Site Restoration

DOE-STD-6003-96

7. SITE RESTORATION

7. 1 General

This section provides guidance for returning the site of a fusion facility to its original con-

dition at the end of its useful life. The guidance includes recommendations for the initial design

of the facility, the degree to which both radioactive and chemically hazardous materials must be

removed from the facility before returning the facility or land to unrestricted public use, the limi-

tations on the concentrations of radionuclides in the waste going to a low-level waste (LLW)

repository, and the requirements for acceptance by the repository. In this section we assume

that the fusion facility and the LLW repository are separate facilities and that the fusion facility

will not serve as a long-term storage location for radioactive or hazardous wastes. However, if a

repository does not yet exist at the time of fusion facility operation, we assume that the facility

will provide short-term storage for wastes.

7. 2 Decommissioning, Decontamination, and Site Restoration in the Initial Design

The designers of a facility can greatly reduce the difficulty of site restoration by providing

for the ultimate decommissioning of the facility in the initial design. The Department of Energy

(DOE) General Design Criteria (DOE 1993) provides guidance for the demolition, decontamina-

tion, and decommissioning of DOE facilities. Note particularly Sections 1300-11.1 Decontamina-

tion, 1300-11.2 Decommissioning, 1326-9 Tritium Facilities, and 1328-9 Fusion Test Facilities.

10 CFR 50.75 (10 CFR 50) contains requirements for design, financial data, and recordkeeping

in anticipation of the decommissioning of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed

facilities.

A dedicated area furnished with appropriate equipment and utilities for decontamination of

tools and as much equipment as practical should be considered for inclusion in the design of the

facility. Tritium adsorbed on metal surfaces can be rapidly liberated when the metal is heated;

water, detergents, and certain solvents are only moderately effective in removing tritium con-

tamination. This property should be considered in the design of decontamination facilities.

7. 3 Site Restoration

The requirements for the condition of the fusion facility site after restoration can be

divided into two categories: the requirements for the removal of radioactive materials and the

requirements for the removal of chemically hazardous materials. Both sets of requirements

identify the maximum amounts of hazardous materials that can remain in the facility if it is to be

released for public use.

Decontamination of DOE facilities is addressed in DOE Order 5400.5, "Radiation Protec-

tion of the Public and the Environment." (DOE 1990) Table 7.1 shows the maximum contamina-

tion levels of beta-gamma activity allowable if the facility is to be released for public use. Order

5400.5 also specifies allowable levels of thorium, uranium, and transuranic activities, which

would not ordinarily be found in fusion facilities. The DOE Radiation Control Manual allows ten

times the above values for tritium surface contamination (DOE/EH-0256T Rev. 1).

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