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Year : 2011 | Volume
: 34
| Issue : 4 | Page : 246-248 |
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Radiological safety study of clad failed fuel handling during fifty years of operation of cirus
TR Meena1, RK Yadav1, SK Prasad1, SS Deolekar1, KS Babu1, N Ramesh2, Rakesh Ranjan2
1 Department of Atomic Energy, Radiation Safety Systems Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India 2 Department of Atomic Energy, Reactor Operations Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
Correspondence Address:
R K Yadav Department of Atomic Energy, Radiation Safety Systems Division, Mumbai India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0972-0464.106180
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CIRUS reactor, the nucleus of nuclear programme of India is a 40MW research reactor commissioned in July 1960. The reactor was operated efficiently for nearly five decades before it was shutdown permanently on 31 st December 2010. During the reactor operation, incidences of Clad Failed Fuel (CFF) were considered as Safety Related Unusual Occurrences (SRUOs). Incidences of CFF could sometimes lead to severe contamination of system resulting in personnel exposure and generation of large amount of liquid and solid radioactive wastes. CFF detection system used earlier was Gaseous Fission Product Radiation Alarm (GFPRA), which was replaced with new gamma based Failed Fuel Detection (FFD) system during refurbishing of Cirus during 1997-2002. CFF rods handling during nearly five decades of CIRUS reactor operation were studied in detail. Important radiological data related to identification and removal of CFF rod were also analyzed. Collective dose consumption and waste generated both solid and liquid for each CFF was also studied in detail. The use of the new gamma-based FFD system resulted in lowering of collective dose from 110 to 12 Person-mSv per incidence and also reduction in spread of contamination. |
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