A summary of the clearance practice of the spent resin from nuclear power plants in China

In the technical guidance documents of radioactive wastes management issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the minimization of radioactive waste includes the strategy of waste minimization, decrease and avoidance of the waste production as much as possible, reduction of the existing wastes by the methods of exclusion, exemption, clearance, recycle, reuse, etc. Up to February 2018, there are 38 operational nuclear power plants (NPPs) in mainland of China, and the total operational reactor time is approximately 279 years. In the three largest nuclear power bases in China, which are Qinshan, Daya Bay and Tianwan, there are amounts of very low radioactive spent resins from the steam generator blowdown system (APG). Since 2011, as an important method to realize the waste minimization, most NPPs in China have carried on the activities of clearance of resin wastes. The total volume of spent resins from clearance reached 700 m³. The criteria of clearance level for the solid wastes from nuclear facilities in China was the National Standard GB27742-2011 "Activity concentration for material not requiring radiological regulation", which was compiled by the safety guidance RS-G-1.7 from IAEA. This paper summarizes the clearance programs of spent resins from APG, presents key issues including representativeness of sampling and concerned main nuclides, and puts forward technical requirements in the clearance practices of spent resin from Chinese NPPs. (author)