Contaminated Metal Components in Dismantling by Hot Cutting Processes

During the preparatory dismantling activities of Caorso’s Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), an experimental campaign using plasma and oxyacetylene metal cutting processes has been performed and applied to plates and tubes exposed to the coolant steam of the reactor. The plant (Boiling Water Reactor, 870 MWe) was designed and built in the 70s, and it was fully operating by 1981 to 1986 being shut down after 1987 Italy’s poll that abrogated nuclear power based on U235 fission. The campaign concerns no activated materials, even if the analyses have been performed of by use contaminated components under the free release level, not yet taking into account radioactivity. In this paper, the parameters related to inhalable aerosol, solid and volatile residuals production have been, studied during hot processes which applies the same characteristics of the cutting in field for the dismantling programs of Caorso NPP. The technical parameters such as cutting time and cutting rate vs. pipe diameter/thickness/schedule or plate thickness for ferritic alloys and the emissions composition coming from the sectioning are also reported. The results underline the sort of trouble that can emerge in the cutting processes, in particular focusing on the effects comparison between the two cutting processes and the chemical composition of powders captured by filtering the gaseous emission. Some preliminary considerations on methodology to be used during the dismantling have been presented.