Water quality control in primary cooling system of crud concentration suppressed boiling water reactor, (1)

The No.2 Unit of Fukushima-Daini Nuclear Power Plant (2F-2; 1,100 MWe) was commercially operated for 10,320 effective full power hours (EFPH) as its first fuel cycle. The basic design concept of the 2F-2 incorporated the following two features : (1) Application of procedures for reducing shutdown dose rate based on the Japanese Improvement and Standardization Program, (2) Low crud generation to minimize radioactive waste by careful material selection for the primary system. Thus, it was possible to keep the average Fe concentration in the condensate water at less than 6 ppb during the first fuel cycle. As a result of this low value, the average life of powdered resin precoated prefilters was extended to about a month, and the average chemical regeneration period of the deep bed demineralizers was extended to more than one year. The water chemistry of the 2F-2 was characterized by low 60Co and high 58Co radioactivities in the reactor water, which resulted in a low shutdown dose rate determined mainly by 58Co depositing on the primary piping. For example, average dose rate around the primary piping just after reactor shutdown was about 70 mR/h, about 75 % of which was from 58Co depositing on the pipe inner surfaces. The contribution of 60Co was about 25 %. (author)