NEW MATERIALS DEVELOPED TO MEET REGULATORY AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH IN-SITU DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED FACILITIES

For the 2010 ANS Embedded Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination and Reutilization and Technology, Savannah River National Laboratory's Mike Serrato reported initial information on the newly developed specialty grout materials necessary to satisfy all requirements associated with in-situ decommissioning of P-Reactor and R-Reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site. Since that report, both projects have been successfully completed and extensive test data on both fresh properties and cured properties has been gathered and analyzed for a total of almost 191,150 m{sup 3} (250,000 yd{sup 3}) of new materials placed. The focus of this paper is to describe the (1) special grout mix for filling the P-Reactor vessel (RV) and (2) the new flowable structural fill materials used to fill the below grade portions of the facilities. With a wealth of data now in hand, this paper also captures the test results and reports on the performance of these new materials. Both reactors were constructed and entered service in the early 1950s, producing weapons grade materials for the nation's defense nuclear program. R-Reactor was shut down in 1964 and the P-Reactor in 1991. In-situ decommissioning (ISD) was selected for both facilities and performed as Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensations and Liability Act actions (an early action for P-Reactor and a removal action for R-Reactor), beginning in October 2009. The U.S. Department of Energy concept for ISD is to physically stabilize and isolate intact, structurally robust facilities that are no longer needed for their original purpose of producing (reactor facilities), processing (isotope separation facilities), or storing radioactive materials. Funding for accelerated decommissioning was provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Decommissioning of both facilities was completed in September 2011. ISD objectives for these CERCLA actions included: (1) Prevent industrial worker exposure to radioactive or hazardous contamination exceeding Principal Threat Source Material levels; (2) Minimize human and ecological exposure to unacceptable risk associated with radiological and hazardous constituents that are or may be present; (3) Prevent to the extent practicable the migration of radioactive or hazardous contaminants from the closed facility to the groundwater so that concentrations in groundwater do not exceed regulatory standards; (4) Eliminate or control all routes of human exposure to radiological and chemical contamination; and (5) Prevent animal intruder exposure to radioactive and hazardous contamination