Development of a method of periodic safety review to cope with the aging degradation of hot laboratories

Tamaoki, Yuichi ; Omori, Tsuyoshi; Fujishima, Tadatsune ; Mizukoshi, Yasutaka ; Sakamoto, Naoki 

Post irradiation examinations are conducted in hot laboratories in Oarai Research and Development Center of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in order to develop fuels and materials for fast reactors. These facilities, the majority of which were constructed in the 1970s, have accumulated operating experience over a period of more than 40 years. Continuous operational safety requires the maintenance of important equipment such as electronic devices, manipulators, in-cell cranes, as well as air conditioning and ventilation systems. A method for the periodic safety review for hot laboratories based on the periodic safety review method employed for preventive maintenance at commercialized power reactors in Japan has been developed. In this paper, the status of implementation of the periodic safety review for hot laboratories using the safety review method are introduced.