Gloveb oxes and Hoods

DOE-HDBK-3010-94

Appendix B; Production Support Lab

3.1.3.1 G loveb oxes an d H ood s

Gloveboxes used in the H Plant are typical 304L stainless steel units machined to a smooth

surface inside. The gloveboxes are mounted on stantions anchored to and grouted into the

concrete floors of the facility. The windows are 0.5-inch plate glass with 0.25 inches of

lexan mounted over them on the external glovebox frame. All gloveboxes in the analytical

laboratory are equipped with plexiglass and lexan end hood units that have airlock doors to

allow entry and exit of samples from the glovebox. Many sampling gloveboxes consist of

several small units bolted together in a line with airlock doors separating each major section.

The typical steel hood is 4.5-feet tall, 3.5-feet wide, and 2.5-feet deep. A vertically sliding

pane of 0.25 inch thick safety glass moves on track mounting equipped with limiting stops

for upward motion. These stops ensure that for normal operation the hood will be pulling a

minimum of 150 cfm of room air to prevent any potential contamination backflow. Only

aliquots of samples, as opposed to the full concentration sample material, are handled in the

hoods.

3.1.3.2 A irlock s

The lab is divided up into airlock zones to minimize the chance of spreading contamination.

One set of airlocks separates those rooms containing radionuclide-handling equipment from

the rest of the processing enclosure. A second set of airlocks separates the processing

enclosure and HEPA filtration plenums from the general use areas of the building. One

individual airlock separates the H-7 building from the H-1 building at the sample transfer

location.

The primary airlocks isolate the eight analysis rooms from the rest of the operating area.

Unlike the processing line rooms, the analytical line rooms are not separated into

maintenance and operating sides so that one airlock can serve as an entry point to the

complete room.

The primary airlocks consist of an enclosure defined by two doors. One set leads to a

glovebox room (or one of the other areas noted above), while the other set leads out into a

corridor. Both the outer and inner doors have a combination lock for entry. A hand and

shoe monitor is installed in the airlock for use when exiting the potentially contaminated

area.

The secondary airlocks separate the facility utility room, change room, and office space from

the primary processing enclosure. There are four of these units in the building, and they

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