Dose evaluation of workers according to operating time and outflow rate in a spent resin treatment facility

Abstract

Workers’ safety from radiological exposure in a 1 ton/day capacity spent resin treatment facility was evaluated according to the operating times and outflow rate due to process related leakages. The conservative annual dose based on the operating times of the workers exceeded the dose limit by at least 7.38E+01 mSv for close work. The realistic dose range was derived as 1.62E+01 mSv–6.60E+01 mSv. The conservative and realistic annual doses for remote workers were 1.33E+01 mSv and 3.00E+00 mSv respectively, which were less than the dose limit. The MWR was identified as the major contributor to worker exposure within the 1 h period required for removal of radioactive materials. The dose considering both internal and external exposures without APF was derived to be 1.92E+01 mSv for conservative evaluation and 4.00E+00 mSv for realistic evaluation. Furthermore, the dose with APF was derived as 7.27E-01 mSv for conservative evaluation and 1.51E-01 mSv for realistic evaluation. Considering the APF for leakage from all parts, the dose range was derived as 1.25E+00 mSv–2.03E+00 mSv for conservative evaluation and 2.61E-01 mSv–4.23E-01 mSv for realistic evaluation. Hence, it was confirmed that radiological safety was secured in the event of a leakage accident.

Keywords

• Dose evaluation
• Outflow rate
• Spent resin mixture
• Treatment facility
• Carbon-14