TITLE:

ES&H Manual

 

DOCUMENT ID:

8030 Appendix T2

Activated Water Detection and Management

 

 

1.0            Introduction

 

The management of radioactivated water produced in the accelerator and end station areas is an important program at Jefferson Lab. High energy photons and neutrons interact with stable atoms in material to produce tritium and other radioactive isotopes. This activation affects all of the components within the beam tunnel, the tunnel itself, and the immediate surrounding environment.

 

Because this is a significant process that affects the environment, Jefferson Lab maintains this Activated Water Management Program as part of the Environmental Radiological Protection Program. This appendix discusses source locations and the collection and storage of the water from potentially affected area, including those associated with the accelerator and end station beam dumps as well as general accelerator and experimental areas

 

2.0            Training and Qualifications

 

Water system operations, maintenance, and repair personnel working with activated water in any location require special training. The workers performing tasks shall be trained to the level identified by their supervisor, which can include:

 

 

Text Box: Personnel responding to activated or potentially activated water spills require special training before attempting clean up. If you haven’t had specific response training and your job description includes response to spills, contact your supervisor or RadCon staff for assistance.

 

3.0            Responsibilities

 

3.1              ESH&Q Division

·         Maintain hardware, sampling devices, and radioanalytical services.

·         Ensure areas with potential sources of activated water have appropriate containment and are otherwise suitably addressed.

·         Properly handle and dispose of sampled water.

·         Ensure compliance with environmental permits, DOE Order 458.1, and other regulatory conditions.

·         Provide discharge data for ESH&Q Reporting.

·         Track and trend sample results.

·         Advise and, as necessary, provide radiological oversight of tasks.

·         Interface with DOE and any permitting authority.

·         Review monthly and quarterly permit-required sample data. [??]

·         Provide analytical results to permitting agencies and in regular reports.

 

3.2              Facilities Management

·         Design, install, and maintain piping and secondary containment systems.

·         Perform inspections on piping and containment systems at appropriate intervals and documents those inspections.

 

4.0            Activated Water Management Plan

 

This plan describes the procedures for managing all on-site activated or potentially activated water discharges. Accelerator tunnel, experimental hall, and other experimental test area water system discharges, both routine and non-routine, shall be sampled and controlled to ensure that no discharge to the environment occurs outside applicable limits.  The overall goal is to dispose of activated water in a manner that prevents the inadvertent contamination of air, surface water, and/or groundwater.

 

The potential for release of activated water is managed in accordance with two permits: Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) Permit No. 0117 and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality VPDES Permit No. 0089320.

 

4.1              Indirect Discharge to HRSD

 

A small quantity of activated water, which is collected from various systems, is discharged periodically through the sanitary sewer, in accordance with the site’s Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) permit.  Per DOE Order 458.1, Best Available Technology is not required, as radionuclide concentrations are far below the threshold of five times the Derived Concentration Guidance (DCGs).

 

The HRSD permit specifically addresses the discharges from both the Counting House Hall Floor Drain (HFD) sump and the Tritium Monitoring and Disposal Unit (TMDU) in Building 92. Both discharge points are activated manually, and sampling and analysis results are used to ensure permit conditions will not be violated.

 

Counting House Hall Floor Drain (HFD) Sump

 

Water can become activated in the accelerator and beam switchyard tunnels, the three experimental halls, and other test areas.  The water (which can include condensation, system leaks, and groundwater) is collected at the Counting House HFD.   Approximately 20,000 to 30,000 gallons of wastewater is discharged from this location each month.  Flows and activity are monitored to ensure that total discharges do not exceed annual limits of 5 Ci tritium and 1 Ci of total gamma-emitting nuclides.

 

Tritium Monitoring and Disposal Unit (TMDU)

 

Low conductivity water (LCW) becomes activated due to its presence in beam dumps at the High Power Beam Dumps for Hall A (and associated piping in Building 91) and Hall C (and associated piping in Building 95)   The Hall B dump does not use cooling water. It has layers of metal that absorb and dissipate the beam energy.

 

It is estimated that approximately 4 Ci/year (2 high power beam dumps at 2 Ci/year each) of tritium could be produced within the contained water systems for the Halls A and C high power beam dumps. This figure is based on the accelerator operating at 800 kW for a ten-month period every year.

 

High power beam dump cooling water shall be withdrawn at discrete intervals as summarized below and described in a Health Physics Procedure (HPP). The water shall be discharged to the sanitary sewer after holdup to allow for the decay of short-lived radionuclides and careful monitoring for key, long half-life radionuclides.

 

Other Sources of Activated Water

 

Other potentially activated water, such as intermediate power beam dumps and dehumidification systems, shall be handled on a case-by-case basis. Water from these sources will be monitored; based upon volume and activity, it will then be routed to the HFD (low activity water) or added to the TMDU (high activity) for discharge to the sanitary sewer.

 

4.2              Groundwater Quality and Direct Discharge Under VPDES 0089320

 

Jefferson Lab's goal is to ensure that surface water and groundwater radioactivity moving offsite from Jefferson Lab is maintained at a level indistinguishable from natural conditions. A groundwater quality baseline was established which serves as the basis for our current VPDES permit.  See 8030 Appendix T3 for further information.

 

5.0            Revision Summary

 

Revision 0.1 – 12/11/12 - Updated to reflect compliance with DOE Order 458.1 Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment.

Revision 0 – 07/27/05 – Original Content.

 

 

 

ISSUING AUTHORITY

TECHNICAL

POINT-OF-CONTACT

APPROVAL DATE

REVIEW

REQUIRED DATE

REV.

 

 

ESH&Q Division

Bill Rainey

07/27/05

07/27/08

0.1

 

This document is controlled as an on line file.  It may be printed but the print copy is not a controlled document.  It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the document is the same revision as the current on line file.  This copy was printed on 6/4/2013.