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NUCON International, Inc.
7000 Huntley Road Columbus, OH 43229-1035 U.S.A.
Telephone: 614-846-5710 Fax: 614-431-0858 E-mail sales@nucon-int.com |
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Accident Prevention and Recovery
Operation Safety Analysis,
3M Company
The 3M Company has very strict requirements for process safety,
especially for systems handling flammable materials. During the design of a solvent
recovery system for their Greenville, SC plant, 3M personnel participated in the design
and safety review meetings held by NUCON. After the system was installed, another safety
analysis was made by 3M according to their procedures. NUCON personnel participated and
provided important input to that analysis. This capability to perform process safety
analysis and reviews is an important aspect of the full service capabilities of NUCON.
Iodine Control and Recovery,
Three Mile Island Unit-2
After the TMI Unit-2 accident, full-size highly radioactive adsorber
units from one of the plant's Nuclear Air treatment Systems were sent to NUCON for
analysis. NUCON developed a methodology for determining the remaining capacity of the
installed units to remove radioiodine fission products. An estimate of various physical
and chemical forms of I-131 released during the accident was quantified by performing a
mass balance of the all the plant's Nuclear Air Treatment Systems. This analysis also
revealed the fact that the refueling building air cleaning units were unbalanced which
contributed to the release of radioiodine. These tests, and subsequent ones involving
monitoring the operation of the radioiodine control units, were performed in the NUCON
radioisotope laboratory which has the capability of handling high activity samples and
components. At that time, no other facility in the U.S. was equipped to evaluate and
determine removal efficiencies of highly contaminated units. In addition to the laboratory
tests, NUCON was one of the subcontractors selected to provide consulting and laboratory
services for the entire duration of the accident recovery activity. The clients, GPU and
the NRC used the information generated by NUCON in decisions and response relating to the
TMI Unit-2 accident and recovery.
Recovery from Off Gas System Fire,
Perry Nuclear Power Plant
The client detected a fire in the off gas system and contracted with
NUCON on a emergency basis to determine the cause of the fire and the methods available to
extinguish it. After extinguishing the fire, NUCON developed methods to remove the damaged
noble gas adsorbent material, evaluated the physical damage to the system and prepared the
documentation required by the NRC covering the event. NUCON personnel were on-site to
design and assemble the equipment needed to remove and reload the adsorbent. The equipment
was built at the NUCON facilities in Columbus, OH on an emergency basis and delivered to
the site within 48 hours of the first call to NUCON. NUCON also supplied the replacement
adsorbent within this extreme schedule. This extremely rapid response by NUCON allowed
expeditious restart of the power plant.
Establishing Fire Potential from Decay Heat,
Baltimore Gas and Electric
Validated computer codes were developed by NUCON for evaluation of the
temperature rise caused by decay heat in containment radioiodine adsorbers after a design
basis accident. The NUCON developed code was verified by experimental data. A variety of
operation and shutdown scenarios for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant were
evaluated. The information generated during this project satisfied the licensing
requirements and permitted expedited restart of the idle nuclear reactors.
Fire Control,
Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant
While previously designed nuclear power plants had water deluge systems
for fire control in air cleaning units, Seabrook required a design that did not rely on
water. NUCON performed fire tests on mock-up adsorbers to establish actual detailed data
on the generation of combustion gases, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, temperature of
the adsorbent, the inlet and the outlet air streams, and the behavior of the fire at
various air flows. NUCON proposed a carbon monoxide monitoring system with subsequent
isolation of the air cleaning units. The theoretical and experimental data and proposed
method were presented to the NRC for licensing. The method (system isolation and Fire
Brigade inspection) was accepted and installed for all the safety related air cleaning
systems at Seabrook.
Recovery from a Fire in Adsorbers,
3M Company
During the startup of a solvent collection/concentration and recovery
system purchased by the client for a competitor at a magnetic tape manufacturing facility,
a significant fire occurred in a carbon bed. NUCON was contracted to establish the cause
of the fire and to develop improved fire detection and prevention methods. In addition,
the process and equipment were redesigned by NUCON to permit the startup of the facility
without incident and to prevent future undetected fires in the system. The project
involved consulting, laboratory testing and engineering studies. Adsorber heat balance
calculations were performed to assure proper design and operating conditions. The system
has operated successfully with the recommended NUCON improvements.
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