REVIEW OF INDUSTRIES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES FOR TECHNOLOGIES APPLICABLE TO DEACTIVATION AND DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS FACILITIES

摘要

The Deactivation and Decommissioning Focus Area’s (DDFA’s) mission is to develop, demonstrate, and deployrnimproved deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) technologies. This mission requires that emphasis berncontinually placed on identifying technologies currently employed or under development in other nuclear as well asrnnonnuclear industries and government agencies. In support of DDFA efforts to clean up the U.S. Department ofrnEnergy’s (DOE’s) radiologically contaminated surplus facilities using technologies that improve worker safety,rnreduce costs, and accelerate cleanup schedules, a study was conducted to identify innovative technologies developedrnfor use in nonnuclear arenas that are appropriate for D&D applications.rnIndustry selection was based on the anticipated potential for technology transfer from an industry or governmentrnagency to D&D applications. Current D&D needs were sorted according to problem area, national priority (asrndetermined by the DOE Environmental Management program), and technical response (technologies suggested forrnpotential deployment to meet specific site needs) to gain a better understanding of the types of technical needsrnrepresented in the DDFA and to ensure that the industry search would focus on today’s most relevant D&Drnproblems.rnBased on need prioritization, it was concluded that target industries for technology transfer should specifically relaternto one or more of the following D&D technical needs: 1) dust and particulate control and air pollutant monitoringrnand mitigation for worker safety; 2) D&D support, including data management systems and temporary utilities;rn3) decontamination of coatings and surface contaminants; 4) robotic equipment for size reduction, sampling,rnretrieval, and investigation; 5) waste sorting, packaging, and tracking; and 6) improved size reduction and cuttingrntechnologies, including underwater applications. Selection priority was assigned to industries with the greatestrnlikelihood of employing technologies with potential to reduce D&D costs or cleanup schedules or feasibility to meetrnspecific D&D needs that currently have no technical response or identified solution. Industries selected forrninvestigation included mining; wrecking, demolition, sandblasting, and excavation; construction; petrochemical; oilrnand gas; plumbing and sanitary services; adhesives and sealants; paints and coatings; manufacturing; aeronauticalrnand nautical; diving and search and rescue; and shipbuilding and repair and oceanography. Government agenciesrnselected for investigation included the U.S. Navy; the Department of Transportation and highway/bridgernconstruction and maintenance; the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service; the NationalrnOceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the CentralrnIntelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and Department of Defense; and the U.S. Environmental ProtectionrnAgency.rnAn assortment of commercially available technologies as well as technologies that are currently in stages ofrndevelopment or demonstration were identified as potential candidates for D&D activities. In general, therntechnologies that were identified during the search of federal agencies and industry were found to be no morerninnovative or advanced than the technologies already identified by the DDFA. This indicates that the DDFA isrnfulfilling its mission to promote and use the latest technological innovations to attain closure of contaminated DOErnsites. The results of this study serve to ensure that DOE continues to develop, demonstrate, and deploy the latestrninnovations. To achieve this, sixty technologies found during the search are recommended for investigation ofrnpotentially new solutions to one or more DDFA needs.