Regulatory Guide 3.10
| ML003740217 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/30/1973 |
| From: | Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research |
| To: | |
| References | |
| RG-3.010 | |
| Download: ML003740217 (3) | |
June 1973 U.S. ATOMIC EiNRGY COMMISSION
r)REGULATORY
DIRECTORATE OF REGULATORY STANDARDS
GU IDE
REGULATORY GUIDE 3.10
LIQUID WASTE TREATMENT SYSTEM DESIGN GUIDE
FOR PLUTONIUM PROCESSING AND FUEL FABRICATION PLANTS
A. INTRODUCTION
C. REGULATORY POSITION
Section 70.22, "Contents of Applications," of 10 Prior to commencement of construction of a CFR Part 70, "Special Nuclear Material," requires each plutonium processing and fuel fabrication plant, the applicant for a license to possess and use special nuclear Commission should be provided with sufficient material in a plutonium processing and fuel fabrication information to evaluate whether satisfactory provisions plant, as defined in § 70.4(r), to submit in addition to have been made by the applicant for the treatment of the other information required by § 70.22, a description liquid radioactive wastes.
and safety assessment of the design bases of equipment and facilities which will be used by the applicant for the 1. Infornmtion to be Submitted treatment of radioactive liquid waste. This submittal In order to provide sufficient information, a should show that the selected process is capable of submittal to the Commission should include, as a reducing the radiological hazard of waste to a level as minimum, the following:
low as practicable in accordance with 10 CFR Part 20 a. A description of the liquid waste to be and that the design bases of the system components and generated, the proposed liquid waste treatment system quality assurance program provide reasonable assurance including the specific process steps, the initial and of protection against natural phenomena and the planned ultimate capacity and a description of the consequences of potential accidents as required by Part physical and chemical form of the final wastes;
70. This guide describes engineering guidelines for design b. Plan and elevation drawings of the liquid waste of principal components of the radioactive liquid waste treatment process area showing location of equipment treatment system acceptable to the Regulatory staff.. including ventilation and filtration systems, glove boxes and hoods, shielding, monitoring and signal systems,
B. DISCUSSION
fire-fighting equipment, tanks, and drains:
c. Liquid waste system process flow diagrams Operation of plutonium processing and fuel indicating planned material flow, the quantity of fabrication plants may include a variety of scrap materials to be used in each process step and the process processes, processing equipment, and techniques to conditions;
recover the plutonium content of all but low-level scrap d. Preliminary specification sheets of the liquid generated in manufacturing operations. In most cues, waste system which detail materials of construction, the liquid wastes from these scrap processes and capacities, and capabilities of system components;
e. A discussion of the design bases of the liquid contaminated liquids from other plant areas are treated by a radioactive liquid waste treatment system. Since waste system which justifies selection of the process and this is the last treatment step prior to the release of engineering used in lieu of other accepted engineering waste materials from the facility, careful selection of the and treatment practices and which demonstrates that the methods of treatment and processing components process or processes selected and methods of operation should be made not only to confine radioactive material to be used meet the as low as practicable criterion; and under normal and credible accident conditions but to f. A safety analysis of all engineering, processing, reduce the radioactivity of waste materials to the lowest or production methods presented in a manner which wvill practicable level. permit an evaluation by the Commission.
Coplm, of PUhlsha pIdes n~y be obtelnad by request Indlostlr D~.Cthe. drVlInS10
USAEC REGULATORY GUIDES daesird so the U~S.AltOYIC1WE Commaonim. Wagihflofl. 20545, and
-Wman pmuggastofor Attertlon: DIvector of cltoyianer- Regulatory Guides we isued to dtesribe and naske "0il101 to the PublIc ,r" in t are wee. ourapd and ' hould be sent to the Secretary Methods aCOPtbl to the AEC Reiulatory stnff of implemantig qSelfWICpoSs of Ut~InlC n8sg Comm"Ission. Wasehington, D.C. 20545.
of te Cm~ss~l~.
the Commlssion*s repulatIo*s, to delineat tednmnlm used by the staff In Atetutlon: Chief. Public Powen"P 1I5f.
evlustlng sackli~c problems or Postulated accIdsstst or to prov~de guldw '10
appicants. Regulatory Gulde. are not substitute. for reglalsth ndwksmla~ The uides we Issued In the MOMs e bton dvcowlns:
wit thes Isnot required. Methode end solutiom d4ffere" f* t t the gudes will be s If they powade besis for the fodhi reqs to &~ Produscts
1. Poe "Reectos
7. TreupoM WAlO
the isuanos or tontinuane of a permit or litnse by the Comssis*eoe. 2. Resarch and Teot Reactos I. OcCUpptional Health
3. Fuels and MatrAl Fadlitles
9. Antitrust RevIw
4. ElnvwronmtG and SthInr to. Goenal Publisled guides will be revised pweodIcilly, as arWopriate, to asommoodiol 5. Mate*ra and Pkwi Protct IMn commrents Wdto reflect new inforsnetion or experlenoe.
2. Deign Guidelines (3) Shipping contaiiers approved by the DOT
Reference will be made to the following guidelines for the shipment of solid waste contaminated with by the Regulatory staff in determining whether plutonium should be used for collection of solid waste satisfaclory provisions have been made by a license materials produced in the liquid waste treatment system applicant for treatment of radioactive wastes: to eliminate the necessity of repackaging prior to shipment to a licensed burial ground.
a. General Design Guidelines (4) Drain systems for storm water and sanitary (I) The liquid waste system, its components sewale should be separate from contaminated waste and required supporting services should be capable of drain systems. Laundry facilities and personnel handling the expected volume of potentially radioactive decontamination facilities should be designed so that waste generated during normal plant operations and effluents will be sent to the radioactive liquid waste under credible emergency conditions resulting from treatment system when contaminated with radioactivity.
internal accidents or natural phenomena. (5) Individual lines should be used for each
(2) The system design should provide for waste stream fed to the central collection tank(s) where redundancy or diversity of components required to necessary to prevent chemical reaction or introduction prevent release of radioactive materials to the of contaminants such as complexing agents which could environment or needed for the safe operation of the interfere with waste decontamination and to permit liquid waste system. determination of flows and monitoring of waste streanm
(3) All components of the liquid waste system from each source aroa..
should be designed for safe shutdown during normal (6) The use of traps in radioactive liquid waste operntion or under emergency conditions. Provisions for lines should be avoided and the piping should be emergency power should be included for critical process designed to minimize entrapment and buildup of solids eomponents. in the system.
(4) Tank and piping systems used for liquid (7) Measurement capability should be provided wste handling and treatment should be of welded to determine the volume and radioactivity of wastes fed conntruction to the fullest extent practicable. to the collection tank(s). The measurement devices
(5) Tank and piping systems used for liquid should be provided with recorders, indicators, and waste handling and treatment should be designed to take aslarms. Appropriate detectors should be used to measure advantage of gravity flow to reduce the potential for radioactivity.
contamination associated with pumping and (8) Waste collection system pipe and drain pressurization. lines should be taed, labeled or painted in a manner
(6) The area in which liquid radioactive waste which permits easy identification.
is treated should be isolated from production, loading, (9) Consideration should be given to providing terage and support facilities by compartmentalization at least two collection tanks to achieve a capability for and access controls to reduce the potential for crow segregating higher level waste materials. The collection contamination. tank(s) should be of stainles steel construction and
(7) Cleanup systems should be provided which designed to prevent nuclear criticality.
are designed to contain safely water collected from (lO)Bypres which would permit waste firefighting activities and provide for retrievability of streams to be routed around collection tank(s) should be radioactive liquids and solids for cleanup and avoided.
decontamination through the scrap recovery and/or waste treatment system(s). c. Was*e Treatment System Gwldnbm
(8) The design of the radioactive waste system (1) The waste treatment system should incdude should asure that accidental criticality will not occur means (solidification, evaporation, flocculation, or other under normal operating conditions or under any credible process) for conversion of radioactive waste to liquid accident condition. and/or solid forms suitable for disposal.
(2) The radioactive liquid waste treatment b. Collection System Guidelnes system should be designed to achieve a decontamination (I) Uquid collection systems may consist of factor for each radlonudide sufficient to reduce total sink and container collection systems or drain line and radioactivity of normal operational liquid waste to an central collection tankage systems or a combination of acceptable relea level an a "once through" treatment hoth. bash. Provisions should be made for recirculation for
(2) Materials used in the liquid waste further decontamination when radioactivity is above an collection system should be capable of safely handling acceptable release level.
waste to be collected. Containers used in a sink and (3) Provisions should be made to adjust liquid container system should be constructed of durable waste characteristics prior to treatment to minimize materials. All components of the system expected to be adverse chemical reactions in the treatment system, i.e.,
in contact with strong acids or caustics should be noxious gas evolution or explosive mixtures. If chemical corrosion resistant, e.g., lined with suitable synthetic hazards cannot be eliminated, they should be controlled resin materials or stainless steels. and monitored with suitable detectors and alarms.
3.10.2
Radioaclive liquid waste treatment processes should be (7) The systerm should be designed to prevent asicbto minimize the comingling of plutonium with discharging of liquid from the quarantine or holdup
'ollil*.litIhie wasie. iankage to the piant effluert drain lin
e. Provisions
(4) There should be no bypasses or drains in the should be made so that liquids to be transferred to a
,adioactlve liquid waste treatment system by which storage tank can be analyzed prior to transfer.
waste may inadvertently circumvent treatment (8) Use of interlocking of systems is preferred cqtiipillenle complonents or be released directly to the to one-way check valves to prevent accidental transfer t.livirunment.
from one tank to another.
(5) All liquid effluents fron, the radioactive (9) Analytical equipment should be provided liquid waste treatment system should be collected in a at the facility to pioperly determine the radioactivity of quarantine or holdup tank for analysis before transfer to the waate prior to release from the facility.
a storage tank. Liquids transferred to a storage tank e. Work Areas should be analyzed a second time.prior to disposal.
(1) Systems and devices should be evaluated to determine the need for hoods, glove boxes, and shielding d. Quarantine and Storage System Guidelines for personnel protection. Generally, wet processing (I) Quarantine and storage systems may operations involving gram quantities of plutonium and consist of tanks, interconnecting lines and associated operations involving 50 micrograms or more of equipment. plutonium in respirable form should be conducted in a
(2) Design of handling systems for liquid glove box. Wet processing operations involving milligram radioactive waste may be based on a continuous or batch quantities of plutonium and dry processing operations process. If based on a continuous process, consideration involving less than 50 micrograms of plutonium could be should be given to processing and storage capacity for performed in a suitable closed system or hood.
unusual or emergency situations. If on a batch process (2) Glove box and containment enclosure basis, consideration should be given to maintaining a construction are described in USAEC documents tank capacity by batch treating before tankage is full. TID-10620, "Report on Glove Boxes and Containment Generally the minimum sufficient capacity of a liquid Enclosures" and TID-24236, 'Glove Box Fire Safety."
waste storage system tank is that required to store waste (3) Exhausts from glove boxes and other generated during twice the maximum period anticipated ventilated containment enclosures used in the liquid for radioanalysis and discharge of the largest storage waste treatment system should be passed through a tank in the system. suitable filter system prior to being released to the
(3) At least two holdup or quarantine tanks atmosphere. The system should consist of a minimum of should be provided. They should be constructed of three high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in material capable of withstanding the expected corrosive series, each capable of removing at least 99.97% of the effect of the liquids to be handled. airborne particles 0.3 microns or larger in size and have
(4) At least two storage tanks for treated an Underwriters' Laboratory Class 2 fire reistance rating, liquid waste should be provided. Tankage should be as set forth in the current edition of the Underwriters'
fitted with a liquid level indicator, equipped so that Laboratories Building Materials List.'
leaks may be detected, and located within a confinement (4) Surface finishes in the work area should be system sufficient to confine the entire capacity of the of materials which have satisfactory decontamination tanks. characteristics for their particular application. In general,
(5) Agitators or other means of circulation epoxy coatings are sufficient for most waste treatment capable of mixing the contents should be installed on areas and components; however, the use of suitable quarantine and storage tanks so that representative stainless steels or polyester resins should be considered samples of liquid waste from each tank may be obtained. where high acid concentrations may be expected.
(6) Provisions should be made to permit recycle of liquid waste from storage tanks to holdup or 'Copies may be obtained from Underwriters' Laboratories, quarantine tanks. Inc.. 333 Pfinasten Road, Northbrook, 1U. 60062.
3.10-3