Process water treatment for reactor effluent activity control: Budget study

摘要

The purpose of this study is to provide budgetary data for modifying and monitoring the present water treatment process at B, C, D, KE, and KW reactor plants to effect a reduction in the activity of the reactor effluent water discharged to the Columbia River. The study is subdivided into three parts: facilities for sodium silicate addition at each reactor water plant, on-plant facilities for the manufacture and supply of sodium silicate, and instrumentation for monitoring the water treatment process for standardizing water quality in the water treatment plants. While the present concentrations of radionuclides discharged to the river are well below the maximum permissible concentrations established by the National Bureau of Standards, the proposed reduction is in the interest of providing greater protection from potential radiation exposure to people living downstream from the Hanford Plant where economically practicable.