Radiation safety experience during fuel fabrication for enlarging the core of FBTR during 2000-04

Mixed uranium plutonium carbide, (U, Pu)C, in the form of pellets encapsulated in stainless steel tubes is the fuel for Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam. For the fabrication of fuel for enlarging the core of this reactor, high burn up plutonium is used. External radiation hazards are dominant in the handling of this Pu. To quantify such hazards, stage-wise evaluation was carried out for the entire fabrication operation. During 2004, the radiation safety problems, in general were significantly higher than that with low-burn up Pu fuel of the earlier campaigns. This paper presents a summary of radiation safety experiences in the FBTR fuel fabrication during 2000-2004. (author)