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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

DOC-WMF - A Generic Model for Assessment of Waste Disposal Facilities - 19278

Numerical models and computer codes play an important role in the safety assessment of nuclear waste disposal facilities, as well as in the regulatory review of proponents' safety assessments. An important part of a safety assessment is the radiation dose calculation. This paper presents a computer code called DOC-WMF for calculating radiation dose from nuclear waste disposal facilities. DOC-WMF is a generic code that could be used for dose calculations for deep geological or near surface disposal facilities of nuclear wastes. DOC-WMF is much faster than complicated 3-D numerical models in terms of computational speed since the model uses the commercial code GoldSim as the computation engine which is based on analytical solutions for contaminant transport. As a result, it enables a user to quickly assess the dose consequences of multiple options or scenarios for a nuclear waste disposal facility. DOC-WMF was adapted from, and an improvement to, the Scoping of Options and Analyzing Risk (SOAR) model developed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC). A key improvement over the SOAR model is that DOC-WMF allows the calculation of dose contributions from other pathways such as food ingestion and air inhalation in addition to the drinking water pathway which is the sole dose contribution considered in the SOAR model. DOC-WMF also allows for: the consideration of 55 radionuclides with option to add more if required; the choice of source release method; various pathways to the biosphere; and dose calculations including an extended array of exposure pathways. In addition, DOC-WMF can simulate more complex hydrogeological settings and waste forms than SOAR does. DOC-WMF was compared against known analytical solutions for verification. It was then applied to two test cases and the results were compared. The first was a hypothetical deep geological disposal repository. The second test case was a near-surface nuclear waste disposal facility. DOC-WMF independently modeled these two test cases and achieved similar results as the more complicated numerical models did. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Taking in Nuclear Operation of the Plasma Facility for Treatment Industrial Radioactive Waste - 19346

The operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, the nuclear fuel cycle in general, research laboratories and pharmaceutical, medical and industrial facilities generate low-level radioactive waste which, along with the historical radioactive waste from past nuclear activities, needs to be treated and stored, awaiting final disposal. Plasma technology offers a very effective way of treating this waste with a high volume reduction factor (VRF), free from organics, liquids and moisture, and meets without a doubt the acceptance criteria for safe storage and disposal. By means of a plasma beam of approximately 5000 deg. C, the inorganic materials are melted into a glassy slag, containing most of the radioactive isotopes while the organic material is gasified and afterwards oxidized in an afterburner and purified in an off-gas cleaning system. This paper describes the principles of plasma, the different waste feed systems, off-gas treatment and operational experience and future plasma plants. More specifically, it presents the new full-scale plasma facility for the treatment of radioactive waste at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria for which construction and assembly was finalized end of August 2016. It also describes in more detail the Site Acceptance Tests (SAT) of this facility. Previous paper describes the construction and testing of the plasma melting facility at the Kozloduy NPP in Bulgaria. Now the paper focus on the nuclear starting up conducted in May 2018 with real radioactive waste and illustrates the first operational results such as types of waste treated, volume reduction factors, etc The Project was co-financed through a grant by Kozloduy International Decommissioning fund (KIDSF) administrated by the EBRD and through Bulgarian national funding -Nuclear Facilities Decommissioning Fund and Radioactive Waste Fund. The KIDSF is funded by the European Union as well by the contributors to the KIDSF - Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and Switzerland. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Application of the PHDS Germanium Gamma-ray Imager (GeGI) in Facility Decontamination Assessment - 19471

As part of a site wide investigation, U.S. EPA Region 5 had to assess the nature and extent of contamination in a former radioactive source manufacturing facility. This work involved verification of the radioisotope expected, ensuring no other radioisotopes were present, and quantification of the activity and areal extent of contamination throughout the facility. The device used to support this assessment work was the Germanium Gamma-ray Imager (GeGI) manufactured by PHDS Co. of Knoxville, Tennessee. GeGI is a germanium-semiconductor imaging detector system that provides identification, location, and quantification of radioactive materials within its field of view. GeGI provides the highest fidelity radiological assay information including the best gamma-ray energy resolution and spatial localization of any existing technology, including gamma-ray energy resolution of ∼0.3% full-width half-max (FWHM) at 662 keV and angular location resolution ∼ +/-1 degree. The GeGI is a mechanically cooled, portable system well-suited to field operations. PHDS Co. also provided on-site support during assessment operations and performed subsequent data analysis. Gamma-ray spectral data and associated images were collected with GeGI in six primary areas of the facility having significant residual contamination. A total of 61 gamma-ray spectrum/image sets were collected over the course of three working days (22 Compton images and 39 Pinhole/Compton images). During data collection, Compton imaging was used as the means by which to identify and prioritize hotspots. After contaminated regions were identified via Compton imaging, short-distance Pinhole spectrum/image sets were collected for additional analysis. All of the spectrum/image sets were analyzed to determine the radioisotope distribution within the GeGI field of view, as well as to provide an estimate of the activity associated with each hotspot. It was determined that the nature of residual contamination present was distributed across specific areas of elevated activity, where in some areas there was significant accumulation of contaminated material. It was also determined that no discrete sources of high-activity were present, as would be expected in the case of radioactive material product intended for sealed source manufacture. Results included the activity of residual contamination for each of the areas assessed, and an estimate of the physical area over which that contamination was distributed. It was anticipated by EPA that if decontamination were to be performed that it would involve some type of concrete scabbling or other means of physical removal of contaminated material. The GeGI data could be used to estimate the areal extent (square footage) of concrete removal that would be required for decontamination. Using the activity estimate data from the GeGI along with an estimated depth of concrete removal, planning could be performed for decontamination work (equipment and personnel), waste collection, packaging, transportation, and disposal, along with an associated cost estimate. With regard to health and safety, use of the GeGI reduced the radiation dose to the EPA R5 staff performing the assessment work. The GeGI is a non-destructive device that supports assessment of radioactively contaminated areas and sources from a distance, reducing the need for close contact to radiation, and the time necessary for personnel to operate near such hazards. Use of the GeGI in this facility assessment was our first attempt to apply this technology in what proved to be a quick and efficient decontamination assessment method. The GeGI can assess the nature and extent of residual contamination in a facility, first by quickly identifying the areas of elevated activity, followed by refined measurement and assessment of those elevated areas. The GeGI data can then be used to develop planning and a cost estimate of required decontamination and waste management activities. Since it's a non-destructive gamma identification and imaging device, it can reduce the distance of workers from radioactive sources and the dose incurred from assessment work. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Safety Classification and Design Rules for Structures, Systems and Components in a Near Surface Disposal Facility-Post Closure Phase - 19716

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is developing a Near Surface Disposal Facility (NSDF) to be constructed at its Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) site. In general, a NSDF is a facility for radioactive waste disposal, under an engineered cover, located at or within a few meters of the earth's surface. The NSDF will establish a safe, local and permanent means for the disposal of low level radioactive waste. The NSDF is intended to dispose historic waste currently in interim storage as well as waste arising from building decommissioning and environmental remediation activities. The NSDF is to be composed of engineered containment mound, waste water treatment plant and other supporting facilities and infrastructures that are needed to preserve radioactive waste. The NSDF life cycle will comprise two distinct phases: pre closure and post closure. The pre closure phase involves construction, operation and closure activities. The post closure phase includes institutional control and post-institutional control to ensure long term safety and radiological acceptability of the disposal facility. As part of the evolving activities for the NSDF project, a process is developed in accordance with Canadian regulations and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) principles to classify systems that comprise NSDF for safe operation, long term safety of the disposal facility and the protection of workers, the public and the environment. This paper describes the methodology developed to classify Structures, Systems and Components (SSCs) important to safety in post closure phase and determine their design rules. The design rules are the relevant codes, standards and proven engineering practices that should be applied, as appropriate, to the design of SSCs to meet the applicable design requirements. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Current Status of the Synroc Waste Treatment Facility - 20263

Construction of the Synroc Waste Treatment Facility is well underway at ANSTO. This plant has been designed to treat intermediate level liquid waste arising from the production of Mo-99 within the newly constructed ANSTO Nuclear Medicine (ANM) precinct [1]. The facility utilises ANSTO Synroc technology that has been tailored to the chemical, physical, and radiological properties of the waste. The result is a highly durable wasteform with a significant reduction in the final volume of the treated waste. This paper presents the construction status of the Synroc Waste Treatment Facility and the status of the associated technology maturation plan. Construction of the building is scheduled for completion in late 2020 followed by process installation and commissioning. A key component of the technology maturation plan has been the construction of an Inactive Engineering Demonstrator [2]. This has aided in the mitigation of risks with respect to technology selection, process integration, and process nuclearisation. Furthermore, the demonstration facility has provided an environment for the design and development of the instrumentation and control philosophy resulting in a seamlessly integrated plant control system. Successful demonstration of the technology by the inactive engineering demonstrator has significantly reduced the associated risks. Details of the Synroc Waste Treatment Facility project progress will also be presented. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Port Hope Areas Initiative's Port Granby Project: The Decontamination of Site Equipment from a Low Level Waste Facility - 20330

The Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI) is the Government of Canada's response to the community recommended solutions for the remediation and safe, long-term management of historic low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) that was the result of uranium and radium processing operations in the Municipality of Port Hope, Ontario from the 1930's to the 1980's. The Eldorado refinery, on the shores of Lake Ontario, began refining radium-226 from pitchblende ore, later transitioning to the refining of uranium ore. Process residues were deposited at the Welcome Waste Management Facility in Port Hope until the mid-1950's switching to the Port Granby Waste Management Facility (PGWMF), which continued to accept waste until the late 1980's. The Port Granby Project involves the construction of a new, secure long-term waste management facility (LTWMF) and supporting infrastructure, and the excavation and relocation of approximately 1,200,000 m{sup 3} of historic low-level radioactive waste and marginally contaminated soil from the PGWMF to the newly constructed LTWMF. Since the project's inception in 2016, the bulk of the material has since been moved to the final long term storage cell. This has taken over 500,000 person-hours and a large amount of one site heavy equipment to accomplish including excavators, bulldozers, rock trucks, baker tanks and vacuum trucks. While many of the pieces of heavy equipment and water management equipment has further work to do on site, several of the sites larger items have already undergone the decontamination process prior to release from the site. This process has posed a serious challenge as the waste has a caustic nature to it and over the last few years it has had time to work its way into the metallic structures and framework of the equipment. Coupled with the tight work spaces and in some cases confined work areas there have been many issues that needed to be addressed to successfully reach a state where items can be free released to the unrestricted limits of the sites license. This ongoing process has led to a more refined decontamination program at the Port Granby Facility and has had a rather high success rate considering the length of time the equipment has been exposed to the waste materials on site. This paper discusses the varied challenges of decontamination faced at a low-level radioactive waste facility with a focus on the following aspects: - Challenges faced regarding different equipment types and the solutions implemented by Wood to address these challenges; - An examination of various decontamination methods employed throughout the project; and - Lessons learned over three years of remediation work and how they impact the decontamination process. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Equity Considerations in Siting Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities for Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

Questions of equity and fairness are often raised by representatives from State, Tribal and local governments and members of the public when resolving conflicts over siting of nuclear facilities. However, the two terms are not synonymous: equity can be quantified while fairness is much more subjective. The Department of Energy's (DOE) December 2021 Request for Information sought input on how to site federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) using a consent-based approach. It is anticipated that just such questions about equity and fairness associated with the potential emergence of more than one host site may be raised by the twelve groups of university, nonprofit and private sector partners (Consortia) working to support community engagement, inclusively involve stakeholders, build relationships, and develop innovative forms of mutual learning and public capacity to participate in the consent-based siting process for a federal consolidated interim storage facility during the current Planning & Capacity Building stage of the consent-based siting process. In terms of DOE's Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS), sociopolitical equity concepts are a factor in all aspects of IWMS development and operations and will be particularly applicable should two or more host sites become a possibility, either by the emergence of multiple volunteer hosts or by pursuit as a IWMS program strategy. This paper summarizes recent analyses that explore how four equity metrics - number of states, division of the projected SNF total by the year 2083, current population and land area - might be perceived by host communities, states and regions if two, three or four sites for hosting federal consolidated interim storage facilities were to be contemporaneously realized. Existing institutional arrangements, including Nuclear Regulatory Commission regions, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regions and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compacts, were selected to create hypothetically merged two, three and four-region scenarios to calculate how the four metrics balance out. Projected SNF burden was prioritized with regional contiguity of the consolidated regions a requirement for a functional scenario. The intent was not to promote or suggest any construct as a program objective; the configurations are geopolitical abstractions only to explore potential perceptions of equity. Understanding the possible issues of equity that could arise may benefit program efforts toward achieving a cooperative federalism wherein both the federal and multiple State governments share the goal of manifesting more than one federal consolidated interim storage facility. The main finding is that it is not possible to optimize for all four metrics simultaneously. The analyses demonstrate that trying to create a sense of equity by backfitting a solution to a random population and land distribution will always contain a degree of artificiality.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Design, Fabrication and Start-up of Test Facilities for the LAWPS Full-Scale IX Column Test and Engineering Scale Test - 17418

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection's (ORP) primary mission is to retrieve and treat Hanford's tank waste and close the Tank Farms to protect the Columbia River. Mixed radioactive waste is stored in 177 underground tanks at the Hanford Site as reported in DOE/ORP 2003-02, Environmental Impact Statement for Retrieval, Treatment, and Disposal of Tank Waste and Closure of the Single Shell Tanks at the Hanford Site, Richland WA, Inventory and Source Term Data Package. The 177 underground tanks are estimated to contain about 56 million gallons of waste. The Low Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) Project provides for the early production of immobilized low activity waste (ILAW) by feeding LAW directly from Tank Farms to the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant's (WTP's) LAW Facility, bypassing the Pretreatment Facility. Prior to the transfer of feed to the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility, tank supernatant waste will be pretreated in the LAWPS to meet the WTP LAW waste acceptance criteria. The LAWPS will also facilitate the return of secondary liquid wastes from the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility to the Tank Farms. In November of 2015 DOE's Tank Operations Contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), awarded a contract to the AECOM Team to design, fabricate and operate two test platforms to generate performance data at two different scales and demonstrate technology maturation. The first platform models the ion exchange (IX) columns at full scale, and the second platform models the integrated flowsheet (cross flow filter (CFF) and IX) at 1/9. scale. Both test platforms underwent shakedown and start-up testing in August 2016 and moved into actual testing and NQA-1 data generation shortly thereafter. This paper covers the engineering design, procurement, construction, installation, and acceptance testing of the test platforms (which are now operational) under an aggressive fast track schedule, and initial test data as available. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Environmentally improved CdTe photovoltaic recycling through novel technologies and facility location strategies

Abstract Photovoltaic waste is projected to reach up to 78 million tons across globally dispersed locations through 2050. Current recycling infrastructure is inadequate to process these waste volumes responsibly. This necessitates commercializing novel, environmentally advantageous photovoltaic recycling technologies that improve upon incumbent industrial operations. CdTe photovoltaic recycling is a promising candidate for improvements as 25,000 tons of spent modules are recycled worldwide annually. This paper evaluates the operational performance and compares six novel technologies, the incumbent technology used in industry and one technology which extends the incumbent process across ten environmental impact categories. The tradeoff between incurring a transportation burden (ship or road) to recycle in a large‐scale centralized facility with a higher operational efficiency and avoiding transportation by recycling in a small‐scale decentralized facility with a lower operational efficiency is evaluated. Thermal delamination to eliminate the ethylene vinyl acetate and separate the photovoltaic glass panels is preferable to the incumbent mechanical process across nine environmental impact categories and decreases the climate‐change impact of CdTe photovoltaic recycling by 23%. Bath and probe sonication are ineffective for delamination, and the use of organic solvents is more environmentally burdensome than the incumbent mechanical process. Centralized recycling with shipping is environmentally preferable than with road‐based transportation. For every 100‐km increase in road transportation from the decentralized to the centralized facility, the inventory requirement in the centralized facility should be 6% lower than the decentralized facility for centralized recycling to have a lower climate‐change impact than decentralized recycling. The corresponding value for shipping is 0.4%.

Ravikumar, Dwarakanath↗
DOE OSTI2025

60 years of science in ICF: from conception to scientific breakeven on the National Ignition Facility

The recent achievements of a burning plasma, fusion ignition, and scientific energy gain with deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) represents a major milestone in the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and all of fusion research. In these experiments, fuel pressures well in excess of hundreds of GBars were achieved in the compressed fuel, and robust alpha heating of the fuel, far in excess of the energy provided by the implosion, were demonstrated for the first time. These achievements occurred 60 years after the inception of ICF and the first laser demonstration, and were made possible by more than five decades of research at laser facilities around the world. Advances in laser technology both in wavelength and precision, motivated by improved understanding of laser-plasma interaction physics and the demands of targets; improvements in target fabrication inspired by the need to control and minimize hydrodynamic instabilities in the implosion; and multi-dimensional simulations and diagnostics have been critical to this achievement. This paper will summarize the scientific and technical advances, the surprises, and the challenges that had to be overcome to achieve these goals.

fusion↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimizing High-Throughput Inference on Graph Neural Networks at Shared Computing Facilities with the NVIDIA Triton Inference Server

Abstract With machine learning applications now spanning a variety of computational tasks, multi-user shared computing facilities are devoting a rapidly increasing proportion of their resources to such algorithms. Graph neural networks (GNNs), for example, have provided astounding improvements in extracting complex signatures from data and are now widely used in a variety of applications, such as particle jet classification in high energy physics (HEP). However, GNNs also come with an enormous computational penalty that requires the use of GPUs to maintain reasonable throughput. At shared computing facilities, such as those used by physicists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), methodical resource allocation and high throughput at the many-user scale are key to ensuring that resources are being used as efficiently as possible. These facilities, however, primarily provide CPU-only nodes, which proves detrimental to time-to-insight and computational throughput for workflows that include machine learning inference. In this work, we describe how a shared computing facility can use the NVIDIA Triton Inference Server to optimize its resource allocation and computing structure, recovering high throughput while scaling out to multiple users by massively parallelizing their machine learning inference. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this system in a realistic multi-user environment, we use the Fermilab Elastic Analysis Facility augmented with the Triton Inference Server to provide scalable and high-throughput access to a HEP-specific GNN and report on the outcome.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Unanticipated potential cancer risk near metal recycling facilities

Metal recycling is an important growing industry. Prior to this study, area sources consisting of metal recycling facilities fell in a category of limited regulatory scrutiny because of assumed low levels of annual emissions. Initiating with community complaints of nuisance from smoke, dust and odor, the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) began a monitoring program outside metal recycler facilities and found metal particulates in outdoor ambient air at levels which could pose a carcinogenic human health risk. In a study of five similar metal recycler facilities which used a torch cutting process, air downwind and outside the facility was sampled for eight hours between 6 and 10 times each over 18 months using a mobile laboratory. Ten background locations were also sampled. Iron, manganese, copper, chromium, nickel, lead, cobalt, cadmium and mercury were detected downwind of the metal recyclers at frequencies ranging from 100% of the time for iron to 2% of the time for mercury. Of these metals, chromium, nickel, lead, cobalt, cadmium and mercury were not detected in any sample in the background. Two pairs of samples were analyzed for total chromium and hexavalent chromium to establish a ratio of the fraction of hexavalent chromium in total chromium. This fraction was used to estimate hexavalent chromium at all locations. The carcinogenic risk posed to a residential receptor from metal particulate matter concentrations in the ambient air attributed to the metal recyclers was estimated from each of the five facilities in an effort to rank the importance of this source and inform the need for further investigation. The total risk from these area sources ranged from an increased cancer risk of 1 in 1,000,000 to 6 in 10,000 using the 95th upper confidence limit of the mean of the carcinogenic metal particulate matter concentration, assuming the point of the exposure is the sample location for a residential receptor after accounting for wind direction and the number of shifts that could operate a year. Further study is warranted to better understand the metal air pollution levels in the community and if necessary, to evaluate the feasibility of emission controls and identify operational improvements and best management practices for this industry. This research adds two new aspects to the literature: identification of types and magnitude of metal particulate matter air pollutants associated with a previously unrecognized area source, metal recyclers and their potential risk to health. -- Highlights: • Air monitoring study in response to community complaints found metal contamination. • Metal recyclers found to potentially pose cancer from metal particulates • Chromium, nickel, cobalt and cadmium samples were detected in five metal recyclers. • These metals were not detected in background air samples. • Estimated increased cancer risk ranges from 1 in 1,000,000 to 8 in 10,000.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Representativity error scaling of models of the high temperature test facility

Error scaling is a critical step toward the validation of modeling capabilities for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). Extensive effort is being made to bring HTGRs into the validation basis of numerous thermal-hydraulics codes. Here, this paper demonstrates how systems-level codes can be leveraged to perform error scaling analyses between an experimental facility and a plant-to-be facility. Specifically, we focus on two conduction cooldown experiments from the High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) and the General Atomics 350 MW th modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (MHTGR-350). The error scaling methodology employed in this study is representativity, which in the context of this work was used to quantify how well experiments captured the physics of the plant facility by comparing sensitivity vectors between the two facilities. In addition, two different RELAP5–3D models of the HTTF were included in the comparison to determine if modeling methodologies notably impact the representativity results. The key figures of merit are the maximum block temperature and the coolant outlet temperature. The time-dependent maximum block temperature had a low representativity of below 0.1 for both models across both transients. The coolant outlet temperature had a higher representativity of around 0.6 for both models during the pressurized conduction cooldown, but it was below 0.2 for the depressurized conduction cooldown. Overall, the HTTF experiments were not representative of the transients in the MHTGR-350. However, these results can play a significant role in informing future potential experiments for HTGR systems that iterate on what the HTTF accomplished.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Source Term Estimates of Radioxenon Released from the BaTek Medical Isotope Production Facility Using External Measured Air Concentrations

Abstract Batan Teknologi (BaTek) operates an isotope production facility in Serpong, Indonesia that supplies 99mTc for use in medical procedures. Atmospheric releases of Xe-133 in the production process at BaTek are known to influence the measurements taken at the closest stations of the International Monitoring System (IMS). The purpose of the IMS is to detect evidence of nuclear explosions, including atmospheric releases of radionuclides. The xenon isotopes released from BaTek are the same as those produced in a nuclear explosion, but the isotopic ratios are different. Knowledge of the magnitude of releases from the isotope production facility helps inform analysts trying to decide whether a specific measurement result came from a nuclear explosion. A stack monitor deployed at BaTek in 2013 measured releases to the atmosphere for several isotopes. The facility operates on a weekly cycle, and the stack data for June 15-21, 2013 show a release of 1.84E13 Bq of Xe-133. Concentrations of Xe-133 in the air are available at the same time from a xenon sampler located 14 km from BaTek. An optimization process using atmospheric transport modeling and the sampler air concentrations produced a release estimate of 1.88E13 Bq. The same optimization process yielded a release estimate of 1.70E13 Bq for a different week in 2012. The stack release value and the two optimized estimates are all within 10 percent of each other. Weekly release estimates of 1.8E13 Bq and a 40 percent facility operation rate yields a rough annual release estimate of 3.7E13 Bq of Xe-133. This value is consistent with previously published estimates of annual releases for this facility, which are based on measurements at three IMS stations. These multiple lines of evidence cross-validate the stack release estimates and the release estimates from atmospheric samplers.

atmospheric modeling↗
DOE OSTI2024

Scaling methodologies and similarity analysis for thermal hydraulics test facility development for water-cooled small modular reactor

Small modular reactors (SMRs) represent a promising option for providing clean and sustainable energy due to their potential for enhanced safety, reduced capital costs, and increased siting flexibility. However, new reactor systems require the development and operation of representative scaled-down test facilities to support the verification and validation of system computer codes and models. Here this study reviews the research on scaling methodologies and similarity principles pivotal in developing non-nuclear integral effects test and separate effects test facilities for water-cooled SMRs. The study focuses on a review of the scaling methods, similarity approaches, and possible challenges posed by the unique and compact design features of integral-pressurized water reactor-type SMRs, and their representative test facilities. This study also reviews previous research related to scaling and similarity methodologies and provides insights into design considerations for achieving prototypic conditions in test facilities. The findings and recommendations emphasize the broader impact of appropriate scaling and similarity principles to ensure meaningful and transferable results from non-nuclear test facilities to accelerate the safe and efficient deployment of next-generation water-cooled SMRs.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Opportunities for retrieval and tool augmented large language models in scientific facilities

Upgrades to advanced scientific user facilities such as next-generation x-ray light sources, nanoscience centers, and neutron facilities are revolutionizing our understanding of materials across the spectrum of the physical sciences, from life sciences to microelectronics. However, these facility and instrument upgrades come with a significant increase in complexity. Driven by more exacting scientific needs, instruments and experiments become more intricate each year. This increased operational complexity makes it ever more challenging for domain scientists to design experiments that effectively leverage the capabilities of and operate on these advanced instruments. Large language models (LLMs) can perform complex information retrieval, assist in knowledge-intensive tasks across applications, and provide guidance on tool usage. Using x-ray light sources, leadership computing, and nanoscience centers as representative examples, we describe preliminary experiments with a Context-Aware Language Model for Science (CALMS) to assist scientists with instrument operations and complex experimentation. With the ability to retrieve relevant information from facility documentation, CALMS can answer simple questions on scientific capabilities and other operational procedures. With the ability to interface with software tools and experimental hardware, CALMS can conversationally operate scientific instruments. By making information more accessible and acting on user needs, LLMs could expand and diversify scientific facilities’ users and accelerate scientific output.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2013

Low background counting at the LBNL low background facility

The Low Background Facility (LBF) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, California provides low background gamma spectroscopy services to end-users in two unique facilities: locally within a carefully-constructed, low background laboratory space; and a satellite underground station (600 m.w.e) in Oroville, CA. These facilities provide a variety of gamma spectroscopy services to low background experiments primarily in the form of passive material screening for primordial radioisotopes (U, Th, K) or common cosmogenic and anthropogenic products, as well as active screening via neutron activation analysis for specific applications. A general overview of the facilities, services, and capabilities will be discussed. Recent activities will also be presented, including the recent installation of a 3π muon veto at the surface facility, cosmogenic activation studies of TeO{sub 2} for CUORE, and environmental monitoring of Fukushima fallout.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

The ISOLDE facility and the HIE-HISOLDE project: Recent highlights

The ISOLDE facility at CERN has as objective the production, study and research of nuclei far from stability. The facility provides low energy radioactive beams and post-accelerated beams. In the last 45 years the ISOLDE facility has gathered unique expertise in research with radioactive beams. Over 700 isotopes of more than 70 elements have been used in a wide range of research domains, including cutting edge studies in nuclear structure, atomic physics, nuclear astrophysics, and fundamental interactions. These nuclear probes are also used to do frontier research in solid state and life sciences. There is an on-going upgrade of the facility, the HIE-ISOLDE project, which aims to improve the ISOLDE capabilities in a wide front, from an energy increase of the post-accelerated beam to improvements in beam quality and beam purity. The first phase of HIE-ISOLDE will start for physics in the autumn of 2015 with an upgrade of energy for all post-accelerated ISOLDE beams up to 5.5 MeV/u. In this contribution the most recent highlights of the facility are presented.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗