The project was completed in October 1998 under DOE Argonne direction with no lost time accidents or radiological incidents.
The decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the Argonne Thermal Source Reactor (ATSR) at Argonne National Laboratory was completed in October 1998.
The ATSR, a highly enriched, light water-moderated thermal reactor, operated from 1953 to 1988 and served as a source of neutrons for Argonne experimental research programs. This reactor was utilized for physics testing and in the development of nuclear instrumentation.
The final survey was completed in October 1998, and an Independent Verification Survey (IVS) was performed in December 1998. After the IVS, the ATSR facility was released for unrestricted use. The ATSR Reactor facility was transferred from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) EM-40 roster to Argonne surplus facilities.
All accessible areas of the ATSR Reactor facility were decontaminated to meet free-release requirements as specified in the Argonne Environment, Safety and Health Manual. Contaminated or activated equipment, piping, and concrete were removed and packaged for disposal; radiologically clean equipment was removed for recycle or reuse by Argonne.
Total exposure to project personnel was 0.0 person-rem (0.0 mSv) compared to the original ALARA (“As Low As Reasonably Achievable”) estimate of 0.313 person-rem (3.13 mSv). The total cost of the project was approximately $614,000, compared to the baseline cost of $332,225. A total of 1,160 ft3 (32.8 m3) of low-level radioactive waste weighing 95,507 lb (43,314 kg) was packaged for off-site disposal at a DOE-approved low-level radioactive waste repository with a total activity of 49.2 mCi (1.82 GBq). An additional 96 ft3 (2.7 m3) of mixed waste weighing 21,662 lb (9,824 kg) was packaged for treatment/storage.