Low-level liquid radioactive waste treatment at Murmansk, Russia: Technical design and review of facility upgrade and expansion

摘要

The governments of Norway and the US have committed their mutual cooperation and support the Murmansk Shipping Company (MSCo) to expand and upgrade the Low-Level Liquid Radioactive Waste (LLRW) treatment system located at the facilities of the Russian company RTP Atomflot, in Murmansk, Russia. RTP The objective is to enable Russia to permanently cease disposing of this waste in Arctic waters. The proposed modifications will increase the facility's capacity from 1,200 cu m per year to 5,000 cu m per year, will permit the facility to process high-salt wastes from the Russian Navy's Northern fleet, and will improve the stabilization and interim storage of the processed wastes. To ensure that US and Norwegian funds produce a final facility which will meet the objectives, this report documents the design as described by Atomflot and the Russian business organization, ASPECT, both in design documents and orally. During the detailed review process, many questions were generated, and many design details developed which are outlined here. The design is based on the adsorption of radionuclides on selected inorganic resins, and desalination and concentration using electromembranes. The US/Norwegian technical team reviewed the available information and recommended that the construction commence; they also recommended that a monitoring program for facility performance be instituted.