AMEC Project 1.5-1: Radiation control at facilities : application of the PICASSO system : installation at FSUE 10th Ship Repair Plant of the Russian Ministry of Defence in Polyarny : final report

Abstract

The goals of the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) Project 1.5-1, Radioactive Control at Facilities – Application of the PICASSO System, are to enhance and improve the technical means of the Russian Navy for measuring and controlling radiation exposure of personnel, the local population, and the environment, at sites involved in decommissioning, dismantlement of nuclear submarines, handling and disposition of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), and liquid radioactive waste (LRW). This has been accomplished by the development, demonstration, and installation of an automated centralized radiological monitoring system based on the Norwegian software package PICASSO at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise 10th Ship Repair Plant of the Russian Ministry of Defence (FSUE “10 SRP”), in Polyarny, Russia. This installation constitutes the second and last part of AMEC project 1.5-1: Radiation control at facilities: Application of the PICASSO system. The first part of the AMEC project 1.5-1 consisted of two main phases; development and demonstration of a working model for automated radiation monitoring, and the installation of automated radiation monitoring at the federal State Unitary Enterprise “Atomflot” (FSUE “Atomflot”), which is the main service base for the Russian nuclear icebreakers, located north of Murmansk. These previous phases of AMEC project 1.5-1 are described in a separate report [1]. FSUE “10 SRP” is situated in Polyarny, a town of 25,000 inhabitants, north of Murmansk in the Kola Bay. This Naval shipyard carries out dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines, and maintenance work on laid up nuclear submarines and submarines in service. Solid radioactive waste is placed in containers and stored in an open pad area, and liquid radioactive waste is stored in floating tanks at the quay. As the Russian Navy dismantles an increasing number of nuclear submarines, the need for radioactive waste management grows more and more acute. The AMEC Program has worked to meet this challenge by building an integrated waste management complex at FSUE “10 SRP”, through several AMEC projects. The complex includes a mobile pre-treatment facility for solid radioactive waste, hydraulic metal cutting tools, containers for transport and storage of solid waste, a waste storage facility, equipment to improve personnel radiation safety, and the PICASSO system for automated radiation monitoring. The installed PICASSO monitoring system provides for automated and continuous radiation monitoring throughout the shipyard’s premises. The final installed system consists of 14 measuring points including detectors for gamma-dose rate measurements, radioactive particles present in the air, and in water discharges from the solid radioactive waste treatment facility. FSUE “10 SRP” staff has been trained to operate and maintain both the hardware and software components of this system. The system was commissioned on 15 June 2005, and completed three months of trial operation on 15 September 2005. The State Acceptance Commission authorized the official acceptance of this system on 1 November 2005. The total cost of this installation was 347,425 U.S. dollars. In addition to the 14 environmental measuring points, a vehicle radiation portal monitor was installed at the entranceway to the shipyard to ensure that radioactive materials were not accidentally or intentionally transported offsite by vehicles leaving the shipyard. This system was added to the baseline PICASSO monitoring system and shipyard personnel were trained to both operate the system and to respond to alarms provided the detector. The system was commissioned on 25 April and completed trial operation on 25 July 2006. The State v Acceptance Commission authorized the official acceptance of this system in October 2006. The total cost for the truck portal monitor, including installation and training, was 82,356 U.S. dollars. During the trial operation of this system, several trucks were found with contaminated scrap iron. The contaminated materials were removed prior to the trucks leaving the site. These trial operations and findings demonstrated further the use and efficiency of the system.