Radiating Scrap - An Industry Perspective -

1. Radiating Scrap- An Industry Perspective - G.A. van der Reijden QA Consultant gavdreijden@planet.nl

2. Summary • No smelter will accept radiating scrap • The scrap processing Industry will do it’s utmost to prevent to sending radiating scrap • Extensive monitoring of all scrap for radiating material has proven to be successful • Potential Solutions for low Radiating Scrap

3. Unwanted Radiating Material • The ISO 9000 demands of the Supplier to meet the specifications of the Client. • The Clients demands : • No detectable Radioactivity in scrap

4. Why No Radiation ? • The most important process of the smelter is melting metal in a furnace in order to make new metal products. • This process will stop when a radioactive source is melted down. • The damage of such an event is tremendous for all parties involved. • Any possibility for such an introduction must be avoided • Every alarm is forbidden and a disaster for the sender of the scrap

5. How to Deliver Scrap Without Detectable Radioactivity • It is impossible to monitor the amount of radioactivity in each scrap object. • Therefore the scrap industry has concentrated on measuring the likely emission of Gamma radiation produced by most common radioisotopes. • The detection process must be more advanced than the detection process of the Smelter.

6. Return To Sender • The first measurement of radiation is carried out by the gate monitor. • This is the only chance to identify the sender of detected radioactive material • “Return to sender” is a theoretical option because it is extremely difficult to succeed in returning radioactive material.

8. One Gate Detector is Insufficient • Not one supplier of detection equipment will guarantee the 100% detection of radioactive material. • From experience we know now that one gate detector does not detect all radiating objects.

9. To Satisfy the Client ! • We introduced a new policy after a serious incident. • Besides the existing gate detector system two more gate detectors were erected in one portal. • Every gripper for moving scrap was equipped with state of the art detection equipment • The policy was named multi measuring of various scrap configurations

15. The Results of the New Policy • In the last 250 000 tons of scrap delivered in one year not one radiating object was found by the Client

16. What Was Found ? • An astonishing variety in objects (several hundreds), total weight over 50 tons • NORM and ARM contaminated. • Surface and volumetric. • License and No License needed

17. Solutions for Radiating Materials that need a Licence • Cleaning: • Removing the radioactive material by water jetting grinding or chemical. • At the NRG • Melting: • In a facility like the ones at Siempelkamp Germany and Studvic • Storing: • at National facilities COVRA.

18. Solutions for low radiating objectsthat do NOT Need a licence • As the regular scrap processing industry can not accept detectable radiating material, a solution must be found. • The owners of such material must be convinced that they have to find a good solution for their problem. • Oil and Gas producers • Nuclear Industry

19. How to Solve the Issue of Low radiating scrap material • Recognition that there is an issue ! • UN should take a leading role ! • Potential technical solutions: • The special melting capacity should be increased • Like the Siempelkamp facilities • New refinery methods of metals should be developed • To separate radioactive metals