Spent IX Resin Extraction, Dewatering and Dry Storage
Removing wet radioactive spent resins from two 170 m3 reservoirs at power plant by dewatering and transferring them into 3 m3 stainless steel containers, and storing the containers to the on-site solid radioactive waste dry storage facility.
Timeframe: 2013/2014 & 2017
This project consists of transferring the heat transport and moderator spent resins (produced since 1983 to 2013) from the two full spent resin storage tanks (170 m3 capacity) at the power plant to concrete structures at the site’s dry storage facility. The equipment consist of a shielded pumping system to extract, fill and dewater 3 m3 stainless steel containers inside a shielded flask, and transferring them to the solid radioactive waste dry storage facility.
The main activities provided are:
- Commissioning of the resin transfer system and dry storage equipment after long term storage
- implementing modifications to the system to make it operational in cold weather (down to -5C)
- designing and implementing modifications to the extraction system to improve efficiency of the resin suction
- writing of installation, operational and uninstallation/storage procedures
- producing spare parts list
- developing engineered method to remove remaining spent resins in the bottom of the rectangular tanks that are unattainable with existing system
- technical support and engineering field services during the whole campaign for the operation of the system and equipment
- training of the personnel on the use of the system and equipment
- total amount of 290 m3 resins successfully transferred (with no incidents): 20 containers in 2013, 61 containers in 2014 and 25 containers in 2017
- both tanks fully emptied by the end of 2017, first Candu 6 successfully emptying the resin tanks fully