Recent progress with the EPRI DFD (decontamination for decommissioning) process

A dilute chemical decontamination process has been developed for use on retired reactor coolant systems and components. Besides achieving the traditional benefits of reduced worker radiation exposure, the new process can directly reduce contamination to levels which satisfy unrestricted release criteria. In some cases it can advantageously be combined with other decontamination techniques to meet release criteria in a cost effective manner. The new process, designated the EPRI DFD Process, uses standard equipment and conventional ion exchange technology for waste processing. This paper presents the results of the 1998 applications of the EPRI DFD process on the reactor coolant systems and retired components of nuclear power plants. (author)