Cleanup of TMI-2 demineralizer resins

Radiocesium is being removed from Demineralizers A and B (DA and DB by a process that was developed from laboratory tests on small samples of resin from the demineralizers. The process was designed to elute the radiocesium from the demineralizer resins and then to resorb it onto the zeolite ion exchangers contained in the Submerged Demineralizer System (SDS). The process was also required to limit the maximum cesium activities in the resin eluates (SDS feeds) so that the radiation field surrounding the pipelines would not be excessive. The process consists of 17 stages of batch elution. In the initial stage, the resin is contacted with 0.18 M boric acid. Subsequent stages subject the resin to increasing concentrations of sodium in NaH2BO3-H3BO3 solution (total B = 0.35 M) and then 1 M sodium hydroxide in the final stages. Results on the performance of the process in the cleanup of the demineralizers at TMI-2 are compared to those obtained from laboratory tests with small samples of the DA and DB resins. To date, 15 stages of batch elution have been completed on the demineralizers at TMI-2 which resulted in the removal of about 750 Ci of radiocesium from DA and about 3300 Ci from DB