ASTM C1217-00(2020)

4.5.1 Leak tightness is required. This implies containment of liquids at all times, and retention of vapors and gases by means of vessel design, or through means of engineered provisions or operational procedures, or both, that ensure the retention, collection, and treatment of vapors and off-gases when the vessel cannot be fabricated or operated with an air-tight vessel configuration. Radioactive materials must be contained.

4.5.2 Equipment must be capable of withstanding rigorous chemical cleaning and decontamination procedures.

4.5.3 Equipment must be designed and fabricated to remain dimensionally stable throughout its life cycle.

4.5.4 Close fabrication tolerances are required to set nozzles and other datum points in known positions.

4.5.5 Fabrication materials must be resistant to radiation damage, or materials subject to such damage must be shielded or placed so as to be readily replaceable.

4.5.6 Smooth surface finishes are required. Irregularities that hide and retain radioactive particulates or other adherent contamination must be eliminated.

4.5.7 Equipment must be capable of being operated virtually unattended, unseen, and trouble-free over long periods.

4.9.1 Enhancing radioactive materials containment integrity,

4.9.2 Minimizing the loss of in-process materials or the spread of hazardous radioactive contaminants,

4.9.3 Minimizing equipment blemishes or faults that promote the adherence or retention of radiation sources,

4.9.4 Facilitating the ease and safety of decontamination and maintenance sequences, and

4.9.5 Reducing the failure frequency rate for all types and classes of equipment used in this service.

4.10.1 In general, this guide is not intended to apply when the conditions set forth in 1.2.1 are irrelevant to the design of equipment or systems.

4.10.2 Given the conditioned exceptions set forth in 4.10.3, this guide is not intended to apply to the following:

4.10.3 Given the foregoing non-applicability statement, this guide may be selectively applied to laboratory, research and development, and semi-works equipment when equipment integrity, materials containment, and the need for ease of cleaning are prime design considerations, where it is deemed essential to safety, or when it is otherwise justifiable. Also, many of the design criteria, guidelines, and caveats set forth herein will have applicability to certain equipment items and auxiliaries to be found in a reactor facility environment. Guidance provided herein relative to equipment features and provisions that minimize the retention of radioactive contamination in any form, and that facilitate cleanup and decontamination, will generally satisfy the potential need for equipment cleanup associated with the eventual decommissioning and disposal of the equipment. Specific guidance is provided in instances where design, fabrication, or integrity considerations are essential to the preservation of conditions or dimensions necessary to meet pre-determined and specified nuclear safety requirements.

1.1.1 This guide covers equipment used in shielded cell or canyon facilities for the processing of nuclear and radioactive materials. It is the intent of this guide to set down the conditions and practices that have been found necessary to ensure against or to minimize the failures and outages of equipment used under the subject circumstances.

1.1.2 It is intended that this guide record the principles and caveats that experience has shown to be essential to the design, fabrication, and installation of equipment capable of meeting the stringent demands of operating, dependably and safely, in a nuclear processing environment that operators can neither see nor reach directly.

1.1.3 This guide sets forth generalized criteria and guidelines for the design, fabrication, and installation of equipment used in this service. This service includes the processing of radioactive wastes. Equipment is placed behind radiation shield walls and cannot be directly accessed by the operators or by maintenance personnel because of the radiation exposure hazards. In the type of shielded cell or canyon facility of interest to users of this guide, either the background radiation level remains high at all times or it is impractical to remove the process sources of radiation to facilitate in situ repairs or carry out maintenance procedures on equipment. The equipment is operated remotely, either with or without visual access to the equipment.

1.2.1 This guide is intended to be applicable to equipment used under one or more of the following conditions:

1.2.2 This guide is intended to be applicable to the design of equipment for the processing of materials containing uranium and transuranium elements in any physical form under the following conditions:

1.2.3 This guide is intended to apply to the design, fabrication, and installation of ancillary and support services equipment under the following conditions:

1.2.4 This guide is intended to apply to the design and fabrication of any and all types of equipment for radioactive wastes processing when any of the conditions cited in 1.2.1 apply. This would include equipment for waste concentration; for incorporation of wastes in selected host materials or matrices; and for the fixation, encapsulation, or canning of such wastes. It is intended to apply to all such wastes, regardless of the product waste composition or form. The product radioactive waste may have a glass, ceramic, metallic, concrete, bituminous, or other type of host material or matrices (composition), and may be in pelletized, solid, or granular form.

1.3.1 This guide does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this guide to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.3.2 (1.3.3 This guide is not a substitute for applied engineering skills. Its purpose is to provide guidance.

1.3.4 It is often necessary to maintain the materials being processed within specific chemical composition or concentration ranges, or both. When such constraints apply, it may also be necessary to create and maintain a specific geometric array to minimize the chances of a nuclear criticality incident. Designers and engineers are referred to other standards for additional guidance when such requirements apply.

1.3.5 Equipment usage intent, service conditions, size and configuration, plus the configuration and features of the operating and maintenance environments have an influence on equipment design. Therefore, not all of the criteria, conditions, caveats, or features would be applicable to every equipment item.

1.3.6 It is intended that equipment designed, fabricated, procured, or obtained by transfer or adaptation and re-use of existing equipment, and installed in accordance with this guide meet or exceed statutory, regulatory, and safety requirements for that equipment under the applicable operating and service conditions.

1.3.7 This guide does not supersede federal or state regulations, or both, and codes applicable to equipment under any conditions.