WASHINGTON, D.C. - EM relies on new technologies to address challenging deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) projects. Ensuring such tools integrate into the cleanup program safely and smoothly is critical.
To mitigate risk associated with implementing cutting-edge technologies, EM is turning to international standards for development and testing protocols, and updating directives and handbooks with advancements in technology development. The efforts come after EM consulted its field sites to gain a better understanding of obstacles workers encounter incorporating new technologies into cleanup.
Under its cooperative agreement with EM, Florida International University Applied Research Center researchers are working with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International to develop new standards to support the nuclear industry’s testing and evaluation requirements for D&D technologies.
An ASTM International subcommittee on radiological protection for D&D of nuclear facilities and components is creating consensus- and science-based standards that align with technical specifications and safety, regulatory, and operational requirements.
The group - comprised of about 40 international representatives from government, national laboratories, academia, and the private sector - is working to promote relevant, uniform testing protocols for use in nuclear environmental management that could increase worker safety, efficiency, and cost effectiveness. These standards could also serve to update the directives and guidance documents, such as DOE handbooks on airborne release fractions and respirable fractions for nonreactor nuclear facilities.
ASTM International establishes critical measurement solutions and uniform testing protocols in an open, collaborative process. The subcommittee formed a working group that drafted specifications for permanent and strippable coatings and fixatives for decontamination and mitigating the spread of radioactive contamination. A fixative is a permanent coating, stabilizing residual loose and transferrable contamination. It prevents contamination from spreading and becoming airborne, reducing workforce exposure and enabling future D&D activities. Strippable coatings decontaminate surfaces; loose and transferrable contamination is removed when the coatings dry and are peeled off the surfaces.
The subcommittee voted unanimously to approve the specifications. ASTM’s 120-member committee on nuclear technology and applications will vote on them next.
The subcommittee will pursue testing protocol and standards development for other D&D technology categories.
Check for updates to the standards at EM’s D&D Knowledge Management Information Tool website.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
