Actual results of D and D in uranium refining and conversion plant

Sugitsue, Noritake

The Uranium Refining and Conversion Plant (URCP) is an institution owned by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The URCP was dismantled in FY 2008 to FY 2013. Dismantling produced about 480 tons of waste over a total manpower time of 12 000 man-days. The amount of uranium that was present inside the main equipment for dismantling was surveyed before decommissioning the URCP. This information is important for drawing up a D and D plan. No special tools were used in dismantling of the URCP, but saws and plasma cutting tools were employed. In addition, large-sized equipment was detached from the plant, moved to the cutting hood, and cut within the hood, which improved the working efficiency. As a result, the necessary manpower was reduced by 15%. This is the first case in Japan of the decommissioning a nuclear fuel facility of a commercial scale. For this reason, a system was constructed to collect the dismantling work records using mark sensing cards.