NukeWorker Forum
Reference, Questions and Help => Nuke Q&A => Lessons Learned => Topic started by: bhatton on Sep 25, 2005, 12:14
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I was wondering if anyone knew of any reactor sites with free release limits more resticted than the normal 1000dpm/100cm2 & nd or <100cpm per a probe area for fixed beta gamma. Thanks this would be most helpful to me.
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Many sites now require <MDA smears (counted on a scalar) and 'no detectable' on direct frisks for free releasing tools and equipment. Some require that two independent surveys be done to ensure the limits are met. Here at St. Lucie if an item does not fit in a SAM (Smalll Article Monitor) it normally has to be surveyed by independent technicians and the above limits apply.
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Lots of commercial sites have lower release limits. Ginna, Nine Mile Point, and Fitzpatrick were 400dpm/100cm2 years ago. Salem/Hope Creek were No Detectable. Prairie Island was 100 dpm/100cm2. Things change over time. So, I can't say that those places all still have the same limits. All I can remember is that it was extremely rare to find a plant that would allow release with LSC as high as 1000dpm/100cm2, and any place with a SAM or TCM requires that anything that can fit inside one must be surveyed with one and pass. That leaves very few objects that actually get hand frisked with a 100ncpm limit. Even though 100cpm is considered to be the minimum detectable with a pancake probe, some sites expect you to reject any item with any discernible increase in count rate.
The short answer to your question: Almost ALL of them.
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I know progress energy , Duke power and TVA all have 1000dpm/100cm2 and anything that can fit in sam must be put in a sam. I am more interested in smearable levels and direct frisk as where I am at right now does not have a sam. Thanks for all the good info. Does anyone know the limit at Limerick??
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To quote the inimitable Mike Shannon, "Not one (radioactive) atom" shall be released.
But then, how could you ever know if you released that one atom, if it decayed days, months or years later? Kind of a chicken and egg thing. Instead of pondering the imponderable, we went ahead and installed SAMs to get Mike off our back.
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Brian, I'm at Watts Bar right now and standard procedure for release of items that will not fit in the SAM or GTM is Non detectable. This has to do with the new regulations that the NRC is trying to impose. It all stems from the release of bulk material from the Oconee SGR.
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I was wondering if anyone knew of any reactor sites with free release limits more resticted than the normal 1000dpm/100cm2 & nd or <100cpm per a probe area for fixed beta gamma. Thanks this would be most helpful to me.
It's too bad that you have that phrase, "more restricted" in your query. I wonder what answers would be applied at the other end of the 1kDPM release spectrum?