SRS Old Tritium Extraction Facility

DOE-HDBK-1129-99

The TRL used approximately 100 oil-type vacuum pumps. Oil-free vacuum pumps were not as

common when the TRL was designed. The vacuum pump oil becomes contaminated with

tritium during use. At some DOE locations, tritium-contaminated oil is regulated as a mixed

waste. Handling the tritium-contaminated oil is a significant safety hazard to operating

personnel and should be eliminated where practical.

If oil-free vacuum pumps had been used, the generation of mixed waste in the form of tritium-

contaminated vacuum pump oil would have been eliminated as would the hazard associated

with changing vacuum pump oil.

The TRL was equipped with a ten-air-change-per-hour, single-pass, pressure-zone-controlled

ventilation system. Some of the ductwork became contaminated and was removed and

disposed of as solid low-level (radioactive) waste during the transition process.

Experience from Sandia has suggested that if the ventilation ductwork for room air ventilation

had been separated from the ductwork used for high velocity air hood and glovebox ventilation,

the contamination would have been easier to control during the transition process.

The presence of hazardous materials in the form of asbestos and oil complicated the transition

process. The materials used in fabrication and during facility operation should be reviewed,

and, if possible, all hazardous materials should be eliminated.

The initial design of the TRL included collection of wastewater from floor drains and sinks in

two underground holding tanks so that the water could be checked for contamination before it

was sent for disposal. The holding tanks were buried and could not be inspected. The

wastewater drain system consisted of several hundred feet of buried drainpipe, which drained

into the holding tanks. After a few years of operation, the underground tanks were replaced

with holding tanks enclosed in a below-ground-level open concrete pit. If the tanks leaked, the

concrete pit would contain the leak. This design also provided for inspection of the tanks for

leaks. The buried, underground drain lines remained in place throughout the life of the facility.

Wastewater holding tanks and collection systems should be designed so that potential leaks

can be contained and the holding tanks and drain system can be inspected periodically.

4.6.2 SRS Old Tritium Extraction Facility

Between 1995 and 1997, a team of specialists decontaminated and decommissioned (D&D) the

Old Tritium Extraction Facility (232-F) at the SRS. [24] The work was conducted in six phases.

Each phase presented challenges regarding the behavior of tritium, particularly tritium in

equipment and structures of metal and concrete. A description of each phase is as follows:

Phase I, pre-Characterization/Isolation, was designed to identify the specific buildings, ancillary

equipment, structures and premises to be cleaned, and isolate them in a way that avoided

inadvertent contamination elsewhere in the complex.

Phase II, Detailed Facility Characterization, included determination of the type and amount of

actual contaminants and determined the location and type of disposal operations required.

This phase was the most complex in terms of characterizing tritium contamination.