Petrovskaya A.S.1, Kladkov A.Yu.2, Surov S.V.2, Tsyganov A.B.1
1 Spectrum-Micro Limited Liability Company, St. Petersburg, Russia
2 Science and Innovation, JSC ROSATOM, Moscow, Russia
This article proposes an innovative technology of a "dry" plasma decontamination to reduce the activity of irradiated metal constructions of nuclear power plants (NPP) and the irradiated reactor graphite. The technology being developed is based on the latest achievements of a plasma physics applications to the nuclear energy problems and covers the range of strategic fields: nuclear energy reactors operations, plasma physics applications, materials science, production of concentrated isotopes for useful purposes. Special attention is paid to the application of this technology for a solving of the global problem - irradiated reactor graphite deactivation. Also we consider the technological approaches for a fast decactivation of a nuclear power reactor during planned and unplanned stops of operation. The article describes the proposed technology of the “dry” plasma decontamination with the main technical parameters, the effectiveness of application at NPP is evaluated in comparison with the known decontamination method. Also the technical and economic indicators of the technology of the "dry" plasma decontamination is estimated in comparison with the disposal scenario of the irradiated reactor graphite without any deactivation. The technology is relevant not only for the decommissioning of the high power channel-type reactors (RBMK), but also for the operation of the water-water energetic reactor (WWER). The technical and economic analysis showed that a "dry" technology reduces the costs for the disposal and containerization by more then twice compared with the disposal of irradiated graphite without any preliminary decontamination.
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