Fuel cycle related activities were accomplished in IPEN-CNEN/SP in laboratory and pilot plant scale and most facilities were built in the 70-80 years. Nevertheless, radical changes of the Brazilian nuclear policy in t...Fuel cycle related activities were accomplished in IPEN-CNEN/SP in laboratory and pilot plant scale and most facilities were built in the 70-80 years. Nevertheless, radical changes of the Brazilian nuclear policy in the beginning of 90's determined the interruption of several fuel cycle activities and facilities shutdown. Some laboratory and pilot plant decommissioning activities have been performed in IPEN in the last years. During the operational activities in the decommissioning of old nuclear fuel cycle facilities, the personnel involved in the task had to face several problems. In old facilities, the need of large components dismantling and material removal use to present some difficulties, such as lack of available and near electricity supply. Besides this, the spread out of the superficial contamination in the form of dust or aerosols and the exposure of workers should be as much as possible avoided. Then, the selection and availability of suitable tools for the task, mainly those employed for cutting and segmentation of different materials is of significant importance. Slight hand tools, mainly those powered by rechargeable batteries, facilitate the work, especially in areas where the access is difficult. Based on the experience in the dismantling of some old nuclear facilities of IPEN-CNEN/SP, some tools that would have facilitated the operations were identified and their availability could have improved the quality and efficiency of different individual tasks. In this paper, different cutting problems and techniques, as well as some available commercial hand tools, are presented as suggestion for future activities.展开更多
文摘Fuel cycle related activities were accomplished in IPEN-CNEN/SP in laboratory and pilot plant scale and most facilities were built in the 70-80 years. Nevertheless, radical changes of the Brazilian nuclear policy in the beginning of 90's determined the interruption of several fuel cycle activities and facilities shutdown. Some laboratory and pilot plant decommissioning activities have been performed in IPEN in the last years. During the operational activities in the decommissioning of old nuclear fuel cycle facilities, the personnel involved in the task had to face several problems. In old facilities, the need of large components dismantling and material removal use to present some difficulties, such as lack of available and near electricity supply. Besides this, the spread out of the superficial contamination in the form of dust or aerosols and the exposure of workers should be as much as possible avoided. Then, the selection and availability of suitable tools for the task, mainly those employed for cutting and segmentation of different materials is of significant importance. Slight hand tools, mainly those powered by rechargeable batteries, facilitate the work, especially in areas where the access is difficult. Based on the experience in the dismantling of some old nuclear facilities of IPEN-CNEN/SP, some tools that would have facilitated the operations were identified and their availability could have improved the quality and efficiency of different individual tasks. In this paper, different cutting problems and techniques, as well as some available commercial hand tools, are presented as suggestion for future activities.