TY - JOUR A1 - Chierici, Andrea A1 - Cancemi, Salvatore Angelo A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst A1 - Lo Frano, Rosa T1 - Enhanced radioactive waste drum monitoring: A sensorized LoRa-based network for identification and integrity assessment JF - Nuclear Engineering and Design N2 - A reliable monitoring and oversight system is essential to guarantee the safe operation and eventual closure of radioactive waste disposal facilities. With recent technological advancements, there is now the capability to deploy distributed wireless sensor networks that are cost-effective and low in power consumption. Such networks are versatile, finding applications in several civil, environmental, and industrial sectors. This work presents a novel system and method for identifying and continuously monitoring the integrity of stored radioactive waste packages. The proposed approach, developed by the University of Pisa in the context of the H2020 European Project PREDIS, employs a network of wireless node devices, provided with solid-state micro-power radiation detectors tasked with the measurement of gamma-rays and thermal neutrons coming from within cemented waste drums. Collected data are automatically transmitted across the storage site via Long Range radio technology and forwarded to cloud-based or offline platforms, allowing for further visualization, data processing, and safe storage. The system highlights the feasibility of autonomously and passively gathering data from radioactive waste drums over extended distances (more than 250 m in non-line-of-sight conditions), decreasing the reliance on portable or automated scanning mechanisms. In line with its capability for autonomous, long-range data collection, the system satisfies the requirement for structural integrity, containment, and confinement of packaging throughout both interim and long-term disposal of radioactive wastes, thereby playing a key role in reinforcing the safe management of radioactive waste. KW - Radioactive waste KW - Integrity monitoring KW - Radiation sensors KW - Cloud storage KW - LoRaWAN PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.113231 SN - 0029-5493 VL - 424 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-60217 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morichi, M. A1 - Fanchini, E. A1 - Bruggemann, C. A1 - Perot, B. A1 - Ricard, D. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Developments and experiences of the CHANCE, MICADO and PREDIS projects in radioactive waste characterization N2 - Characterization is a very important step in dealing with materials and waste streams generated during the operational and decommissioning phases of nuclear installations, including nuclear power plants. Characterization allows differentiation between materials that can be released from regulatory control and those that require further treatment and conditioning to become a stable waste form suitable for future storage and final disposal according to its waste classification. Characterization is also needed in the pre-disposal stages of radioactive waste management to demonstrate compliance with the waste acceptance criteria of the facilities that will accept the different waste forms. This work will present the strategies developed and implemented by the three projects for in-depth and accurate waste characterization and investigation of the different radioactive waste packages considered. CHANCE, MICADO, and PREDIS will present their goals, the methods developed, the technologies used and the (preliminary) results contributing to the improvement of the safety and the data and information quality of the waste packages analyzed at the different stages of the waste management process. Special emphasis will also be given to complementary approaches highlighting the usability of the technologies, the accessibility of the data, and the problem-solving of the three projects within the European panorama. KW - Waste management KW - Radioactive waste KW - Waste chracterization PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-571872 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2022052 SN - 2491-9292 VL - 9 IS - 12 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - EPJ Nuclear Sci. Technol. AN - OPUS4-57187 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Holt, E. A1 - Oksa, M. A1 - Nieminen, M. A1 - Abdelouas, A. A1 - Banford, A. A1 - Fournier, M. A1 - Mennecart, T. A1 - Niederleithinger, Ernst T1 - Predisposal conditioning, treatment, and performance assessment of radioactive waste streams JF - EPJ nuclear sciences and technologies N2 - Before the final disposal of radioactive wastes, various processes can be implemented to optimise the waste form. This can include different chemical and physical treatments, such as thermal treatment for waste reduction, waste conditioning for homogenisation and waste immobilisation for stabilisation prior to packaging and interim storage. Ensuring the durability and safety of the waste matrices and packages through performance and condition assessment is important for waste owners, waste management organisations, regulators and wider stakeholder communities. Technical achievements and lessons learned from the THERAMIN and PREDIS projects focused on low- and intermediate-level waste handling is shared here. The recently completed project on Thermal Treatment for Radioactive Waste Minimization and Hazard Reduction (THERAMIN) made advances in demonstrating the feasibility of different thermal treatment techniques to reduce volume and immobilise different streams of radioactive waste (LILW) prior to disposal. The Pre-Disposal Management of Radioactive Waste (PREDIS) project addresses innovations in the treatment of metallic materials, liquid organic waste and solid organic waste, which can result from nuclear power plant operation, decommissioning and other industrial processes. The project also addresses digitalisation solutions for improved safety and efficiency in handling and assessing cemented-waste packages in extended interim surface storage. KW - Radioactive waste KW - Predisposal KW - Treatment KW - Monitoring PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-567276 DO - https://doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2022036 SN - 2491-9292 VL - 8 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis AN - OPUS4-56727 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nehrig, Marko A1 - Bletzer, Claus Wilhelm A1 - Wille, Frank T1 - Safety assessment aspects of type B(U) packages containing wet intermediate level waste JF - Packaging, transport, storage & security of radioactive materials (RAMTRANS) N2 - In Germany, the mechanical and thermal safety assessment of approved packages for the transport of RAM is carried out by BAM as the competent authority according to the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. BAM was involved in several approval procedures with ductile cast iron containers containing wet intermediate level waste. These contents, which are not dried, only drained, consist of saturated ion exchange resin and a small amount of free water. Compared to the safety assessment of packages with dry content, attention must be paid to some more specific points. The physical and chemical compatibility of the content itself and of the content with materials of the package must be shown. From the mechanical resistance point of view, the package has to withstand the forces resulting from the freezing liquid. The most interesting point, however, is the pressure build-up inside the package due to vapourisation. This could be caused by radiolysis of the liquid and must be taken into account for the storage period. The paper deals primarily with the pressure build-up inside the package caused by the regulatory thermal test (30 min at 800°C) as part of the cumulative test scenario under accident conditions of transport. To determine the pressure, the temperature distribution in the content must be calculated for the whole period from the beginning of the thermal test until cooling down. In this case, calculating the temperature distribution requires, besides the consideration of conduction and heat radiation, consideration of evaporation and condensation including the associated processes of transport. KW - Type B KW - Wet content KW - Pressure build-up KW - Vapourisation KW - Thermal test KW - Radioactive waste KW - Thermal analysis PY - 2012 UR - http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1746510913Y.0000000024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1179/1746510913Y.0000000024 SN - 1746-5095 SN - 1746-5109 SN - 0957-476X VL - 23 IS - 3-4 SP - 187 EP - 190 PB - Ramtrans Publ. CY - Ashford AN - OPUS4-29935 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Völzke, Holger A1 - Nieslony, Gregor A1 - Noack, Volker A1 - Hagenow, Peter A1 - Kovacs, Oliver T1 - Current developments in container design testing for the Konrad repository JF - Atw KW - Radioactive waste KW - Container KW - Testing KW - Konrad repository PY - 2012 SN - 1431-5254 VL - 57 IS - 5 SP - 343 EP - 346 PB - Inforum CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-25988 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -