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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Northeast Clean Energy Application Center

From October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2013 (“contract period”), the Northeast Clean Energy Application Center (“NE-CEAC”) worked in New York and New England (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine) to create a more robust market for the deployment of clean energy technologies (CETs) including combined heat and power (CHP), district energy systems (DES), and waste heat recovery (WHR) systems through the provision of technical assistance, education and outreach, and strategic market analysis and support for decision-makers. CHP, DES, and WHR can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce electrical and thermal energy costs, and provide more reliable energy for users throughout the United States. The NE-CEAC’s efforts in the provision of technical assistance, education and outreach, and strategic market analysis and support for decision-makers helped advance the market for CETs in the Northeast thereby helping the region move towards the following outcomes: Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and criteria pollutants; Improvements in energy efficiency resulting in lower costs of doing business; Productivity gains in industry and efficiency gains in buildings; Lower regional energy costs; Strengthened energy security; Enhanced consumer choice; Reduced price risks for end-users; and Economic development effects keeping more jobs and more income in our regional economy Over the contract period, NE-CEAC provided technical assistance to approximately 56 different potential end-users that were interested in CHP and other CETs for their facility or facilities. Of these 56 potential end-users, five new CHP projects totaling over 60 MW of install capacity became operational during the contract period. The NE-CEAC helped host numerous target market workshops, trainings, and webinars; and NE-CEAC staff delivered presentations at many other workshops and conferences. In total, over 60 different workshops, conferences, webinars, and presentation were hosted or delivered during the contract period. The NE-CEAC also produced publically available educational materials such as CHP project profiles. Finally, the NE-CEAC worked closely with the relevant state agencies involved with CHP development. In New York, the NE-CEAC played an important role in securing and maintaining funding for CHP incentive programs administered by the New York State Energy Research Development Authority. NE-CEAC was also involved in the NYC Mayor's Office DG Collaborative. The NECEAC was also named a strategic resource for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s innovative Microgrid Pilot Program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Benefits of Integration of Aerojet Rocketdyne and RTI Advanced Gasification Technologies for Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Production

The key objective for this project was to evaluate the potential to achieve substantial reductions in the production cost of H 2 -rich syngas via coal gasification with near-zero emissions due to the cumulative and synergistic benefits realized when multiple advanced technologies are integrated into the overall conversion process. In this project, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s (AR’s) advanced gasification technology (currently being offered as R-GAS™) and RTI International’s (RTI’s) advanced warm syngas cleanup technologies were evaluated via a number of comparative techno-economic case studies. AR’s advanced gasification technology consists of a dry solids pump and a compact gasifier system. Based on the unique design of this gasifier, it has been shown to reduce the capital cost of the gasification block by between 40 and 50%. At the start of this project, actual experimental work had been demonstrated through pilot plant systems for both the gasifier and dry solids pump. RTI’s advanced warm syngas cleanup technologies consist primarily of RTI’s Warm Gas Desulfurization Process (WDP) technology, which effectively allows decoupling of the sulfur and CO 2 removal allowing for more flexibility in the selection of the CO 2 removal technology, plus associated advanced technologies for direct sulfur recovery and water gas shift (WGS). WDP has been demonstrated at pre-commercial scale using an activated amine carbon dioxide recovery process which would not have been possible if a majority of the sulfur had not been removed from the syngas by WDP. This pre-commercial demonstration of RTI’s advanced warm syngas cleanup system was conducted in parallel to the activities on this project. The technical data and cost information from this pre-commercial demonstration were extensively used in this project during the techno-economic analysis. With this project, both of RTI’s advanced WGS technologies were investigated. Because RT’s advanced fixed-bed WGS (AFWGS) process was successfully implemented in the WDP pre-commercial demonstration test mentioned above, this technology was used as part of RTI’s advanced warm syngas technology package for the techno-economic analyses for this project. RTI’s advanced transport-reactor-based WGS (ATWGS) process was still conceptual at the start of this project, but one of the tasks for this project was to evaluate the technical feasibility of this technology. In each of the three application-based comparison studies conducted as part of this project, the reference case was based on an existing Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) system study. Each of these references cases used existing commercial technology and the system resulted in > 90% carbon capture. In the comparison studies for the use of the hydrogen-rich syngas generated in either an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or a Coal-to-Methanol (CTM) plant, the comparison cases consisted of the reference case, a case with the integration of each individual advanced technology (either AR or RTI), and finally a case with the integration of all the advanced technologies (AR and RTI combined). In the Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) comparison study, the comparison study consisted of only three cases, which included a reference case, a case with just RTI’s advanced syngas cleaning technology, and a case with AR’s and RTI’s advanced technologies. The results from these comparison studies showed that the integration of the advanced technologies did result in substantial benefits, and by far the greatest benefits were achieved for cases integrating all the advanced technologies. For the IGCC study, the fully integrated case resulted in a 1.4% net efficiency improvement, an 18% reduction in capital cost per kW of capacity, a 12% reduction in the operating cost per kWh, and a 75–79% reduction in sulfur emissions. For the CTM case, the fully integrated plant resulted in a 22% reduction in capital cost, a 13% reduction in operating costs, a > 99% net reduction in sulfur emissions, and a reduction of 13–15% in CO 2 emissions. Because the capital cost represents over 60% of the methanol Required Selling Price (RSP), the significant reduction in the capital cost for the advanced technology case resulted in an 18% reduction in methanol RSP. For the CTL case, the fully integrated plant resulted in a 16% reduction in capital cost, which represented a 13% reduction in diesel RSP. Finally, the technical feasibility analysis of RTI’s ATWGS process demonstrated that a fluid-bed catalyst with sufficient attrition resistance and WGS activity could be made and that the process achieved about a 24% reduction in capital cost compared to a conventional fixed-bed commercial process.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Integrated, Interoperable Software Environment for Fusion Simulation and Data Analysis Tools SBIR Phase II

This SBIR effort was focused on developing a production ready system to address the integration and interoperability challenges with analysis and visualization in fusion simulations. Our overarching technical objective was to minimize the code development simulation scientists incur when coupling their simulation codes with different analysis frameworks. To this end, we developed an open-source software library to make data exchange between application easier and a Web application to manage and display analysis extracts from simulations. We have also augmented existing libraries funded by DOE such as ADIOS and VTK-m. When used together, these make it significantly easier to integrate simulation and analysis capability. We demonstrated the flexibility of our approach using two common simulation codes in the fusion community, XGC1 and GTC.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Nuclear analysis generic requirements for fusion applications of radiation shielding - 25639

Radiation shielding engineering and associated nuclear analysis plays an important role in design, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of nuclear fusion devices. Requirements adopted in current analyses are investigated versus basic principles of requirement management and verification and validation aspects. An assessment is proposed to derive applicable product and process requirements from safety principles and transversal function requirements. V and V aspects are extended to cover input and output data. It is concluded that beyond the progress on computational capabilities and technical quality of fusion neutronics shielding analysis, there is the need to develop the underlying procedures and requirement management to satisfy configuration management, quality assurance and safety demonstration needs. (authors)

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Technical Note: SPEKTR 3.0—A computational tool for x-ray spectrum modeling and analysis

Purpose: A computational toolkit (SPEKTR 3.0) has been developed to calculate x-ray spectra based on the tungsten anode spectral model using interpolating cubic splines (TASMICS) algorithm, updating previous work based on the tungsten anode spectral model using interpolating polynomials (TASMIP) spectral model. The toolkit includes a MATLAB (The Mathworks, Natick, MA) function library and improved user interface (UI) along with an optimization algorithm to match calculated beam quality with measurements. Methods: The SPEKTR code generates x-ray spectra (photons/mm{sup 2}/mAs at 100 cm from the source) using TASMICS as default (with TASMIP as an option) in 1 keV energy bins over beam energies 20–150 kV, extensible to 640 kV using the TASMICS spectra. An optimization tool was implemented to compute the added filtration (Al and W) that provides a best match between calculated and measured x-ray tube output (mGy/mAs or mR/mAs) for individual x-ray tubes that may differ from that assumed in TASMICS or TASMIP and to account for factors such as anode angle. Results: The median percent difference in photon counts for a TASMICS and TASMIP spectrum was 4.15% for tube potentials in the range 30–140 kV with the largest percentage difference arising in the low and high energy bins due to measurement errors in the empirically based TASMIP model and inaccurate polynomial fitting. The optimization tool reported a close agreement between measured and calculated spectra with a Pearson coefficient of 0.98. Conclusions: The computational toolkit, SPEKTR, has been updated to version 3.0, validated against measurements and existing models, and made available as open source code. Video tutorials for the SPEKTR function library, UI, and optimization tool are available.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Comprehensive, Quantitative Risk Assessment of CO 2 Geologic Sequestration (Final Technical Report)

A Quantitative Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (QFMEA) was developed to conduct comprehensive, quantitative risk assessments on CO 2 capture, transportation, and sequestration or use in deep saline aquifers, enhanced oil recovery operations, or enhanced coal bed methane operations. The model identifies and characterizes potential risks; identifies the likely failure modes, causes, effects and methods of detection; lists possible risk prevention and risk mitigation steps; estimates potential damage recovery costs, mitigation costs and costs savings resulting from mitigation; and ranks (prioritizes) risks according to the probability of failure, the severity of failure, the difficulty of early failure detection and the potential for fatalities. The QFMEA model generates the necessary information needed for effective project risk management. Diverse project information can be integrated into a concise, common format that allows comprehensive, quantitative analysis, by a cross-functional team of experts, to determine: What can possibly go wrong? How much will damage recovery cost? How can it be prevented or mitigated? What is the cost savings or benefit of prevention or mitigation? Which risks should be given highest priority for resolution? The QFMEA model can be tailored to specific projects and is applicable to new projects as well as mature projects. The model can be revised and updated as new information comes available. It accepts input from multiple sources, such as literature searches, site characterization, field data, computer simulations, analogues, process influence diagrams, probability density functions, financial analysis models, cost factors, and heuristic best practices manuals, and converts the information into a standardized format in an Excel spreadsheet. Process influence diagrams, geologic models, financial models, cost factors and an insurance schedule were developed to support the QFMEA model. Comprehensive, quantitative risk assessments were conducted on three (3) sites using the QFMEA model: (1) SACROC Northern Platform CO 2 -EOR Site in the Permian Basin, Scurry County, TX, (2) Pump Canyon CO 2 -ECBM Site in the San Juan Basin, San Juan County, NM, and (3) Farnsworth Unit CO 2 -EOR Site in the Anadarko Basin, Ochiltree County, TX. The sites were sufficiently different from each other to test the robustness of the QFMEA model.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Material Analysis for a Fire Assessment.

This report consolidates technical information on several materials and material classes for a fire assessment. The materials include three polymeric materials, wood, and hydraulic oil. The polymers are polystyrene, polyurethane, and melamine- formaldehyde foams. Samples of two of the specific materials were tested for their behavior in a fire - like environment. Test data and the methods used to test the materials are presented. Much of the remaining data are taken from a literature survey. This report serves as a reference source of properties necessary to predict the behavior of these materials in a fire.

Brown, Alexander↗
DOE OSTI2020

Features Events and Processes Relevant to DPC Disposal Criticality Analysis

The Department of Energy is evaluating the technical feasibility of disposal of spent nuclear fuel in dual-purpose canisters in various geologies. As part of ongoing research and development, the effect of potential post-closure criticality events on repository performance is being studied. Many different features, events, and processes (FEPs) could affect the potential for criticality or the extent of a criticality event. Additionally, a criticality event could affect other FEPs. This report uses existing lists of FEPs as a starting point to evaluate the FEPs that could affect or be affected by an in- package criticality event. The evaluation indicates that most of the FEPs associated with the waste form, the waste, or the EBS have some effect on post-closure criticality and/or are affected by the consequences of post-closure criticality. In addition, FEPs not previously considered are identified for further development.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modeling, Performance Assessment, and Nodal Data Analysis of TRISO-Fueled Systems with Shift

This technical report documents several enhancements to the Shift Monte Carlo (MC) code under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program in fiscal year (FY) 2022. Performance enhancements were added to Shift specifically for tristructural isotropic (TRISO)–fueled reactor systems and guided based on performance analysis in FY 2021. For the pebble performance model developed in previous studies, the runtime improved by ~ 91× compared to the original model and ~ 2× compared to the user-optimized model. Compared to Serpent, Shift is ~ 3× slower if Serpent delta-tracking is enabled but ~ 2× faster when delta-tracking is disabled. The multigroup cross section generation was improved through simplifying tally input definitions, porting several post-processing tally operations from Python scripts into the Shift code base, and accounting for production reactions in the scattering multiplicity. Progress was also made on two emerging capabilities: (1) the development of Titan (a Shift reactor physics user interface) and (2) initial investigation into path-length tallies for computing multigroup scattering matrices.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Primary Infrarenal Aortic Stenting With or Without Iliac Stenting for Isolated and Aortoiliac Stenoses: Single-Centre Experience With Long-Term Follow-Up

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical success, complications, long-term clinical outcome, and patency after primary infrarenal aortic stenting for aortic and aortoiliac stenosis. Between January 1999 and January 2006, 22 consecutive patients underwent endovascular treatment because of infrarenal aortic stenosis with and without common iliac stenosis (10 men; mean age 64 {+-} 14 years). Eleven (11 of 22) patients had an isolated aortic stenosis, whereas 11 of 22 had aortic stenosis that extended into the common iliac arteries (CIAs). Thirteen patients were Rutherford classification type 3, and 9 patients were type 4. Statistical analysis included paired Student t test and Kaplan-Meier life table analysis; p < 0.05 was considered significant. Technical and initial clinical success was achieved in all patients. There were three (14 %) procedure-related complications, which included two access-point pseudoaneurysms and one non-flow-limiting left external iliac dissection. Patients were followed-up for a mean period of 88 months (range 60-132). Mean preprocedure ankle brachial pressure indexes (ABPI) were 0.60 {+-} -0.15 (right) and 0.61 {+-} -0.16 (left). After the procedure they were 0.86 {+-} -0.07 (right) and 0.90 {+-} -0.09 (left). The increase in ABPI was significant (p < 0.05), and this continued throughout follow-up. Four (18 %) patients had recurrence of symptoms during follow-up. These occurred at 36, 48, 48, and 50 months after the original procedure. All four patients were successfully treated with repeat angioplasty procedures. There was a significant difference in primary patency between isolated aortic stenosis (100 %) and aortoiliac stenosis (60 %) (p = 0.031). Cumulative follow-up was 1920 months yielding a reintervention rate of 0.025/events/year. Primary stenting of infrarenal stenosis is safe and successful with a low reintervention rate. It should be considered as first-line treatment for patients with infrarenal aortic stenotic disease.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Summary of NDC Capacity Building Workshop and Regional Seismic Travel Time (RSTT) in combination with Data Sharing and Integration Training

The NNSA Seismic Cooperation Program (SCP) sponsored Stephen Myers (LLNL), Michael Begnaud (LANL), Brian Young (SNL) and Istvan Bondar (Research Center for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungary) to serve as a presenters/trainers at the “NDC Capacity Building Workshop and Regional Seismic Travel Time (RSTT) in combination with Data Sharing and Integration Training” September 4-8 2022 in Muscat, Oman (See Appendix A for the agenda). The workshop and training (workshop from here forward) was organized by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS). The first half of the week was devoted to NDC workshop activities, and the second half was devoted to RSTT training. Fifty-five participants from 27 countries and the CTBTO-PTS attended the 5-day workshop (See Appendix B for list of participants and countries of origin). Presentations from the PTS described the International Monitoring System (IMS), International Data Centre (IDC) products, and metrics of regional data utilization. Contributed presentations from each country’s scientists included descriptions of regional and national networks, methods of data analysis, and needs for material and technical assistance. Training included an overview of the RSTT method and instruction on how to locate seismic events with the iLoc program, which utilizes RSTT travel times to reduce bias in event location estimates. Methods of seismic tomography and the need for a high-quality tomographic set, including seismological “ground truth”, were emphasized. Seismological “ground truth” or “GT” is a term that has come to mean both events with known location and events with well-characterized locations that are estimated using seismological data, typically with epicenter accuracy of 5 km or better. Notably, the instructional platform has migrated from UNIX shell scripts to Jupyter Notebooks. Jupyter Notebooks have the advantage being more visually intuitive, including display of graphics within the notebook. Each notebook includes every processing step that participants need to reproduce the entire exercise.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Subtask 1.3 – Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage for North Dakota Ethanol Production

Poster presented at Mastering the Subsurface Through Technology Innovation, Partnerships and Collaboration: Carbon Storage and Oil and Natural Gas Technologies Review Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1–3, 2017. University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), North Dakota ethanol producer Red Trail Energy (RTE), and North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), conducted a preliminary assessment for integrating small-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) at an industrial ethanol production facility near Richardton, North Dakota. This preliminary assessment included a technical evaluation of CCS implementation at the RTE site, development of a provisional field implementation plan (FIP), and economic analysis. Results indicated that commercial CCS is a technically and economically viable option for the significant reduction of CO 2 emissions from ethanol generation at the RTE facility.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Task 2 Report - A GIS-Based Technical Potential Assessment of Domestic Energy Resources for Electricity Generation

The purpose of this report is to support the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) in assessing the technical potential of domestic energy resources for utility scale electricity generation in the Lao PDR. Specifically, this work provides assessments of technical potential, and associated maps of developable areas, for energy technologies of interest. This report details the methodology, assumptions, and datasets employed in this analysis to provide a transparent, replicable process for future analyses. The methodology and results presented are intended to be a fundamental input to subsequent decision making and energy planning-related analyses. This report is the second output of the Energy Alternatives Study for the Lao PDR (Energy Alternatives Study), a collaboration led by MEM and the United States Agency for International Development under the auspices of the Smart Infrastructure for the Mekong program.1 The Energy Alternatives Study is composed of five successive tasks that collectively support the project’s goals as shown in FIGURE ES-1. This work is focused on Task 2 – Assess technical potential of domestic energy resources for electricity generation . The work was carried out by a team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in collaboration with MEM and other Lao power sector stakeholders. This work concentrates on domestic energy resources for utility-scale electricity generation and considers solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, biomass, and coal resources. This work does not consider potentially imported energy resources (e.g., natural gas) or domestic energy resources that are not present in sufficient quantity for utility-scale generation (e.g., geothermal resources). A technical potential assessment of hydropower resources is currently not feasible due to the absence of required data including site-level assessments of multiple characteristics (e.g., geology environment and access) as well as spatial data on estimated non-exploited hydropower resources (Lee et al. 2018). Previous studies estimated total hydropower resource potential to be between 23,000 and 26,000 MW, of which approximately 3,894 MW has been developed (IES and MKE 2016; MEM 2015b, 2011). MEM and Électricité du Laos have gained significant experience in the evaluation and development of hydropower resources and expect to develop close to 10,034 MW of additional capacity by 2025 (MEM 2017).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis and Recommendation of Alpha-Beta Continuous Air Monitor Alarm Setpoints for the RPL Stack Exhaust

The Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) alpha-beta continuous air monitor (CAM) is used for real-time detection of “artificial” alpha-beta particulates from the stack exhaust. The CAM interfaces with software developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory—called the “PNNL OS3300 Alpha-Beta Monitoring Software”—that provides real-time estimates of alpha-beta air concentrations and integrated activities that are calculated from measured CAM counts. The OS3300 software has alarm setpoints that can be used to provide an early indication of larger releases, that if allowed to persist, could approach defined dose limits. This report performs a detailed review of historical and current alarm setpoints used at RPL, including discussion of the technical basis used in their development, analysis of alarm frequencies using measured historical data, and performs a detailed dose assessment using more realistic release scenarios, meteorology, and adjustment factors used in estimating released stack activity. Based on the results, the alpha and beta air concentration alarm setpoints will remain 1.77 × 10 -8 µCi/ml and 3.47 × 10 -8 µCi/ml, respectively; and the alpha and beta integrated activity alarm setpoints will remain 70.22 µCi and 137.63 µCi, respectively. These setpoints achieve the right operational balance in identifying larger releases from planned radiological work at RPL, without being overly conservative so as to cause nuisance alarming. Furthermore, implied doses associated with these setpoints are below defined and regulatory limits.

325RPL↗
DOE OSTI2013

Screening and Spectral Summing of LANL Empty Waste Drums - 13226

Empty 55-gallon drums that formerly held transuranic (TRU) waste (often over-packed in 85- gallon drums) are generated at LANL and require radiological characterization for disposition. These drums are typically measured and analyzed individually using high purity germanium (HPGe) gamma detectors. This approach can be resource and time intensive. For a project requiring several hundred drums to be characterized in a short time frame, an alternative approach was developed. The approach utilizes a combination of field screening and spectral summing that was required to be technically defensible and meet the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS) Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). In the screening phase of the operation, the drums were counted for 300 seconds (compared to 600 seconds for the typical approach) and checked against Low Level (LL)/TRU thresholds established for each drum configuration and detector. Multiple TRU nuclides and multiple gamma rays for each nuclide were evaluated using an automated spreadsheet utility that can process data from up to 42 drums at a time. Screening results were reviewed by an expert analyst to confirm the field LL/TRU determination. The spectral summing analysis technique combines spectral data (channel-by-channel) associated with a group of individual waste containers producing a composite spectrum. The grouped drums must meet specific similarity criteria. Another automated spreadsheet utility was used to spectral sum data from an unlimited number of similar drums grouped together. The composite spectrum represents a virtual combined drum for the group of drums and was analyzed using the SNAP{sup TM}/Radioassay Data Sheet (RDS)/Batch Data Report (BDR) method. The activity results for a composite virtual drum were divided equally amongst the individual drums to generate characterization results for each individual drum in the group. An initial batch of approximately 500 drums were measured and analyzed in less than 2 months in 2011. A second batch of approximately 500 more drums were measured and analyzed during the following 2 1/2 months. Four different HPGe detectors were employed for the operation. The screening and spectral summing approach can reduce the overall measurement and analysis time required. However, developing the technical details and automation spreadsheets requires a significant amount of expert time prior to beginning field operations and must be considered in the overall project schedule. This approach has continued to be used for characterizing several hundred more empty drums in 2012 and is planned to continue in 2013. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis and Recommendation of Tritium Gas Continuous Air Monitor Alarm Setpoints for the RPL Stack Exhaust

The Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) tritium continuous air monitor (CAM) is used for near real-time detection of tritium gas (i.e., elemental tritium [HT] and tritiated water vapor [HTO]) in the stack exhaust. The CAM interfaces with software developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)—called the “PNNL OS3700 Tritium Monitoring Software”—that provides near real-time estimates of tritium gas air concentrations and integrated daily activities that are calculated from measured CAM counts. The OS3700 software implements alarm setpoints to alert the facility of larger tritium gas releases that if allowed to persist, could begin to challenge permitted emission and established dose constraints. This report performs a detailed review of historical and current tritium alarm setpoints used at RPL, including discussion of the technical basis used in their development, analysis of alarm frequencies using measured historical data, and performs a detailed dose assessment using more realistic release scenarios and meteorology. Based on the results, the tritium air concentration and integrated daily tritium activity alarm setpoints will remain 2.0 × 10 -5 µCi/ml and 25 Ci/day, respectively. These setpoints achieve the right operational balance in identifying larger releases from planned tritium work at RPL, without being overly conservative so as to cause nuisance alarming. Furthermore, implied doses associated with these setpoints are well below defined and regulatory limits.

325RPL↗
DOE OSTI2016

Annual Report for Los Alamos National Laboratory Technical Area 54, Area G Disposal Facility – Fiscal Year 2015

As a condition to the disposal authorization statement issued to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) on March 17, 2010, a comprehensive performance assessment and composite analysis maintenance program must be implemented for the Technical Area 54, Area G disposal facility. Annual determinations of the adequacy of the performance assessment and composite analysis (PA/CA) are to be conducted under the maintenance program to ensure that the conclusions reached by those analyses continue to be valid. This report summarizes the results of the fiscal year (FY) 2015 annual review for Area G.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗