Waste Assay Monitor for Atucha NPP, Argentina

In 2012, VF received an order for a WAM-202 waste assay monitor for the Atucha II Nuclear Power Plant in Argentina. At the beginning of 2013, the production of the system and factory acceptance tests were successfully completed and, in the second quarter of 2013, the whole system was delivered to the site of installation. The instruments delivered included a WAM-202 waste assay monitor used for the spectrometric characterisation of low and intermediate level radioactive waste, a system for the dose rate measurement on the drum surface using unique VF directional dose rate monitors with internal shielding, and a system for taking smear samples and evaluating the contamination on the drum surface.
The key components of the WAM-202 waste assay monitor delivered are:

• The detection part with a spectrometric HPGe detector, shielding, collimator, shutter and processing electronics, including an MCA for data processing;
• Drum rotator with weight sensors;
• Drum loading/unloading, handling and transfer system;
• Fast-scan and background MDG dose rate monitors;
• Control and power supply switchboards which allow local manual control of the system, remote control and display PC with the application software and database;
• Remote visual surveillance system;
• Basic calibration kit (custom-designed phantom with reference source).

Complete services were provided as part of the project: basic technical design, detailed design, production, factory testing, supply, on-site installation, site testing and commissioning and personnel training.
The standard VF waste assay monitor was customised to meet the customer’s specific requirements. This customisation included optimising the outer dimensions of the monitor to fit into the space available at the site of installation. The software was customised and translated into Spanish as well.