Fissible Deposit Characterization at the Former Oak Ridge K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant by 252CF-Source-Driven Measurements

The Deposit Removal Project was undertaken with the support of the U. S. Department of Energy at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) formerly the Oak Ridge K-25 Site. The project team performed the safe removal of the hydrated uranyl fluoride (UO2F2) deposits from the K-29 Building of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The deposits had developed as a result of air leakage into UF6 gas process pipes; UO2F2 became hydrated by moisture from the air and deposited inside the pipes. The mass, its distribution, and the hydrogen content [that is, the ratio of H to U (H/U)], were the key parameters that controlled the nuclear criticality safety of the deposits. Earlier gamma-ray spectrometry measurements in K-29 had identified the largest deposits in the building. The first and third largest deposits in the building were measured in this program. The first deposit, found in the Unit 2, Cell 7, B-Line Outlet process pipe (called the ''Hockey Stick'') was about 1,300 kg (± 50% uncertainty) at 3.34 wt% 235U enrichment (±50% uncertainty) and according to the gamma-ray spectroscopy was uniformly distributed. The second deposit (the third-largest deposit in the building), found in the Unit 2, Cell 6, A-Line Outlet process pipe (called the ''Tee-Pipe''), had a uranium deposit estimated to be about 240 kg (± 50% uncertainty) at 3.4 wt % 235U enrichment (± 20% uncertainty). Before deposit removal activities began, the Deposit Removal Project team needed to survey the inside of the pipes intrusively to assess the nuclear criticality safety of the deposits. Therefore, the spatial distribution of the deposits, the total uranium deposit mass, and the moderation level resulting from hydration of the deposits, all of which affect nuclear criticality safety were required. To perform the task safely and effectively, the Deposit Removal Project team requested that Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) characterize the two largest deposits with the 252Cf-source-driven transmission (CFSDT) technique, an active neutron interrogation method developed for use at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant to identify nuclear weapons components in containers. The active CFSDT measurement technique uses CFSDT time-of-flight measurements of prompt neutrons and gamma rays from an externally introduced 252Cf source