High Flux Beam Reactor Interim Stabilization and Cleanup Actions

Since the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) was shut down in 1997 and permanently closed in 1999, many actions have been taken to prepare the HFBR for permanent decontamination and dismantling.  The actions undertaken throughout the HFBR complex ensure that it remains in a safe and stable condition and prepared it for long-term surveillance and maintenance and decommissioning.

Cleanup Actions

The actions undertaken to stabilize and secure the HFBR included removing contaminated structures, hazardous materials, and radioactively contaminated equipment and components to deactivate and stabilize the facility in preparation for decommissioning and dismantling.  The actions taken included:

• All spent fuel was shipped to an off-site facility (1998).
• The cooling tower superstructure was dismantled and disposed of as waste (1999).
• More than 10,900 gallons of tritiated heavy water, the primary coolant for the reactor, was removed (2001).
• Shielding blocks and chemicals were removed and are being reused at the Laboratory and at other facilities (2000 - 20005).
• Scientific equipment was removed and is being reused or has been sent to an off-site disposal facility (2003).
• The confinement structure and spent fuel pool were modified to meet the requirements of Article 12 of the Suffolk County Sanitary Code.  Article 12 regulates toxic and hazardous materials storage and handling. (2004)
• The Cold Neutron Facility was decontaminated and cleaned for reuse (2006).
• The cooling tower basin, the guard house, the pump/switchgear house, the water treatment house, and the stack monitoring facility were dismantled and removed (2006).

In addition to the actions described above, many planning studies including a preliminary assessment, site investigations, metalurgical analysis, risk assessments, and a characterization of the HFBR facility have been conducted to prepare for final decontamination and decommissioning. 
 

Installation of spent fuel pool canal liner.		Removal of contaminated lead.
Shipping of heavy water offsite.		Demolition of the cooling water hold-up tank.
Demolition of the cooling towers.		Inside the HFBR: experimental floor cleared of equipment.

Last Modified: February 1, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to: Kathy Schoenig

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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