Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2014 NuclearPlantJournal.com
21
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• Impact on seismic qualification, en-
vironmental qualification, and com-
pliance with applicable construction
codes.
• Lessons learned through operating
experience, as well as improvements
in available material and manufac-
turing and inspection techniques.
• Feedback mechanisms that can be
used to monitor progress throughout
the project such as status reports,
document reviews, witness and hold
points, tests and inspections.
• Clarification of expectations for
demonstrating compliance with out-
of-date standards or specifications
including reconciliation and cus-
tomer approval requirements when
applicable.
• Requirements for obtaining customer
approval prior to proceeding with
repair techniques (such as peening
to straighten a pump shaft) that may
impact material properties.
• Documentation requirements, in-
cluding photographic evidence of
inspections and work performed and
as found and as-left reports.
• Instructions for addressing non-
conformances and deviations.
Participation in the oversight of
refurbishment activities at the supplier’s
facilities presents an excellent opportunity
for new and experienced engineering
and technical plant staff to become
more familiar with the equipment for
which they are responsible, particularly
when they have not had the opportunity
to become intimately familiar with the
equipment through years of construction,
start-up or operating experience.
Contact:
Marc
Tannenbaum,
telephone: (704) 595-2609, email:
Source: Electric Power Research
Institute’s (EPRI) Nuclear Executive
Update, March 2014.
Alpha Monitoring
Guidelines
Minor defects in the fuel can
release small amounts of alpha-emitting
nuclides under certain conditions during
a nuclear plant operating cycle. When
these releases occur, they don’t represent
a threat to public safety, but the alpha-
emitting nuclides in the failed fuel
elements can contaminate various areas
of the plant. Because alpha-emitting
nuclides are difficult to measure directly
and can have significant dose impacts on
workers, it is important to quantify their
presence. EPRI’s alpha monitoring and
control guidelines (3002000409) provide
a risk-informed approach to monitoring
based on the abundance of alpha particles
as compared to beta and gamma species.
Alpha particles are typically pro-
duced in a nuclear power facility through
neutron activation of uranium-238
(238U). Because greater than 95 per-
cent of the uranium in power reactor fuel
is 238U, substantial radionuclides are
generated, including longer-lived alpha
radionuclides such as plutonium-238,
plutonium-239, plutonium-240, plutoni-
um-241, plutonium-242, americium-241,
neptunium-237, cadmium-242, and cad-
mium-244. The presence of these in the
oxide films on material surfaces must be
managed.
The controls applied to reduce beta-
gamma contamination are often adequate
to control alpha contamination. The EPRI
guidelines, therefore, consider beta-
gamma controls in determining when
additional monitoring or controls may
be needed for alpha contamination. This
approach does not replace identification
and monitoring for the alpha hazard,
but allows for circumstances in which
beta-gamma controls will be adequate
to protect workers from both the beta-
gamma and potential alpha contamination
hazard.
EPRI has refined its monitoring and
control guidance based on lessons learned
from plant operating experience. For
example, the revised guidance clarifies
the characterization of radiological
conditions, adds more specific work
planning and work control guidance
based on a risk assessment approach, and
includes recommendations for additional
bioassay monitoring when an intake is
suspected. Recognizing that training is
an important component of a radiation
safety program, additional alpha-related
training topics were included in the
guidance.
Contact: Clay Perry, telephone:
