Filtration system for decontamination of radioactive hydraulic oil

In reprocessing plants, hydraulic oil used in spent fuel chopper gets contaminated due to ingress of radioactive particles through leakage routes. With continuous operation of the chopper, the oil is replaced due to either accumulation of unacceptable levels of contamination or due to degradation resulting in change of properties. At the end of its life, the degraded and contaminated hydraulic oil waste is transferred to the waste management facility for final disposal so as to ensure that the radioactive contaminants never reach the environment. A three stage filtration set up was developed for removal of activity from oil before incineration. Oil activity could be reduced to less than 5 Bq/g using this filtration system. Pilot scale studies are underway