminum siding

• 54,000 dpm for Lexan window

Results One application

- Activity on steel floor was reduced by 57% (SD=7%) and on the Lexan window by 37% (SD=8%)

Additional applications

- Lexan window after 2nd application overall 99.5% removal (SD=0.1%)

- Steel floor after 2nd and 3rd application overall 99.4% (SD=0.3%)

- After 2 and 3 applications of DG 1101, activity was reduced to <400 dpm in almost all cases

- Given the highly contaminated nature of the surfaces within the glove-box, this decontamination efficiency is considered excellent

Operational Perspectives

• The Nuclear Materials Processing and Technology Program personnel conducting the decon activities reported that the material had a good workability and allowed sufficient working time before drying.

• In general the material adhered to the sides of the glove-box without an excessive amount of dripping being observed.

• DG 1101 was able to penetrate crevices and was easily removed from all surfaces with the exception of the Hypalon gloves.

• While hand application was used for the study, personnel commented that spray application might be advantageous for future applications.

• [Comment from CBI: DG 1120 is now available for spray applications.]

Summary

• Lab Environ

- Decon Gel 1101 demonstrated effective on Pu-239, Am-241, and Cs- 137 radioisotopes

- 2nd decon factors as good or better than 1st application

- Cs on concrete most difficult case, R&D in progress

• Field Application

- Application of DG 1101 to Pu decon of highly contaminated glovebox at LLNL demonstrated excellent efficacy overall

• Full Reports Available

- Sandia and LLNL reports available upon request at CBI booth or contact M. ONeill, CTO, CBI

- moneill@cellularbioengineering.com