Identification and quantitative analysis of radiological and chemical risks in a uranium isotopic enrichment plant

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.3172222203103

• Palavras-chave: -

• Keywords: UF6, nuclear accident, isotopic enrichment, probit function

• Abstract:

  The risk associated with operating a uranium isotopic enrichment plant (UEP) is essentially related to uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which is a toxic, radioactive, and highly reactive compound with various substances. The UF6 accidental releases in UEP can occur from different ways, such as piping rupture, valve failure during transfer of UF6 or from cylinders, cylinder rupture during heating or accidental fire. Thus, confinement of UF6 is a very important safety requirement in a UEP. This article presents the results of a radiological and chemical quantitative risk assessment of a set of accidental scenarios of an isotopic recomposition system, which is part of the UEP. To achieve the goal, the first step was the identification of the most relevant events related to accident hazard scenarios in a UF6 subsystem, then a probit function was applied to estimate the chemical risk and the death percentage caused by hydrofluoric acid, and finally a risk matrix was developed.  The results of this study showed that the methodology proposed presents a promising way to solve this kind of problem and can also be used to help in emergency situations.