Initial operation and maintenance turnaround at the new waste calcining facility

The New Waste Calcining Facility (NWCF) has successfully processed a large quantity of radioactive liquid waste. The design concept of remote operation, maintenance, and repair has proven successful for both plant operating efficiency and maintenance capability. The system design and lessons learned from the system operation have been used to incorporate additional desirable system design changes and have resulted in a facility that will perform its objective with minimal personnel exposure and operational downtime. The NWCF processes high-level radioactive liquid waste byproducts from reactor fuel reprocessing into solids using a process known as calcining. The solids provide an eight-to-one volume reduction and allow easier and safer long-term storage. Due to the high radioactivity of the liquids being processed and the severe operating environment, the design of the NWCF includes many specially designed features to allow remote handling and maintenance of the equipment. This capability was used to maintain and repair equipment both during the initial hot run, which began in September 1982 and ended in June 1984, and during the maintenance period that took place afterward. The remote capabilities have successfully allowed radiation exposures to personnel to meet the as-low-as-reasonably-achievable goals