Retrofit of an Engineered Glove-port to a Los Alamos National Laboratory's Plutonium Facility Glovebox

At the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Plutonium Facility (TA-55), various isotopes of plutonium along with other actinides are routinely handled such that the spread of radiological contamination and excursions of contaminants into the operator's breathing zone are prevented through the use of a variety of gloveboxes (the glovebox coupled with adequate negativity providing primary confinement). The current technique for changing glovebox gloves are the weakest part of this engineering control. 1300 pairs of gloves are replaced each year at TA-55, generating approximately 500 m3/yr of transuranic (TRU) waste and Low Level Waste (LLW) waste that represents an annual disposal cost of about 4 million dollars. By retrofitting the LANL 8'' glove-port ring, a modern 'Push-Through' technology is utilized. This 'Push-Through' technology allows relatively fast glove changes to be done by operators with much less training and experience and without breaching containment. A dramatic reduction in waste is realized; exposure of the worker to residual contamination reduced, and the number of breaches due to installation issues is eliminated. In the following presentation, the evolution of the 'Push- Through' technology, the features of the glove-port retrofit, and waste savings are discussed. (author)