1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose
This guide provides guidance for the units responsible for design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities to carry out radioactive waste minimization (hereinafter referred to as “waste minimization”), and also provides reference for regulatory authorities to conduct nuclear safety review, supervision and management.
Appendixes I, II and III have the equal force as the text.
Annexes A, B and C are informative.
1.2 Scope
This guide is mainly applicable to the waste minimization in the design, construction, operation and decommissioning stages of PWR nuclear power plants and it may also be referenced by nuclear facilities such as other reactor nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel cycle facilities and research reactors.
2 Objectives and principles
2.1 Overall objectives
In the procedure of design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities, measures such as source control, recycling and reuse, clearance, optimized waste treatment and strengthened management are taken and cost and benefit analysis is conducted to enable the final amount of radioactive solid waste (volume and activity) as low as reasonably possible.
2.2 Basic principles
The waste minimization of nuclear facilities shall be based on the premise of ensuring safety, with waste disposal as the core, and follow the principles of giving priority to source control, whole procedure management, all-member responsibility and continuous optimization for the purpose of realizing waste minimization through technical and management measures.
2.3 Target value of waste minimization
The annual amount of radioactive solid waste from nuclear facilities shall be as low as reasonably possible by adopting practical design and management measures and comparing with international best practices.
Annex A specifies requirements for annual amount of single-unit waste packages from PWR nuclear power plants in major nuclear energy countries in the world and waste packages from newly built PWR nuclear power units specified in nuclear power plant user requirement documents in US and Europe.
3 Waste minimization in design and construction stages
3.1 General requirements
3.1.1 Appropriate design measures shall be taken to reduce the generation of radioactive waste from the source and keep the amount of radioactive waste as low as reasonably possible.
3.1.2 Practical methods shall be taken to prevent the dispersal of radioactive contamination and the activation of materials.
3.1.3 Materials with less toxic and harmful components and easy for subsequent treatment are preferred to create conditions for waste minimization. Recycling technology shall be provided for reusable materials.
3.1.4 The target value of waste minimization in this stage shall be determined in combination with the construction planning of nuclear facilities at the plant site, by taking the safe treatment and disposal of waste as the objective, taking into account the radioactive waste treatment and storage facilities as a whole, and selecting safe and reliable advanced process technology and equipment for minimization.
3.1.5 Technical measures facilitating the decommissioning of facilities and realizing the minimization of decommissioned waste shall be taken.
3.1.6 Contents related to waste minimization shall be included in the safety analysis report of nuclear facilities. Appendix I specifies contents related waste minimization in the preliminary and final safety analysis reports of PWR nuclear power plants and it may be referenced by other nuclear facilities.
3.1.7 The nuclear facility design and construction units and construction contractors at all levels shall actively carry out training on waste minimization knowledge and skills, improve the quality of nuclear facility design, construction, installation and commissioning, and lay the foundation for safe operation of equipment and waste minimization in operation stage.
3.1.8 The design unit of nuclear facilities shall optimize the design scheme and promote the continuous improvement of waste minimization in combination with the development of waste minimization technology and the feedback of operation experience at home and abroad.
3.2 Reduce the generation of radioactive waste from the source
Taking PWR nuclear power plants as an example, the method of reducing radioactive waste from the source is given below, which may also be referenced by other nuclear facilities.
3.2.1 System design
3.2.1.1 The amount of radioactive waste shall be reduced by adopting long-term fuel cycle and improving the availability (load factors) of nuclear power plants.
3.2.1.2 The reactor coolant to be charged and discharged and the amount of liquid waste to be treated later can be reduced by optimizing the design (such as using control rods instead of adjusting reactivity by changing boron concentration of reactor coolant).
3.2.1.3 The dispersal of radioactive contamination may be prevented by taking measures such as setting radiation area reasonably, organizing airflow and material flow direction reasonably, and setting up radioactive contamination monitoring devices.
3.2.1.4 The quantity of equipment, pipes and valves can be determined reasonably by optimizing the design.
3.2.1.5 The sealing property of the system containing radioactive materials shall be improved to reduce the leakage of radioactive substances.
3.2.1.6 The corrosion-resistant and irradiation-resistant coating or steel linear shall be applied to the surface of concrete and other materials that may be radioactively contaminated.
3.2.1.7 The steam generator sewage, nuclear island ventilation system condensate and conventional island liquid effluent must be collected and monitored for discharge; if the analyzed radioactive activity concentration exceeds the discharge control value, these effluents shall be sent to the liquid waste treatment system for treatment.
3.2.2 Selection of equipment
3.2.2.1 High-reliability fuel assemblies shall be adopted to improve the fuel cladding property and reduce the damage to fuel elements.
3.2.2.2 Equipment with high reliability, long service life and convenient for maintenance and repair shall be adopted to reduce the leakage of equipment and the waste generated during maintenance.
3.2.2.3 Advanced manufacturing process (such as acid cleaning and passivating of stainless steel surface and applying corrosion-resistant coating on carbon steel equipment) shall be adopted to reduce the corrosion of materials.
3.2.3 Selection of materials
3.2.3.1 Equipment, pipes and valves in contact with radioactive medium shall be made of appropriate stainless steel. Strictly limit the contents of cobalt, nickel, silver and other elements in the sealing materials of equipment, valves, pipes and gaskets in contact with the primary circuit coolant, antimony in the bearing materials of the main pump, and cobalt, nickel and other elements in the components and structural materials in the neutron accessible area of the reactor cavity radiation streaming, so as to reduce the generation of activated corrosion products.
3.2.3.2 For the quick connectors and valves in contact with radioactive medium, sealing materials capable of being used for a long time under certain medium environment conditions shall be adopted to reduce the frequency of corrosion, leakage and maintenance.
3.2.3.3 In the radioactive liquid treatment system, high-capacity resin shall be used to reduce the amount of waste resins.
3.2.4 Water chemistry control
3.2.4.1 The primary circuit water chemistry control shall be optimized by primary circuit hydrogenation, zinc injection, adding hydrogen peroxide before shutdown, and adopting effective purification technologies such as filtration, ion exchange and membrane technology to improve the coolant quality of primary circuit reactor and reduce the corrosion and erosion rate of primary circuit equipment.
3.2.4.2 The quality of primary circuit makeup water shall be improved to reduce the impurity content entering the active area of the core.
3.3 Design of radioactive waste treatment system
Taking PWR nuclear power plants as an example, the following provides guidance for carrying out waste minimization in the design of radioactive waste treatment system, and may be referenced by other nuclear facilities.
3.3.1 Process design
3.3.1.1 Radioactive waste gases shall be collected and treated by classification according to their characteristics.
3.3.1.2 When the hydrogen-containing radioactive waste gas is subjected to storage and decay treatment, the number and volume of decay boxes shall be set reasonably according to the amount of waste gas (including overhaul conditions).
3.3.1.3 When the hydrogen-containing radioactive waste gas is subjected to activated carbon delayed treatment, the number of delayed beds and the loading capacity of activated carbon are reasonably determined. Activated carbon protected bed or other drying measures shall be taken to avoid the reduction of treatment efficiency or premature failure of activated carbon due to moisture.
3.3.1.4 Various radioactive liquid waste shall be collected by classification according to the physical, chemical and radioactive characteristics of radioactive liquid waste, especially the oily waste water, organic solvent, washing water containing detergent and shower water shall be collected separately from other liquid waste.
3.3.1.5 The leakage detection measures of radioactive liquid waste related systems shall be improved to find and eliminate leakage early.
3.3.1.6 The treatment process with high purification efficiency and generating less secondary waste shall be adopted according to the characteristics of various liquid waste.
3.3.1.7 The types and amount of chemicals added to various systems of nuclear power plants shall be evaluated and controlled strictly.
3.3.1.8 For cleaning and decontaminating of systems, equipment, components, appliances, radiation protection articles, walls and grounds, decontamination processes and detergents with high decontamination efficiency and generating less secondary waste shall be selected.
3.3.1.9 When the ion exchange desalination process is used to treat the process liquid waste that may contain colloids, the liquid waste should be pre-treated (flocculant injection and deep bed filtration, ultrafiltration, etc.). Filters shall be set before the ion exchange desalting bed and after the last stage of ion exchange desalting bed to intercept the suspended solids in the upstream wastewater and the resin chips leaked from the desalting bed.
1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose
1.2 Scope
2 Objectives and principles
2.1 Overall objectives
2.2 Basic principles
2.3 Target value of waste minimization
3 Waste minimization in design and construction stages
3.1 General requirements
3.2 Reduce the generation of radioactive waste from the source
3.3 Design of radioactive waste treatment system
4 Waste minimization in operation stage
4.1 General requirements
4.2 Waste minimization management measures
4.3 Continuous improvement of waste minimization
4.4 Requirements for waste minimization during safe shutdown of nuclear facilities
5 Waste minimization in decommissioning stage
5.1 General requirements
5.2 Waste minimization management measures
5.3 Waste minimization technology in decommissioning stage
Terms and definitions
Appendix I Contents related to waste minimization in the preliminary and final safety analysis reports of PWR nuclear power plant
Appendix II Contents related to minimization of annual scrappage in operation stage of PWR nuclear power plant
Appendix III Contents related to waste minimization in the decommissioning safety analysis report of PWR nuclear power plants
Annex A Requirements for annual amount of single-unit waste packages from PWR nuclear power plants in major nuclear energy countries in the world and waste packages from newly built PWR nuclear power units specified in nuclear power plant user requirement documents in US and Europe
Annex B Commonly used radioactive solid waste treatment technologies
Annex C Good practice of waste minimization in nuclear power plants in China