A Novel Approach to Spent Fuel Pool Decommissioning

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been at the forefront of developing methods to reduce the cost and schedule of deactivating spent fuel pools (SFP). Several pools have been deactivated at the INL using an underwater approach with divers. These projects provided a basis for the INL cooperation with the Dresden Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 SFP (Exelon Generation Company) deactivation. It represents the first time that a commercial nuclear power plant (NPP) SFP was decommissioned using this underwater coating process. This approach has advantages in many aspects, particularly in reducing airborne contamination and allowing safer, more cost effective deactivation. The INL pioneered underwater coating process was used to decommission three SFPs with a total combined pool volume of over 900,000 gallons. INL provided engineering support and shared project plans to successfully initiate the Dresden project. This report outlines the steps taken by INL and Exelon to decommission SFPs using the underwater coating process. The rationale used to select the underwater coating process and the advantages and disadvantages are described. Special circumstances are also discussed, such as the use of a remotely-operated underwater vehicle to visually and radiologically map the pool areas that were not readily accessible. A larger project, the INTEC-603 SFP in-situ (grouting) deactivation, is reviewed. Several specific areas where special equipment was employed are discussed and a Lessons Learned evaluation is included

EBR-II Primary Tank Wash-Water Alternatives Evaluation

The EBR-II reactor at Idaho National Laboratory was a liquid sodium metal cooled reactor that operated for 30 years. It was shut down in 1994; the fuel was removed by 1996; and the bulk of sodium metal coolant was removed from the reactor by 2001. Approximately 1100 kg of residual sodium remained in the primary system after draining the bulk sodium. To stabilize the remaining sodium, both the primary and secondary systems were treated with a purge of moist carbon dioxide. Most of the residual sodium reacted with the carbon dioxide and water vapor to form a passivation layer of primarily sodium bicarbonate. The passivation treatment was stopped in 2005 and the primary system is maintained under a blanket of dry carbon dioxide. Approximately 670 kg of sodium metal remains in the primary system in locations that were inaccessible to passivation treatment or in pools of sodium that were too deep for complete penetration of the passivation treatment. The EBR-II reactor was permitted by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2002 under a RCRA permit that requires removal of all remaining sodium in the primary and secondary systems by 2022. The proposed baseline closure method would remove the large components from the primary tank, fill the primary system with water, react the remaining sodium with the water and dissolve the reaction products in the wash water. This method would generate a minimum of 100,000 gallons of caustic, liquid, low level radioactive, hazardous waste water that must be disposed of in a permitted facility. On February 19-20, 2008, a workshop was held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to look at alternatives that could meet the RCRA permit clean closure requirements and minimize the quantity of hazardous waste generated by the cleanup process. The workshop convened a panel of national and international sodium cleanup specialists, subject matter experts from the INL, and the EBR-II Wash Water Project team that organized the workshop. The workshop was conducted by a trained facilitator using Value Engineering techniques to elicit the most technically sound solutions from the workshop participants. The path forward includes developing the OBA into a well engineered solution for achieving RCRA clean closure of the EBR-II Primary Reactor Tank system. Several high level tasks are also part of the path forward such as reassigning responsibility of the cleanup project to a dedicated project team that is funded by the DOE Office of Environmental Management, and making it a priority so that adequate funding is available to complete the project. Based on the experience of the sodium cleanup specialists, negotiations with the DEQ will be necessary to determine a risk-based de minimus quantity for acceptable amount of sodium that can be left in the reactor systems after cleanup has been completed

Laboratory Evaluation of Underwater Grouting of CPP-603 Basins

A project is underway to deactivate a Fuel Storage Basin. The project specifies the requirements and identifies the tasks that will be performed for deactivation of the CPP- 603 building at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The Fuel Receiving and Storage Building (CPP- 603) was originally used to receive and store spent nuclear fuel from various facilities. The area to undergo deactivation includes the three spent nuclear fuel storage basins and a transfer canal (1.5 million gallons of water storage). Deactivation operations at the task site include management of the hot storage boxes and generic fuel objects, removal of the fuel storage racks, basin sludge, water evaporation and basin grouting, and interior equipment, tanks, and associated components. This includes a study to develop a grout formulation and placement process for this deactivation project. Water will be allowed to passively evaporate to r educe the spread of contamination from the walls of the basin. The basins will be filled with grout, underwater, as the water evaporates to maintain the basin water at a safe level. The objective of the deactivation project is to eliminate potential exposure to hazardous and radioactive materials and eliminate potential safety hazards associated with the CPP-603 building

INEEL Radioactive Liquid Waste Reduction Program

Reduction of radioactive liquid waste, much of which is Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) listed, is a high priority at the Idaho National Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). Major strides in the past five years have lead to significant decreases in generation and subsequent reduction in the overall cost of treatment of these wastes. In 1992, the INTEC, which is part of the Idaho National Environmental and Engineering Laboratory (INEEL), began a program to reduce the generation of radioactive liquid waste (both hazardous and non-hazardous). As part of this program, a Waste Minimization Plan was developed that detailed the various contributing waste streams, and identified methods to eliminate or reduce these waste streams. Reduction goals, which will reduce expected waste generation by 43%, were set for five years as part of this plan. The approval of the plan led to a Waste Minimization Incentive being put in place between the Department of Energy � Idaho Office (DOE-ID) and the INEEL operating contractor, Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITCO). This incentive is worth $5 million dollars from FY-98 through FY-02 if the waste reduction goals are met. In addition, a second plan was prepared to show a path forward to either totally eliminate all radioactive liquid waste generation at INTEC by 2005 or find alternative waste treatment paths. Historically, this waste has been sent to an evaporator system with the bottoms sent to the INTEC Tank Farm. However, this Tank Farm is not RCRA permitted for mixed wastes and a Notice of Non-compliance Consent Order gives dates of 2003 and 2012 for removal of this waste from these tanks. Therefore, alternative treatments are needed for the waste streams. This plan investigated waste elimination opportunities as well as treatment alternatives. The alternatives, and the criteria for ranking these alternatives, were identified through Value Engineering meetings with all of the waste generators. The most promising alternatives were compared by applying weighting factors to each based on how well the alternative met the established criteria. From this information, an overall ranking of the various alternatives was obtained and a path forward recommended

Improved performance of the LHCb Outer Tracker in LHC Run 2

The LHCb Outer Tracker is a gaseous detector covering an area of $5\times 6 m^2$ with 12 double layers of straw tubes. The performance of the detector is presented based on data of the LHC Run 2 running period from 2015 and 2016. Occupancies and operational experience for data collected in $p p$, pPb and PbPb collisions are described. An updated study of the ageing effects is presented showing no signs of gain deterioration or other radiation damage effects. In addition several improvements with respect to LHC Run 1 data taking are introduced. A novel real-time calibration of the time-alignment of the detector and the alignment of the single monolayers composing detector modules are presented, improving the drift-time and position resolution of the detector by 20\%. Finally, a potential use of the improved resolution for the timing of charged tracks is described, showing the possibility to identify low-momentum hadrons with their time-of-flight.Comment: 29 pages, 20 figures, minor changes to match the published versio

End of life care in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the qualitative literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>End of life (EoL) care in sub-Saharan Africa still lacks the sound evidence-base needed for the development of effective, appropriate service provision. It is essential to make evidence from all types of research available alongside clinical and health service data, to ensure that EoL care is ethical and culturally appropriate. This article aims to synthesize qualitative research on EoL care in sub-Saharan Africa to inform policy, practice and further research. It seeks to identify areas of existing research; describe findings specifically relevant to the African context; and, identify areas lacking evidence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Relevant literature was identified through eight electronic databases: AMED, British Nursing Index & Archive, CINAHL, EMBASE, IBSS, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Social Sciences Citation Index; and hand searches. Inclusion criteria were: published qualitative or mixed-method studies in sub-Saharan Africa, about EoL care. Study quality was assessed using a standard grading scale. Relevant data including findings and practice recommendations were extracted and compared in tabular format.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 407 articles initially identified, 51 were included in the qualitative synthesis. Nineteen came from South Africa and the majority (38) focused on HIV/AIDS. Nine dealt with multiple or unspecified conditions and four were about cancer. Study respondents included health professionals, informal carers, patients, community members and bereaved relatives. Informal carers were typically women, the elderly and children, providing total care in the home, and lacking support from professionals or the extended family. Twenty studies focused on home-based care, describing how programmes function in practice and what is needed to make them effective. Patients and carers were reported to prefer institutional care but this needs to be understood in context. Studies focusing on culture discussed good and bad death, culture-specific approaches to symptoms and illness, and the bereavement process.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data support or complement the findings from quantitative research. The review prompts a reconsideration of the assumption that in Africa the extended family care for the sick, and that people prefer home-based care. The review identifies areas relevant for a research agenda on socio-cultural issues at the EoL in sub-Saharan Africa.</p

Evaluation of the effectiveness of music therapy in improving the quality of life of palliative care patients: a randomised controlled pilot and feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Music therapy is frequently used as a palliative therapy. In consonance with the goals of palliative care, the primary aim of music therapy is to improve people's quality of life by addressing their psychological needs and facilitating communication. To date, primarily because of a paucity of robust research, the evidence for music therapy's effectiveness on patient reported outcomes is positive but weak. This pilot and feasibility study will test procedures, outcomes and validated tools; estimate recruitment and attrition rates; and calculate the sample size required for a phase III randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy in improving the quality of life of palliative care patients. METHODS: A pilot randomised controlled trial supplemented with qualitative methods. The quantitative data collection will involve recruitment of >52 patients from an inpatient Marie Curie hospice setting over a 12-month period. Eligibility criteria include all patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 03- indicating they are medically fit to engage with music therapy and an Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) score of ≥7 indicating they are capable of providing meaningful informed consent and accurate responses to outcome measures. Baseline data collection will include the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL); medical and socio-demographic data will be undertaken before randomisation to an intervention or control group. Participants in the intervention arm will be offered two 30-45 min sessions of music therapy per week for three consecutive weeks, in addition to care as usual. Participants in the control arm will receive care as usual. Follow-up measures will be administered in 1, 3 and 5 weeks. Qualitative data collection will involve focus group and individual interviews with HCPs and carers. DISCUSSION: This study will ensure a firm methodological grounding for the development of a robust phase III randomised trial of music therapy for improving quality of life in palliative care patients. By undertaking the pilot and feasibility trial under normal clinical conditions in a hospice setting, the trial will result in reliable procedures to overcome some of the difficulties in designing music therapy RCTs for palliative care settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02791048

Measurement of the mass and lifetime of the Ωb−\Omega_b^- baryon

A proton-proton collision data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$ collected by LHCb at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV, is used to reconstruct $63\pm9$ $\Omega_b^-\to\Omega_c^0\pi^-$, $\Omega_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decays. Using the $\Xi_b^-\to\Xi_c^0\pi^-$, $\Xi_c^0\to pK^-K^-\pi^+$ decay mode for calibration, the lifetime ratio and absolute lifetime of the $\Omega_b^-$ baryon are measured to be \begin{align*} \frac{\tau_{\Omega_b^-}}{\tau_{\Xi_b^-}} &= 1.11\pm0.16\pm0.03, \\ \tau_{\Omega_b^-} &= 1.78\pm0.26\pm0.05\pm0.06~{\rm ps}, \end{align*} where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the calibration mode (for $\tau_{\Omega_b^-}$ only). A measurement is also made of the mass difference, $m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-}$, and the corresponding $\Omega_b^-$ mass, which yields \begin{align*} m_{\Omega_b^-}-m_{\Xi_b^-} &= 247.4\pm3.2\pm0.5~{\rm MeV}/c^2, \\ m_{\Omega_b^-} &= 6045.1\pm3.2\pm 0.5\pm0.6~{\rm MeV}/c^2. \end{align*} These results are consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-008.htm

Bose-Einstein correlations of same-sign charged pions in the forward region in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Bose-Einstein correlations of same-sign charged pions, produced in protonproton collisions at a 7 TeV centre-of-mass energy, are studied using a data sample collected by the LHCb experiment. The signature for Bose-Einstein correlations is observed in the form of an enhancement of pairs of like-sign charged pions with small four-momentum difference squared. The charged-particle multiplicity dependence of the Bose-Einstein correlation parameters describing the correlation strength and the size of the emitting source is investigated, determining both the correlation radius and the chaoticity parameter. The measured correlation radius is found to increase as a function of increasing charged-particle multiplicity, while the chaoticity parameter is seen to decreas