Chemical Processing cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1132-99

The process and equipment supporting the pyrochemical processing of

plutonium should be designed to accommodate the pyrophoricity of plutonium

metal and other materials used in molten salt and molten metal processing,

button break-out, and the sampling operations. Features of the design should

consider the minimization of dusting from operations. A criticality-safe service

vacuum system may be used to clean up dusts.

In addition to the features described above, facilities for the chemical processing

of plutonium should address the following:

The process glovebox system should be designed to minimize moisture

pickup by process materials. An inert atmosphere should be considered

in gloveboxes where plutonium is processed. Bag-in/bag-out operations

should be conducted without compromising glovebox atmosphere

integrity.

The airborne radioactive effluents typically associated with PPHFs are

furnace off-gas, airborne dust, off-gas from solvent processes, and

corrosive vapor or mists from dissolvers. The design of airborne effluent

systems should consider and minimize plutonium holdup at locations in

off-gas and ventilation ductwork and include provisions to detect, monitor,

and recover the build-up of such material.

The capability to service equipment should be provided. Equipment

should be designed to minimize plutonium holdup. Provisions should be

made to remove process material from equipment and to measure

plutonium holdup with minimum downtime.

Because of the pyrophoric nature of plutonium metal, the plutonium

process/handling glovebox system should be designed to accommodate

glovebox fire safety. A leak detection system should be provided to

detect the inleakage of air, which could change the glovebox atmosphere

and lead to a plutonium fire. Certain glovebox construction components

I-54