General Introduction

One of the chief aims of the Department Of Atomic Energy is the development of
Nuclear Energy for economic generation as an alternative source of electric power
when in due course the conventional sources will be exhausted in the country.
Petroleum prices are escalating. The amount of coal required for 400MWe power
generations of the order of 5 x 106 KGs per day. Whereas a Nuclear Power Station
of the same capacity needs only 200 kg of Atomic Fuel per day. Transportation of
coal of such magnitude over long distance is not economical.
NARORA, a small ancient village, is situated on the bank of Holy River Ganga in the
district Bulandshaher in Uttar Pradesh. The plant is about 60 km from Aligarh,
which is the nearest population center. With the synchronization of the Narora
Atomic Power Station with northern grid through five lines of 220KV, it has
occupied an important place on the power map of the India. With this, yet another
important milestone in the Indian nuclear program has been achieved, as NAPS is an
effort towards standardization of PHWR Units & a stepping-stone to the 500MWe
units. A significant & unique feature of this project has been the evolution of the
design suitable for seismic sites.
The NAPS is a twin unit module of 220MW each of pressurized heavy water
reactors. The reactors use natural uranium available in India as fuel & heavy water
produced in the country as moderator & coolant. A NAPP is the fourth Nuclear
Power Station in the country after Tarapur in Maharashtra, Rawatbhata in Rajasthan
& Kalpakam in Tamil Nadu. A NAPS is the first indigenous Nuclear Power Plant of
India. The station has two pressurized heavy water reactors with installed capacity of
220MWe, each using natural uranium as fuel. The station is connected to high
voltage network through five 220 KV lines, one to Moradabad, one to Atrauli, one
to Simboli, & two to Khurja. It is designed for base load operation as a commercial
station.

1
 Chapter 1: Introduction to Narora Atomic Power
Station
The station is connected to high voltage network through five 220 KV lines, one to
Moradabad, one to Harduaganj, one to Simboli, and two to Khurja. It is designed for
base load operation as a commercial station.
Narora Atomic Power Station Layout:
Reactor building houses the reactor primary heat transport system, moderator
system, reactivity system, fuel handling system and some of the auxiliaries. The
turbo-generator and its associated conventional equipment, emergency diesel sets,
control and power MG sets, station batteries, electrical switch gear compressors,
chillers and main control room are located in turbine building. Both the units
share common facilities such as service building, spent fuel storage bay and other
auxiliary devices such as heavy water upgrading and waste management facility.

NAPS has two natural draught cooling towers (NDCT) and two induced draught
cooling towers (IDCT).
One of the basic requirements is to keep the Reactor building entry minimum and
for this reason most of the equipments have been excluded from R/B and
installed in Turbine Building and Service Building areas
The general layout of the plant buildings and supporting facilities is shown in the
Figure on the next page.

2
 1. Administrative 5 Switchyard 9 Reactor Building
Building
2. Domestic Water 6 Stack 10 Purification Building
Head Tank
3. Canteen 7 Service Building 11 Turbine Building
4. NDCT 8 Supplementary 12 Pump House
Control Room

Some Important Figures of Narora Atomic Power Station:

S.No. Data Specification
01 Transmission Lines Five
230KV Narora - Moradabad Single Line
230KV Narora - Harduaganj Single Line
230KV Narora - Shimboli Single Line
230KV Narora - Khurja Double Line
02 Stack Height 142 Meters
03 NDCT Height 128 Meters
04 NDCT Top Dia. 58 Meters
05 NDCT Base Dia. 107 Meters
06 NDCT Throat Dia. 53 Meters
07 Steam Flow 1314
Tonnes/hour
08 PHT Flow 12700
Tonnes/hour
09 Steam Pressure 48-40 kg/cm2
10 PHT Pressure 87.0 kg/cm2
11 CCW Flow 39000
Tonnes/hour
12 Coolant Tubes 306
13 No. of Fuel Bundles in one channel 12
14 Fuel Bundle Weight 15 kgs
15 Condenser Pressure 680 mm of hg
16 RB Design Pressure 1.25 kg/cm2
17 Station Load 18-20 MWe

3
 18 Generator Power 220 MWe
19 Grid Voltage 220 KV

Reactor Cycle:
Heavy Water is used in the Reactors as moderator & reflector for the neutrons
and as coolant for the Reactor fuel. The two functions are separate, each having its
own closed circulating system. The fuel coolant system is called the Primary Heat
Transport System, and is a high pressure, high temperature circuit. The
moderator and reflector circuit is called the moderator system, and is a low
pressure, low temperature circuit. The Pressure tubes & Calandria Tubes are
insulated from each other in the Reactor core by Carbon Di-oxide Gas in the
annular space between the calandria tubes and the coolant tubes. Figure shown
below is a simplified schematic diagram of the Reactor Cycle. Heavy water at 293
0
C enters the Steam Generator tubes to raise steam from Demineralized Water in
shell side, for the turbine and returns back to the Reactor at 249 0C. The working
pressure, which is the mean of the pressure, in the Reactor inlet & outlet headers
is 87.0 Kg/cm2.
The moderator system is a Heavy Water with Cover Gas as Helium. Calandria is
always kept full of heavy water up to 96% Level. Remaining volume is covered by
Helium Gas, which acts as Cover Gas to avoid downgrading of Moderator D2O.
Moderator((D2O) system circulating pump take suction from bottom of calandria
& discharge back to calandria through moderator heat exchangers for maintaining
moderator temperature. Moderator inlet to calandria is at its middle point from
two opposite sides. Working pressure and temperature of moderator system are 8
Kg/cm2 and 650C respectively with a cover gas pressure of 0.25 Kg/Cm2.

4
 PHWR Simplified Flow Diagram
In order to avoid escape & loss of Heavy Water from PHT / Moderator System, a
high standard of integrity is maintained by using multiple seals & leakage collection
system in the liquid phase. D2O Vapor recovery Dryer Systems are used for the vapor
phase collection.

5
 Turbine and Steam Cycle:
At rated power, 1.33 x 106 Kg/hour of saturated steam at 39.7 Kgf/cm2
pressure is provided by Four Steam Generator to supply to the Turbine. The
Turbine rated at 220 Mwe, is a tandem compound machine with one high-
pressure cylinder and one low-pressure cylinder with double flow. From the
outlet of the HP cylinder, the steam at a pressure of 5.6 Kg/Cm2 passes to a pair
of moisture separator and then to a pair of reheater, where steam is heated up to
233oC for admission to the low-pressure cylinder. Steam exhausted from the
L.P. turbine is condensed in a single pass condenser capable of maintaining a
vacuum of 680 mm of Hg with a NDCT cooled water temperature of 32 oC. The
feed water is heated in six stages upto 171 oC and sent to the Steam Generators.
The Steam Re-heater drain is returned separately to Steam Generators.

6
 Nuclear Reaction in the Reactor:
The reactor also known as Calandria, is the source of heat. Calandria is a
cylindrical vessel having 306 Calandria tubes. One coolant tube passes through
each calandria tube. Each Coolant tube has 12 Fuel Bundles in it which undergo
fission reaction. Heat is produced during fission. Fission is a nuclear reaction in
which a heavy element splits into two fragments by absorbing neutron. Some
energy, neutrons and gamma rays are also emitted during fission. Nuclear
reaction gives much higher energy than the Chemical Reaction. Heavy element,
generally, undergo fission reaction. e.g. U235
To transfer the heat generated in Fuel to Steam Generator, Heavy Water has been
used. The system which transfer heat from Reactor to Steam Generator is called
Primary Heat Transport system (PHT).
In a fission reaction, besides the two fission products, a few (in the case of U-235
2.47 on the average) neutrons are emitted . The principle of chain reaction is very
easy therefore: a U235 nucleus is hit by a neutron, upon which fission occurs at a
high probability. The neutrons produced in this process can cause more fissions,
200 MeV energy is released each time. Consequently, the process becomes self-
sustaining and no external neutron source is needed any longer.
If the neutrons produced from a fission induce only one new fission (because of
escaping from the system or being captured inside) we say that the chain reaction
is of constant intensity. If the neutrons generated from a fission reaction induce
more than one fission than more and more fission reactions will take place in a
unit time and the chain reaction will be diverging.

7
The probability that a high energy neutron emitted in a fission reaction can directly
cause fission is quite low. In order to build a system in which fast neutrons sustain
the chain reaction, very highly enriched uranium is needed, which is very
expensive. A more easily feasible way is to use materials that slow the neutrons
down to such low energies at which the probability of causing fission is significantly
higher. These neutrons slowing down materials are the so called moderators. With
the aid of some adequate moderator one might as well achieve chain reaction using
natural (0.7% U235 content) uranium.
If we simplify things a little, there are two major requirements that a moderator
material should meet: it should have as low atomic mass number as possible and its
neutron absorbing ability should be as low as possible. In practice four elements
meet these requirements: water (H2O), heavy-water (D2O), graphite (C) and
beryllium (Be). Among these water is the most widespread moderator. The
properties of heavy-water are actually better but its disadvantage is the very high
price.
At the fission of U-235 on the average 2.5 neutrons are released but not all of these
cause fission. Obviously, the number of neutrons present in the reactor must be
regulated or controlled since this determines the rate of fission and thus the energy
released per second. In order to control the chain reaction one should use materials
which tend to capture neutrons at a high probability. The most widespread neutron
absorbers are cadmium (Cd) and boron (B).
The so called control rods are made of neutron absorbing materials and can be
moved between the fuel assemblies. For example, if one wishes to decrease the
power of the reactor it is sufficient to push a control rod a little inner. The control
rods are particularly useful for the short term control and stopping the reactor. For
long term regulation usually boric acid dissolved in the coolant is used.
The majority of the emitted neutrons leave the place of fission within an extremely
short time. However, about 0.64% of them (in the case of U-235) only leave the
fission product significantly later. These are the so called delayed neutrons, which
play a vital role in the controllability of reactors.
The fission reaction of the Uranium-235 atom with the thermal neutron in the
nuclear reactor follows:

8
 U235 + 0N1
92 Sr94 + 54Xe140 + 2 0N1 + (Energy)
38

Heavy Water & its Usage:

Heavy water is used both as the moderator (140 tones) and coolant (100 tones).
Heat energy is transported by coolant form reactor to the vertical, integral U-
tubes in shell type of heat exchangers, which function as a boiler to produce steam
and drive Turbo Generator. The heavy water (D2O) is identical to the ordinary
water (H2O) as far as the chemical properties are concerned. But in physical
properties there are minor variations (boiling point 101.4oC and freezing point
3.82oC). The deuterium (D2) in heavy water is an isotope of hydrogen (H2)
having one neutron and one proton in its nucleus. The absorption cross-section of
heavy water for neutron is far less than the ordinary water, which helps in neutron
economy.

9
 Chapter 2: Process Cycles
Steam Cycle:
Carnot Cycle:
The Carnot Cycle is made up of two constant entropy and two constant
temperature processes, all of which are reversible, i.e., the processes assumes to
be ideal with no friction or losses.
The temperature of 2 & 3 is assumed to be maximum temperature at 1 & 4
assumed to be the temperature of the sink i.e., condenser circulating water
temperature.

The Carnot Cycle efficiency is defined as:

=


= 100%

10
 The expansion for this efficiency suggests the reason why initial steam
temperature and condenser cooling water temperature are so important in power
plant.
This cycle represents highest possible efficiency, which can be obtained
from any cycle operating between given maximum and minimum temperatures.
The Carnot cycle provides yardstick for comparing and improving the cycle
efficiency of power plants. But no equipment can be designed to be operated on a
Carnot cycle; this is for only theoretical analysis.

Rankine Cycle:
The more realistic approach of cycle for steam power plant employing steam as
working medium is Rankine cycle.

Methods to improve Rankine Cycle:

It is evident from the above discussion that the power plant cycle efficiency
can be improved as far as close to achieving Carnot efficiency. The several methods
adopted in modern power station practice are listed below
(a) Employing superheated steam.
(b) Increased pressure of steam to the turbine.
(c) Reheating the steam and using it for expansion again.
(d) Regenerative feed water heating.

11
 Improvement adopted at NAPS:
The initial steam temperature and pressure has been set at 250oC & 40
Kg/cm2g depending upon the primary side and fuel design consideration. This
saturated steam is available for expansion in H.P. turbine. The steam leaving HP
turbine after moisture removal again reheated at 250oC at 6 Kg/cm2g and 250oC
and passed on to LP turbine for expansion. The cycle also employs 6 nos. of feed
heaters as regenerative cycle. The No. of feed water heater has been chosen to
optimize basis to have economical boiler feed water temperature at the boiler
entry.
It can be seen from the philosophy of the regenerative cycle that if infinite
no. of heaters were employed it would have been possible. The temperature
differences between the heating steam and inlet feed water becomes zero and thus
achieving of carnot cycle efficiency. But it is not feasible in practice because of feed
water heater cost and space availability. The extraction points permitted by the
turbine manufacturer also limit the heating steam available for those heaters. It has
also been found out that gain in thermal efficiency is marginal if an additional
heater is being put and it is actually out-weighted by the cost of that additional
heater.
The cycle used in Nuclear power plants is Reheat rankine cycle. The moisture
content is quite high when steam leaves the high pressure turbine , which can cause
serious erosion of the turbine blades thus the moisture is reduced by reheating the
steam in a moisture separator and thus a steam with low moisture content reaches
the low pressure turbine and this increases the efficiency of the system.
At normal full load a flow of 1.33 106 kg/hr of 0.26% of wet steam at a pressure
of 40 kg/cm is delivered to the turbine throttle valve. After expansion in H.P.
turbine, steam is exhausted at a pressure of 6.0 kg/cm with a wetness of 11.5%.
Then it passes through external moisture separator reheater. Moisture separator
section of separator reheater reduces the wetness to 1%. Subsequently the steam is
reheated in bleed steam reheater and live steam reheater sections to a temperature
of 233C.
The steam enters the low-pressure double flow turbine at this temperature and
pressure of 5.68 kg/cm where it expands to a backpressure of 0.1185 Kg/cm abs

12
(0.9147 Kg/cm2 (g) or 672.8 mm Hg). The condenser parameters have been
optimized and a condenser pressure has been selected for cooling water
temperature of 32C at condenser inlet.
The steam is condensed in a surface condenser and the condensate is withdrawn
from the condenser at approx. saturation temperature. Heat is recovered by the
condensate from the steam air ejector inter after condenser and turbine gland
steam condenser before entering the L.P. feed water heater train. This train
consists of a drain cooler, three (3) low-pressure tubes in shell type heaters namely
LPH 1, LPH 2 and LPH 3 are with integral drain cooling zone.
The feed heating train also consists of the direct contact type deaerating heater
with external vent condenser and two tubes in shell type HP heaters namely HPH
5 and HPH 6. While passing through the feed heating trains the feed water is
heated to a temperature of 170.8C.

The feed water returns to the main and auxiliary feed nozzle of steam generators
having individual sets of flow control system. The reheater drains from both the
live steam reheaters tube nests are collected in a live steam reheater drain tank
and pumped back to the steam generators.

13
 Provision of dumping the live steam in the condenser in bypassing mode is also
there. This dumping operation is made by means of steam dump valves. Steam
pressure is further reduced by break down orifice and the steam is DE
superheated before entering the condenser by injecting water. These steam dump
valves take signal from boiler pressure controller.

Steam Mains:
The boiler steam pressure is programmed to rise linearly from 40 kg/cm (g) at
100% load to 48.6 kg/cm (g) at no load from swell and shrinkage considerations
in the PHT system heavy water.
The design pressure of the steam system has been taken as 50 kg/cm (g).
considering transient pressure variations over no load boiler pressure of 48.6
kg/cm (g). The design temperature of 264C is the saturation temperature
corresponding to the above design pressure. The main steam headers have been
designed to allow a total steam flow of 1.33106 kg/hr and to limit the pressure
drop to 0.32kg/cm. Considering the turbine capability, loss and cost of pipes
arrives at this pressure drop. The steam main headers are of 711.2 mm OD
17.5mm thick.
The number of headers has been chosen as two considering the number steam
generators, their layout, the size of the individual and the two feeding points
required for the turbine. The main steam has been designed for SSE (safe shut
down earthquake) and has been dynamically analyzed for both SSE and OBE
(operating bases earthquake) conditions by response spectrum method.
Two 500mm NB steam outlet connections, one each from the two steam
generators are connected to a 700 mm NB header in each bank with no intervening
valves. These mains carry steam from the two boiler banks from reactor building
to the turbine building.
Inside the reactor building each main is suitably anchored at the boiler end. The
design of anchors take into considerations apart from the load due to thermal
expansion and earthquake, the thrust exerted upon it is eventuality of the main
steam pipe rupture. Further to prevent the pipe whip of the main steam pipe in the
reactor building in case of severance occurring to the west of the anchor, a limit

14
stop has been provided at the end of the pipe header to stop excessive movement
of the pipe. The limit stops will allow a deflection of 10mm and are designed to
take a load of 200 tones.
The steam mains leave the reactor building through wall penetrations on the
perimeter wall. These penetrations are closed by steel plates 25mm thick and are
attached through pipe sleeves and penetration bellows to the steam mains. The
steam mains before entering to the turbine building are laid over a pipe bridge and
on another outdoor run carry the controlled steam discharged valves and safety
relief valves
The main headers enter the turbine building and both mains are inter connected by
an equalizing line of 400 mm NB just before the connections of the CIES valves
(combined isolating and emergency stop valve). The equalizing line permits the
testing of the CIES valves one by one for up to 60% load. Connection for this
dumping has been taken from the equalizing branch. The steam lines are provided
with adequate slopes so that moisture can be drained during warm up. Drain
points have been provided on the steam mains for ensuring drainage for starting
and power operation.
Steam required for reheating in live steam reheater, air ejectors and turbine gland
sealing systems under normal operating conditions have been tapped at suitable
locations from these mains. However during part load below 55% and steam
dumping operation, main steam is also supplied to the deaerator for heating the
condensate to the desired temperature and to pressurize the deaerator a bit more
than the saturation pressure corresponding to deaerator temperature to avoid
boiling of water.

15
 Chapter 3: Primary Heat Transport System
General
The main function of primary heat transport system is to transport the heat
produced in the fuel to steam generator, in which the steam is generated from
ordinary water (i.e. Demineralized Water) to run the turbine.
The heat transport medium is pressurized heavy water and is circulated through
the main circuit by Primary circulating pumps (PCPs). PHT system is pressurized
to 87 kg/cm2 to carry more heat without boiling.

Principle Failures:
The following features are incorporated in PHT system: -
i. Continuous circulation of coolant through the reactor at all times by various
modes as listed below:-
a) In normal operations circulation of coolant is by primary circulating
Pumps (PCPs).

16
 b) Flywheel is provided in the PCP motors to extend the pump rundown
time so that in case of loss of power the flow reduction is gradual.
c) After loss of power to pumps, adequate circulate would be maintained
through thermosyphoning.
d) When main circulating pumps are not operating, arrangement for
cooling the fuel is done by means of shutdown cooling pump below
150C.
e) In case of major leakage of coolant, there is provision for emergency
injection of heavy water from D2O accumulator (a large tank contain15
ton D2O) when the pressure falls down to 55kg/cm and if continues to
fall by light water injection at 32kg/cm.

Description:
PHT system is pressurized heavy water system (Pr = 87 Kg/cm).It forms closed
loop. Heavy water (PHT) passes over the fuel bundles through 306 coolant tubes
and gets heated. Each coolant tube is connected to outlet feeder. All feeders are
connected to reactor outlet header (ROH). From reactor outlet header (ROH)
PHT passes through steam generator (SG) in tube side. Shell side of SG is filled
with light water, which gets heated up and converts into steam. Thus PHT
transfers its heat and gets cooled. Cold D2O outlet from steam generator is
pumped by primary coolant pump (PCP) to reactor inlet header (RIH). From
reactor inlet header PHT passes through reactor inlet feeders and through coolant
tubes. While in coolant tubes D2O picks up heat. Hot PHT reaches in ROH
through outlet feeders. It again passes through SG and transfers its heat to light
water. Cool D2O is pumped to reactor inlet. Thus heavy water is continuously
circulated through coolant tubes and steam generators.
NAPS PHT system has four PCP and each PCP is connected to one steam
generator. There are two-reactor outlet header one on north side and another one
on south side of reactor. Similarly two reactor inlet headers are also in either side.
There is bi-directional flow through coolant tubes. Out of 306 tubes, PHT flows
from north side to south side in 153 tubes and from south side to north side in 153

17
 tubes. Adjacent tubes have reverse flow direction. PHT inlet and outlet
temperature to and from calandria are 249C and 293C respectively.

Auxiliaries to the PHT System:

Purification:
Impurities like corrosion products, crud and fission products (if comes to PHT
water) are removed from the system by purification. The circuit also helps to
achieve a pH value between 9.5 to 10.5 and maintain the conductivity of D2O to
30 siemens/cm to avoid corrosion as PHT system pipe lines, made of carbon
steel.
Standby Cooling System:
For reactor core cooling when the system temperature is below 150C and for
holding the system at low temperature during plant maintenance (shut down) an
auxiliary cooling system is provided which is known as standby cooling system or
shutdown cooling system. The system is connected between the reactor outlet
and inlet header at each end of the reactor.
Primary Relief:
Once the reactor has been operated at significant power the fuel will continuously
supply heat. If normal heat removal fails and normal pressure control fails or their
capacities are exceeded, the increase in coolant volume caused by the reactor
heat, would be passed out through primary system relief valves (RVs), one relief
line connects the pressurized end of south shutdown cooling loop to the bleed
condenser through 3 instrumented relief valves in parallel.
Leakage Collection:
Leakage from potential leak source in the system e.g. valve stem packing, double
gasket joints, flanged connections and pump seals etc. is collected in a tank and
then returned to the system through purification circuit or sent to heavy water
transfer system.

18
 Chapter 4: Functioning of Important Valves & Pumps

Relief Valve:
PHT system relief valves are designed to open simultaneously at system pressure
of 93.90 Kg/cm (at ROH). These control valves (CVs) are Air to close and
spring to open type. Air being supplied to the CVs through solenoid valves
(SVs).

Primary Circulating Pump (PCP):

Primary circulating pumps (4 nos.) are vertical centrifugal single stage, radial
impeller, double volute casing, bottom suction and horizontal radial discharge
type. Each pump is coupled with a 2.8MW, 6.6 KV motor. The coupling between
pump and motor is self-aligning curved tooth gears coupling and hence require
lubricating oil supply.
They are designed to provide a flow of 3560 m/hr at a system temperature of
266C with 180 m operating head. The PCPs are equipped with 3 mechanical
seals and a back up stein seal. At each mechanical seal, pressure drops occurs
nearly 2/3rd of its initial value.

Primary Feed Pump (PFP):

Primary feed pumps (2 nos.) are fourteen stages, vertical centrifugal pumps. Each
pump is rated at 1140 lpm at 945 meters head. The motor is powered by 6.6 KV
supply. Purpose of PFP is to keep PHT system pressurized at 87 kg/cm2.

Combined Isolating And Emergency Stop Valve (CIES):

The CIES valves may be operated either by hand wheel provided on the turbine
operating floor or by electric motor remotely operated from control room or from
turbine gauge board.
The CIES valves are a single seated valve with venturi type steam passage. The
valve seat assembly incorporates a steam strainer. The valve body contains an

19
 integral bypass valve, capable of passing sufficient steam for starting and light
loading.
The CIES valve is provided with built in safety feature against the inadvertent
opening of the valve after the turbine trip. When the turbine trips, both the valves
get close automatically. They cannot be opened again even after the turbine is reset
unless the CIES valve is itself reset by bringing its hand wheel to the fully closed
position.

Non-Return Valves (NRVs) On The Turbine Extractions:

Non- return valves are provided in the bleed steam lines to prevent turbine over
speed due to back flow of the steam into the turbine which is likely to occur during
turbine unloading. The valves are solenoid air to open type. Solenoid valve will be
energized normally. Solenoid valve will get deaneries to drain the compressed
air and NRV will be closed by spring force acting until the turbine speed falls.

Pressure Relief Valves:

Three pressure relief valves are provided in each main steam header set at
50kg/cm2, 50.75 kg/cm2 and 51.5 kg/cm2 for over pressure protection.
And three pressure relief valves are also provided in Re-heater shells to protect
from internal excessive pressure. Relief valves are set to open at a pressure of 6.0
kg/cm are provided on the left hand side of the hot reheat pipe and one bursting
diaphragm to burst at a pressure of 7.05 kg/cm. The Pressure relief valves are
usually spring loaded and valve opening pressure is adjusted by tightening and
loosening the spring. The valve is activated by static pressure under the disk.
When the line pressure exceeds the preset of the spring the valve is opened and
the excess fluid go out of the system itself.

20
 Chapter 5: Turbine Station

Turbine:
The main steam lines described above terminate at the common inlet chamber of
CIES valve steam chest in which two CIES valves are housed. From the common
outlet chamber of the CIES valve steam chest, two-loop pipe lead the steam to
two governor valves located on either side of the H.P. turbine. From the
governor valves, two more loop pipes lead the steam to the H.P. cylinder
(H.P.Turbine). All these loop pipes are sufficiently flexible to allow the thermal
movements in the system without creating excessive forces and moments.
The turbine is a tandem compound horizontal impulse reaction type, which when
running at 3000 r.p.m. Will drive a 235 MW generator. It consists of a single
high-pressure cylinder and one double flow low pressure cylinder (L.P.Turbine).
The high-pressure section has five sections (stages) in one cylinder. Steam is bled
for feed heating. The 0.26% wet steam at pressure of 40 kg/cm and 250C is
supplied to CIES valves (combined isolating and emergency stop valves). The
turbine is pressure compounded to expand the steam in two cylinders, HP and
LP. After expansion in HP cylinder the steam is exhausted into two separators
cum reheaters where moisture is separated and steam is reheated to 233C before
it enters the double flow low-pressure turbine.
The exhaust steam from H.P. cylinder is led to the two moisture separator cum
reheaters units (Separator Reheaters). Steam from separator-reheater is taken to
the LP cylinders. One L.P. interceptor emergency and governor valve is installed
in each reheat line. Bellow type steam expansion joints are provided on H.P.
cylinder exhausts, separator- reheater inlet and outlet side and at L.P. interceptor
valves to take care of thermal expansion of the pipes. LP cylinder has five stages in
each flow. Steam is from various stages of L.P. cylinder for feed heating. The
exhausts from the L.P. cylinder are led through the diffuser to the condenser.
Steam extracted from suitable stages of HP and LP turbine to provide for 6 stage
regenerative feed heating with a final water temperature to 170.7C.
The rotating element of the turbine consists of the H.P. rotor and L.P. rotor
solidly coupled together to form a single shaft. This shaft is rigidly coupled to the

21
 rotating element of the generator on the L.P. out board bearing side. The thrust
bearing is provided in the pedestal between the H.P. and L.P. outer cylinder.
Cooling water sprays are provided at either end of the L.P. cylinder, which
automatically come into action in case of excessive rise in exhaust hood
temperature.
Gland seals are provided to prevent the leakage of steam to atmosphere from the
high-pressure ends of the turbine and ingress of air into the turbine at the low-
pressure ends between rotary and stationary components. Live steam is tapped
from the steam line and supplied to the L.P. and H.P. turbine glands through
pressure regulating valves.
An A.C. motor barring gear is provided for turning the turbine rotors when
starting up and shutting down so as to prevent rotor distortion due to unequal
heating or cooling. Because of the use of saturated steam, special provision has
been necessary to limit erosion. H.P. casing is made of 2-1/4" Cr., 1% Mo steel
castings. L.P. casings are made of mild steel fabrication. HP rotor and LP mono
block rotor are made of Ni, Cr, Mo, V steel. HP and LP moving blades are made
of stainless steel 12-14% Cr.. Internal passages of turbine cylinders are arranger to
avoid removal of water with steam bled off for feed water heating and reheating of
steam. The last row of moving blades on the LP side is welded with stellite strips
on the leading edges by electron beam welding to protect the blades from erosion.
High chrome stainless steel metal has been deposited on the internal surface of HP
cylinder and CIES valves seats are stellited to reduce the effect of suspended water
in steam impinging on these surfaces. Each turbine rotor has been dynamically
balanced and over speed tested at 20% above rated speed.

Turbine Oil System:

A single oil system serves both the turbine hydraulic control system and
lubrication system. During normal operation of the turbine, the main oil pump,
the impeller shaft of which is directly coupled with turbine shaft, takes suction
from the oil tank, provides the oil to the oil system. A portion of the main oil
pump discharge drives the oil turbine driving the booster pump and discharge into
lower pressure header for bearing lubrication oil.

22
 This oil system provides oil for bearing lubrication and high-pressure oil for the
turbine control gear and generator shaft sealing system.

Some Important Devices In Turbine Governing System

Function of the governing system is as follows:
(a). To run up the turbine up to the rated speed.
(b). Maintain the speed, while no load.
(c). When connected with grid, it should be able to follow the reactor power.
(d). To trip or safeguard the turbine under any abnormal condition.
To perform the above functions, the turbine oil of various pressures is used to
control various units. The oil, which is used to drive CIES valves, is called relay
oil.

Main Components are:

a) Speeder gear:
The speeder gear is mounted in the front pedestal (near turbine). It is used to
raise and lower the compensating sleeve of the governor pilot valve, thus
varying the H.P. sensitive oil pressure to control the degree of opening of the
H.P. governor valves and thereby the output of the governor. Actually HP
governor valves are controlled by HP sensitive oil pressure signal and this
pressure is governed by a piston cylinder (sleeve) assembly. Piston is controlled
by speed governor and speeder gear is connected to sleeve.
b) Speed governor:
It is of centrifugal type. It consists of two weights, which are connected by
spring. On change in speed, centrifugal forces causes the weights to swing
outwards or inwards on their pivots against the tension of the spring in turn
changes the position of H.P. & L.P. pilot valves, mounted above the speed
governor and thereby varying the H.P. & L.P. sensitive oil pressure to control
the opening of the H.P. & L.P. governor valves respectively.
c) H.P. governor valves
H.P. governor valves regulate the steam admission to the turbine. These are
opened or closed as per the H.P. sensitive oil pressure. This pressure is
adjusted by the action of centrifugal governor or by the action of speeder gear.

23
 Centrifugal governor gets signal either from the turbine speed when turbine is
unsynchronized or from the grid frequency when turbine is synchronized.
Each HP governor valves is provided with a steam strainer. The valve is
provided with spindle leak off arrangement. The force of relay oil pressure
opens the valve and the closing force is obtained by powerful springs on
draining of relay oil pressure.
d) L.P. interceptor emergency stop valves(LPIESV):
These valves are of the butterfly design operated by a spring loaded power
piston. The valves are fitted with mechanical stops at each end of their strokes.
Relay oil trip valves directly control these valves. With relay oil established
they open and when relay the trip valves they automatically close under spring
force cut off oil.
e) L.P. interceptor governor valves:
These valves are also of the butterfly design. The L.P. sensitive oil pressure
controls interceptor governor valves. L.P. sensitive oil transmitter unit
depends only on the speed of the turbine. These valves are never disturbed by
the operation of the turbine. L.P. sensitive oil pressure starts dropping above
103% above the rated speed and valves start closing. At 106% above the rated
speed, L.P. sensitive oil pressure reaches a minimum value and valves are fully
open and closed.
f) Acceleration governor:
The acceleration governor is incorporated to reduce the speed rise of the
turbine on sudden loss of the load. On constant speed, H.P. and L.P.sensitive
oil supply ports provided on acceleration governor are not open to drain, when
rotor acceleration high, it will temporarily open both the H.P. and L.P.
sensitive oil system to drain, thereby closing all H.P.and L.P governor valves in
less time than is possible under normal governor action.

Measurement of Speed:
The main turbine speed is measured in to ranges. Turbine high speed channel
measures the speed between 0-4000 RPM and turbine low speed channel measure
the speed between 0-75RPM.Barring gear motor speed is also measured in the
range 0-2000 RPM (local instrument). The main turbine high speed, low speed

24
 and barring gear motor speed are measured by separate proximity probe
detectors. The proximity probe detector for turbine low speed and high-speed
measurement are mounted in the front pedestal adjacent to the flywheel of the
acceleration governor, which has 24 teeth. Barring gear motor speed is mounted
adjacent to the 4-start worm on main turbine barring gear. The proximity probe
detector, which is, mounted close to a toothed wheel, experiences a sudden
change in the air gap when a tooth is in the target area of the probe. This sudden
change of air gap is converted into a square wave with a magnitude independent of
tooth velocity but with a frequency, which is a function of shaft speed, by
electronic circuits. The frequency represents turbine and barring gear motor
speed.

Some Important Parameters In Turbine

a) At the Inlet of H.P. Turbine:
Pressure = 40kg/cm.
Temperature = 250C
Moisture = 0.26 or 26%
b) At the Outlet of H.P. Turbine:
Pressure = 6 kg/cm
Temperature = 150C
Moisture = 11 12%.
c) At the Inlet of L.P. Turbine:
Pressure = 5.5 kg/cm
Temperature = 233C

Important Data:
a) Mainstream pressure before stop valve in kg/cm gauge.
At 0% load = 48.0 kg/cm
At 100% load = 40.0 kg/cm
b) Main steam temperature before stop valve;
At 0% load = 262.1C
At 100% load = 2500C
c) Re-heater outlet temperature = 233.33C.

25
d) Final feed water temperature = 170.72C.
e) Condenser back pressure = 63.5 cm Hg abs.
f) Maximum continuous generator rating = 264 MVA
g) Rated speed = 3000 RPM
h) Speed on turning gear = 34.5 RPM
i) Maximum throttle flow = 1333.6 tons/hr
j) Number of extractions =7
k) Number of exhaust paths =2
l) Last stage blade length = 944mm.
m) Last stage mean diameter = 2633.9 mm

26
 Chapter 6: Moisture Separator & Reheater System

Separator Drain System:

Description:
The exhaust steam from the high pressure turbine contains a large quantity of
moisture so before admitting the steam to low pressure turbine. It is passed
through combined moisture separator and reheater unit, which remove the
moisture from the H.P exhaust steam.
The large quantities drain produces from the moisture separator section is drained
into tanks . The drain from TK-1 is normally pumped to H.P. drain cooler by
means of two pumps Separator drain pumps P1 and P2. In case H.P, drain cooler
is not available or deaerator level is high the drain is returned to condenser
through flash tank.
The small baffles of the moisture separator section in MSR ensure an even
distribution before steam passes through the separator pad. The separator pad is
designed to remove moisture from the steam, this moisture is collected from each
unit of MSR via drain connection fitted at bottom of the shell.
Description of the Control:
Two 100% capacity pumps (Separator drain pumps P1 & P2) are there to take
suction from the moisture separator drain tank (TK-1) to and to discharge through
control valve (CV-30). A drain tank level controller (LC-2) regulates this control
valve. Two level switches LS-67 and LS-68 are provided for low level pump trip
and other for high level annunciation and opening of the bypass valve MV-26 to
flash tank.

Reheater Drain System:

Description:
The exhaust steam from the high pressure turbine is initially passed through the
moisture separators of combined separator and reheater units which remove the
moisture from the H.P. exhaust steam. The outlet steam from the moisture
separators is routed inside the shell foe reheating in two stages first in bleed steam

27
 reheaters and subsequently in the live steam reheaters. The bleed steam and live
steam give their latent heat to the H.P. exhaust steam and in turned get
condensed.
The drain condensate from bleed steam reheaters is collected in two bleed steam
drain tanks TK-1 and TK-2 and condensate from live steam reheaters in live
reheaters drain tank TK-3. The drain from the TK-3 is normally pumped back to
the boilers. The drain from TK-1 and TK-2 is returned normally to H.P. heater
#6. No drain pumps are used for this purpose. The differential pressure between
TK-1 and TK-2 and H.P. heater #6 is utilized for transferring the drain
condensate to H.P. heater # 6 is out of service due to any reason, the drain is
returned to moisture separator drain tank.
Description of the control:
Two 100% capacity pumps Reheater drain pumps P-1&P-2 are arranged to take
suction from the live steam reheater drain tank TK-3 and to discharge through two
control valves (CV-48 and CV-47) to boilers. A drain tank level controller LC-1
regulates these two valves. Two switches (LS-66 and LS-65) are provided for high
and low annunciations. When both the pumps trip, MV-20 valve will be opened
for allowing the condensate to go to L.P. flash tank.
As already stated from bleed steam drain is collected in two bleed steam reheaters
drain tanks. The level of TK-1 is controlled in split range by CV-49& 50.
Depending on the level of TK-1 LC#3 allows condensate to discharge through
CV-49 or CV-50 to H.P. heater #6 or to moisture separator drain tank.
As the steam expands in H.P. cylinder, the moisture content of steam goes up to
about 11-12% at the H.P. exhaust. Pressure of so high moisture would de
detrimental to L.P. blades and would adversely affect the efficiency of the cycle.
Hence the steam is reheated before allowing it to enter the L.P. stage by means of
two combined MSRs, which are provided in each of the two crossover lines from
H.P. turbine to L.P. turbine.
The MSRs are of single shell design having two parallel circuits. In each circuit
there is one moisture separation stage followed by 1st and 2nd reheating stages.
The moisture separators are of demister stainless steel mesh type. The moisture
content of the steam after passing through the separator stage reduces to 1%. The

28
 first reheating is done by means of four bled steam tube nests in each MSR getting
steam from extraction No. 7. The 2nd stage reheating is done by of two live steam
tube nests in each MSRs. Live steam and bleed steam tube nests are made up of U
bent, finned, mild steel tubes.
In order to protect the tube nests from damage due to impingement of steam
coming out of moisture separator an item called 'Vent Element' is provided
between moisture separator and bled steam tube bundles on main steam path.
There are two vent elements in each MSR placed below each bled steam tube nest.
The vent element is formed of one layer of mild steel finned tubes through which
vent steam from bled steam tube header is circulated.
Three relief valves are provided on one of the hot reheat lines i.e., one of the
MSRs outlet lines with a set pressure of 6 kg/cm g for protecting the MSRs
from high pressure. The relief valves are designed for 10% capacity only. Two
bursting diaphragms on each MSR shell is also provided as extra protection device.
The bursting pressure of these discs is 7.05 kg/cm. The bursting diaphragm is
designed for 90% capacity. The MSR shell design pressure is 9.36 kg/cm.
The internal layout of equipment within the reheater shell is listed below in order.
1. Steam distribution plates.
2. Moisture separator mesh.
3. Vent element heater tubes.
4. Bleed steam heater tube nest.
5. Live steam heater tube nest.

Shell:
Support foot shell is provided by 4 pairs of fabricated support feed welded to the
shell. The unit is anchored in position by one fixed support foot. The remaining
support feed is of the sliding type to allow for the expansion and contraction of the
shell.

29
 Distribution plates:
Distribution plates are fitted below the separator pad and above the cold reheat
steam inlet connections to ensure an even steam distribution through both
separator pads and reheater.
Separator pads:
The separator pad is made up from a number of woven stainless steel pads six
inches deep and supported on a stainless steel grid. They are placed horizontally.
Vent element heaters:
Vent element heater is fitted above the separator pad and comprises a single row of
tubes. Steam and non-condensable gases are supplied to the vent element from the
bleed steam heater header. After passing through the vent element, the steam and
gases are finally vent to the deaerator.
Bleed steam reheater:
Four steam heaters operating from bleed steam supplied from the HP turbine are
fitted to each reheater shell.
Live steam reheater:
Two steam reheater operating from live steam supplied from the main steam line
are fitted on each reheater shell.

30
 Chapter 7: Feed Water System

Feed water system consists of the deaerator feed water line from the deaerator to
feed water pumps, H.P. drain cooler, H.P. heaters 5 & 6, the boiler feed control
station and inter connecting valves and piping between these equipments. This
system ensures the continuous supply of deaerated water to the steam generator.
The condensate which is extracted from the hot well is passed through number of
heaters and is finally stored in the deaerator. Deaerator is kept pressurized at 2
kg/cm by bleed steam taken from L.P. turbine. Steam also heats the feed water
up to 120C. When bleed steam is not available pegging steam fulfill the purpose.
There are three 50% main Boiler feed pumps (BFPs). Two pumps are
required to run normally. They take suction from deaerator and discharges
through HPDC, HPH-5 & HPH-6 to steam generator. Steam generator level is
controlled by a set of feed water control valves to SG. Feed water enters SG at
171C being heated by bleed steam in HP heaters. Two auxiliaries BFP act as
stand by when main BFPs are not running. The water fro-auxiliary BFPs
bypasses the heaters. One emergency feed water line connects auxiliary BFP
discharge to SG in case of any break in main header.
Hydrazine and Morpholine is injected in BFP suction & CEP discharge to remove
oxygen and control pH respectively.

Main Components of feed water system are:

Deaerator:
The primary function of deaerator is to remove oxygen and other non-
condensable gases in the feed water and also to heat up the feed water with
extraction steam to increase the turbine cycle efficiency. The deaerator consists of
a cylindrical horizontal storage tank upon which is mounted the deaerator heater
and a vent condenser. A tray assembly has been provided in the storage tank in the
passage of falling condensate, which further reduces the concentration of non-
condensable gases. The steam and gases thus liberated are vented through two
connections in the steam space of vent condenser. The steam and non-condensable

31
 gases are cooled & condensed by the main condensate water flowing in the tube
side of the vent condenser.
The above drain condensate is drain to deaerator storage tank. The oxygen and
non-condensable gases are let out to the atmosphere through the vent condenser.
Four-pressure relief valves are provided on the storage tank to protect the vessel
from over pressure.
HP heaters 5 & 6:
These heaters are of condensing and integral drain cooling type mounted
vertically. These are shell and tube type. The tubes are U shaped and made of
90/10 cupro nickel. The ends of the tubes are expanded into forged steel tube
plate. A fabricated steel shell encloses the tube bundle and is provided with a steel
inlet, vent drain connection and relief device and stand pipe connections.
H.P. Drain Cooler:
The function of H.P drain cooler is to take heat out of drains from H.P. heaters
before being led to the deaerator storage tank. This is mounted horizontally on
these supports, two caster wheels, support on shell and one fixed support on water
box.
The drain cooler has a nest of 90/10 cupro nickel U tubes. The ends of the tubes
are expanded into forged steel tube plate. The tube bundle is enclosed in a
fabricated steel shell. The shell is provided with drain inlet and outlet, vent and
relief device mounting connections. Feed water flows through the inside of tubes
and drain on outside.
Boiler Feed Pump:
The boiler feed pumps take their suction from the deaerator storage tank and
discharge the feed water through the high-pressure feed water heaters into the
boiler. There are 3 No.s BFPs (three stage horizontal centrifugal pumps) are
provided to meet the requirement. These pumps are 50% capacity pumps; hence
two operates at a time and third is standby on auto.

Pump Specifications:
Capacity = 675 T/hr
Head = 548 meters.

32
 Speed = 2975 rpm
Efficiency = 77.5%
Condensate is heated from 49c in hot well up to 171C on SG inlet by a train
of heaters. The water is in tube side and bleed steam is in shell side of feed heaters.
Bleed steam is extracted from various stages in HP turbine and LP turbine.

Advantages of Bleeding Steam:

a) To improve the efficiency of the cycle- Enthalpy (heat) of bleed steam is utilized
to increase the condensate temperature, which otherwise would go to condenser
cooling water system.
b) To remove moisture content- moisture in steam, inside turbine increases after
expansion & bleed steam carry out it thus erosion & damage to turbine is prevented.
c) To avoid/ reduce thermal shock to SG- SG is at 250C and condensate in hot
well is at 49C. By regenerative cycle condensate temp. is increased to 170C.
d) To reduce turbine size- Bleed steam if not taken out would increase volume &
require higher size of turbine stages for further expansion. Turbine size is thus
reduced by bleeding.

33
 Line Diagram of Main Boiler Feed Water System:

Condenser clg. .water Vent

L.P.HTR-3
Vent condenser
Condenser
L.P.HTR-2 Deaerator

Hot well L.P.HTR-1 Deaerator Storage

Cond Tank
extractio
n pumps

Steam
H.P H.P

H.P.
. . Boiler feed
Drain Pumps
Generator HTR HTR

Main Condensate System:

The main condensate system ensures the continuous supply of feed water to the
deaerator. This condensate is pumped by two main CEPS to main Condenser,
Air ejector condenser, and gland steam condenser, LP. Drain cooler, Low
pressure feed heaters 1, 2 & 3 then finally to the deaerator.
The exhaust steam from LP cylinder is condensed by cooling water flowing
through the tubes in the main condenser. The condensate is pumped by the
condenser extraction pumps to the deaerator through the inter after condenser,
gland steam condenser, L.P. drain cooler, L.P. feed heaters 1, 2 & 3. The main
condensate that passes through the inter after condenser absorbs the heat from the
steam that is used in ejectors and the steam gets condensed. Gland steam
condenser condenses the steam that is used for sealing the turbine glands, as the
main condensate water passes through the tubes. Drain cooler receives the steam
drain that is condensed on shell side of L.P. heaters and is drained to the
condenser due to pressure difference. In the drain cooler the heaters drain

34
transfer the sensible heat to the main condensate. L.P. heater # 1 gets the
extraction from L.P. turbine before stage 5. Heater #2 & 3 get the extraction
from the L.P. turbine before stages 4 & 3 respectively. Water sealing provided at
the valves packing of some of the valves in the condensate system, which are
directly connected to the condenser to avoid ingress of atmospheric air.
The deaerator heater is a spray and tray unit with external vent condenser,
guaranteed to reduce the oxygen. The operating pressure of deaerator storage
tank is 3.02 kg/cm at the full turbine load. The corresponding temperature of
water in the deaerator storage tank is 133.81C. However this pressure is reduced
with the reduction in turbine load condition and a separate steam supply is
provided from main steam line. This pegging steam is designed to maintain
deaerator pressure at 1.75 kg/cm so that minimum temperature of feed water to
the steam generators can be 115.5C. The deaerator is designed for 3.5 kg/cmg
pressure and 195C temperature.
The deaerated condensate is stored in the deaerator storage tank, which has a
capacity of 240 m at normal operating level. The capacity of storage tank at very
low level i.e.; centerline of tank is 140 m. Reactor trip is initiated at very low
level in deaerator storage tank and after some time delay main Boiler feed pump
(BFP) is tripped and auxiliary Boiler feed pump (ABFP) starts to feed water to the
steam generator for decay heat removal. The inventory is sufficient for normal
cool down of PHT with ABFP running.
Along with two 100% CEPs, two auxiliary condensate extraction pumps (ACEP)
each rated for 27 m/hr have been provided. Only one pump is required to
operate at a time; however redundant pump has been provided as a stand by
considering single component failure. These pumps have been selected as
27m/hr taking into consideration the requirement of decay heat removal from
reactor. The head of the pump selected is 125 MWC same as that of MCEP to
allow on line testing of ACEPs.
The ACEPs take suction from condenser hot well and discharge into the main
condensate header. The ACEP supply water to deaerator to maintain its level in
the event of a reactor trip and normal class IV electrical power failure (ACEPs can
also be run when only diesel generators are available, known as class III supply).

35
 Condenser:
The condenser is a single pass surface type with four inlet water boxes and all the
water boxes are provided with vent and drain connection. Manholes are provided
for maintenance and tube plugging facility. The cooling water inlet and outlet are
connected to the water boxes through expansion joints for arresting vibrations and
allowing thermal expansion without generating undue stresses. The condenser is
mounted rigidly on the foundation to take care of the differential of the thermal
movement between the turbine exhaust and the condenser shell. Expansion joint
is provided at the common exhaust of the double flow L.P. turbine. A transition
piece connects the turbine exhaust to the condenser shell holding the tube bundle
known as the condenser neck. Adequate space is provided in the condenser neck
for all the low-pressure extraction lines to pass through it. Nozzles for makeup,
re-circulation and demineralized water are provided at the neck section of the
condenser, so that incoming water is de-aerated. The tubes are provided with a
gentle slope towards the outlet water boxes for draining facility. The condenser is
provided with a hot well having storage capacity of 40 tones with normal level,
these correspond to two minutes full power flow. For handling the dump steam in
the condenser, suitable distribution header is provided inside the condenser. Four-
dump steam inlet connection is provided in the steam space just above the hot
well level. Prior the entry, steam pressure is reduced, de-superheated partially by
spraying condensate water. The cooling water-cools the non-condensable gases
along with the steam. The lower portion of the tube bundle is separated to permit
the cooling of the air vapour mixture. Adequate spaces have been provided for the
re-circulation of the gases. This section of the condenser is connected to the
suction of the ejector.
The various level figures for alarm and control in the hot well are follows:
(1). Normal operating hot well level 275mm above bottom of the hot well.
(2). Low level set at 175mm above the bottom of the hot well provided a storage
capacity of 25.4 tones in condenser hot well this ensures NPSH margin for
condensate extraction pumps.
(3). High-level alarm set at 350mm above the bottom of the well. This setting
provides minimum steam space required between bottoms of dump steam header

36
 and hot well. The level should never be allowed to reach the opening in the dump
steam header to prevent water ingress into the dump steam line and to avoid
damage to dump headers.
Condenser Data:
Condenser Pressure = 0.1185 Kg/cm abs
Inlet Cooling Water Temperature = 32C
Temperature of Condensate at hot well outlet = 49C.
Steam flow to the condenser = 65527 Kg/hr.
Drain flow from feed water heater = 117356 Kg/hr.
Drain flow from air ejector condenser = 450 kg/hr.
Cooling water flow = 38942 m/hr.
Total heating cond. = 450.67106 kcal/m.
Water velocity = 1.6 m/sec.
Number of tubes = 16420
Effective tube length = 13.41 mts.
Number of water boxes =8
Design pressure = 3.5 kg/cm.

Condensate Extraction Pumps:

Two 100% capacity condensate extraction pumps and two 2.5% auxiliary
condensate extraction pumps are provided to pump the condensate from the hot-
-well to the deaerator. During normal operation one of 100% CEPs will be in
operation and other will be as standby for auto cut in if the discharge header
pressure drops below 11 kg/cm or when the running CEP trips due to some
reason. Also standby pump will start during deaerator low level.
The auxiliary 2.5% CEPs are used during shutdown and for filling the system
with condensate after the system is drained for maintenance the auxiliary
condensate extraction pumps will be normally kept in auto and starts
automatically when both the pumps trips.

37
 Function of the main Condensate Extraction Pumps and Auxiliary
Condensate Extraction Pumps:

a) Main Condensate Extraction Pumps:

It is a vertical multistage centrifugal barrel pump of sectional type. The suction
and delivery connections are located on distributor casing above which bearing
stool is fixed. The pumps are capable of delivering 1111 m/hr at a delivery
head of 125-mts.of water columns.
The arrangement for lubrication of the pumps is self-contained. The thrust
bearing and radial bearing are filled in with oil , cooled by cooling coils which
are installed in the bearing housing. The oil level gauge is mounted on the outer
bearing housing from which the oil level inside the bearing housing can be
observed.
The bearings are cooled by non-active low-pressure water. Normal cooling
water flow for each bearing is 8.5 lit/min. The CEP motors are rated 6.6 KV
for direct on line start and supplied with class IV power supply. 600 watt, 240
volts space heaters are provided in each motor for eliminating the moisture
from the air during shutdown.

b) Auxiliary Condensate Extraction Pumps:

There are two pumps 2.5% duty. The pumps are vertical multistage,
centrifugal barrel type and are provided with deep groove ball type thrust
bearing for which are cooling water is required. The drive of the pumps is
affected by a electric motor through a flexible coupling. On the bottom section
of the distributor casing suction and delivery nozzles are located.
The condensate pressure is developed by transformation of velocity into
pressure through the diffuser. The normal required suction head is 0.314
kg/cm for a discharge of 27 m/hr, with the total head of 125 mts. Of the
water column. The speed of the pump is 2890 r.p.m. . The motor is 18.5 KW,
415-volt class III power supply.

38
 Air Ejectors Condensers:
The removal of air from main condenser is accomplished by steam air ejector with
inter and after condenser. For both the service air ejector a common inter after
condenser has been used, the drain from the inter after condenser shell side,
which is condensate of steam, used for air removal is connected it to main
condensate through a 4mm high loop seal.

Gland Steam Condensers:

Gland steam condenser is located in the main condensate circuit next to the air
ejector condenser and mounted horizontally. The main condensate outlet from
the air ejector condenser passes through the gland steam condenser where it
absorbs heat from the steam drawn from the turbine gland seals. The gland steam
condenser is provided with two vapour extractors (fans) to extract mixture of
steam and air in leakage through the turbine shaft from the maintaining a negative
pressure in the steam space of the gland steam condenser. As the steam comes
into contact with the tubes it gets condensed and the air and non-condensable
gases are driven out to the atmosphere by the fans of the gland steam condenser.
As the gland steam condenser is not designed for the full capacity of the condensate
flow, a part of the condensate flow is directed through the bypass of the gland
steam condenser. 410 T/hr of CEP is passed through GSC and the remaining 700
T/hr is passed through the bypass of GSC.

L.P. Drain Cooler:

This is a shell and tube heat exchanger using the main condensate as cooling
water.The main condensate passes through the tube side and the drain from the
L.P. heater 1 pass on the shell side, gives away the heat to the main condensate
before being drained to the condenser hot well.
L.P. Heater 1
This is a plain condensing type heater having no drain cooling section and located
at 100m elevations in the turbine building. Steam enters through two connection
provided in the middle of the shell. Impingement baffles are fitted in the path of
the incoming steam. The heater has a nest of admiralty brass U shaped tubes; the

39
 ends of the tube are expanded into steel tube plate to which the water box is
welded. A relief valve is there on the shell side, which is set to relief at
3.5kg/cm. The shell is provided with connections for steam inlet, vent, drain
and inlet from L.P. heater #2 with dispense fitting.
L.P. Heater 2 & 3:
The L.P. heater # 2&3 are of condensing and integral drain cooling type mounted
horizontally. The main condensate flow through the tubes of these heaters in four
passes commencing at the main condensate inlet it first flow through the drain
cooling section and around the outer tubes into the return through the center
tubes to the feed water outlet. The four passes are shaped as quadrants.
Steam enters the heater in the middle of shell and it is directed across the tubes by
a series of the baffles in a tortuous path. An impingement baffle is fitted adjacent
to the steam inlet for the same purpose as mentioned in L.P. heater # 1.
The steam condensed on the tubes flow into the bottom of drain cooling section,
where it is carried over through cutouts in the baffles. The design is same as for
L.P. heater no. 1.
The drain from No.-3 heater is sprayed through a dispenser into No.- 2 heater and
drain from No.-2 heater is sprayed into No.-1 heater.

40
 Chapter 8: Chlorination System

In Narora Atomic Power Station, Chlorine is required for controlling the growth of
bio-life in the following systems.
NDCT- I
IDCT- I
NDCT- II
IDCT- II
This plant has two circulating water chlorination units and one domestic water
chlorination unit. The capacity of each circulating water circulation unit is 150 kg/hr
and domestic water circulation unit is 200 gms/hr.

Circulating Water Chlorination Unit:

These units comprise of:
Evaporator:
Where the liquid chlorine gets into gaseous state. It consists of a steel cylinder in a
hot water bath. There are three heaters of 6 KW capacity in each evaporator.
There is an arrangement of cathodic protection in each evaporator to prevent
rusting below water level.
Chlorine Gas Filter:
The filter also acts as a condensate liquid trap. This filter has two chambers. The
lower portion as a liquid impurities and upper portion has a removable filter
assembly which is especially impregnated, so that the feric chloride Plates out
rapidly.
Automatic Shut Off Valve:
This valve is air operated ball which is normally closed and opens when hot water
bath temperature reaches above 65o c and injector inlet water pressure is more
than 2.5 kg/cm2.
Chlorine Gas Pressure Reducing Plant:
For safe operation of chlorination plant the pressure of chlorine gas coming from
vaporizers is reduced from 8kg/cm2 to 1.0 kg/cm2.

41
 Chlorinator and Injector:
Chlorinator is a chlorine gas measuring device. Chlorine gas enters through a
vacuum regulator which opens only under normal operating vacuum. This valve
also regulates the vacuum ahead of the control valve and shuts off the gas if an
interruption of the injector water supply should destroy vacuum. During this
period some chlorine gas may be trapped in chlorinator system. This entrapped gas
will be released through a pressure relief valve. The pre-setting of this valve is one
foot of water column only. During normal operation of the plant this pressure
relief valve will be in closed condition due to vacuum. Feed rate is set manually by
adjusting flow control valve. Then chlorine gas flows to differential pressure
regulator. The accuracy of any chlorine metering system depends on the
consistency and repeatability of the density and velocity of gas at any given rate
setting which will in turn depend upon the differential pressure regulator. The
other important function of this valve is to reduce the highly turbulent action from
injector suction side, through a check valve and an isolating valve. At the injector,
chlorine gas mixes with water and chlorine solution thus formed is fed to point of
injection. The vacuum relief valve and emergency drain relief valve keeps the
system in safe condition.
Chlorination Pump:
There are two chlorination pumps, one for each unit. In order to create vacuum,
injector requires high water pressure of 4 t0 6 kg/cm2 and sufficient quantity of
water flow ranging from 60 to 100 m3/hr. For this purpose two pumps are
installed.
Ton-Container:
The chlorine ton container has two valves for chlorine withdrawal. The bottom
valve is connected to this system for withdrawal of chlorine in liquid form, which
meets the requirement of circulating water system. The top valve should be
connected for gas withdrawal. It may be kept connected but should be used only
when the requirement of chlorine is small for a short duration.

42
 Chapter 9: Cooling Water Pump House

Circulating water system is mainly for removing the latent heat from the turbine
exhaust and maintains the desired exhaust pressure in the condenser.
Some portion of circulating water is supplied to
Turbine oil coolers
Hydrogen coolers
Boiler blow down coolers

Condenser Cooling Water System:

The circulating water is supplied by three vertical mixed flow type Kirlosker
pumps driven by 960 kW. 66kv BHEL motors at 493 rpm. Each pump is capable
of supplying 15,850 m3/hr at total head of 8.9 meters.
Condenser cooling water system is a closed loop, consists of one natural draft
cooling tower for each unit, from where cold water flows by gravity through
tunnel to the pumps house. Each cooling water pump taking suction from the
sump of pump house discharges water through motorized butterfly valve in to a
common header, which split into two headers up to turbine building and then
each headers split into further two headers and thus four headers feed cold water
boxes of the condenser each header having a motorized butterfly valve.
Four headers from the outlet water boxes are coming out warm condenser
discharge water and each header having a motorized butterfly valve. Again these
four headers from two headers by joining two headers in one header. The two
headers carrying condenser warm water is sprayed in the natural draft tower
basin. The circulating water system require some amount of blow down in order
to maintain the concentration of dissolved solids and alkalinity of the water with in
limit. The blow down required is 800m3/hr which is down from the discharge
headers of condenser. Evaporation and drift loss from natural draft tower is
875m3/hr at full load. So make up is done for these losses at the tunnel between
NDCT and pump house sump from Raw Water Pump House.

43
 Non-Active Process Water System:
Non- active process water system is divided into two categories.
1. Non-active high pressure process water system (7134)
2. Non-active low pressure process water system (7132)
This division is done due to the following reasons:-
1. Requirement of high pressure in reactor building.
2. Requirement of equipments water class III power and under OBE (Safe
shutdown earthquake) condition.
3. Requirement of equipment under class IV power and under OBE
(Operation basis earthquake) condition.
4. The HP system is safely oriented, therefore utilized pumping system
with rephrase standby pumps for each unit has been adopted. In case of
LP system common pumps for both the units are acceptable.

Non-Active High Pressure Process Water System:

Purpose: This system supplies cooling water to:
1. DG set coolers.
2. Air compressors.
3. Aux BFP.
4. Aux CEP.
5. F/M vault cooler.
6. PHT pump room cooler.

System Description:
These pumps are locked in CW pump house and located in IDCT loop.
HP piping consists of supply to reactor building from pump house and connecting
the return from RB and the return header for active process water cooling system.
A part of the supply goes to turbine building to meet the requirement of DG, air
compressor and Aux BFP.
Underground pipes in the HP system are laid in trenches, instead of being directly
buried in order to protect them better during earthquake.
Discharge header size is 500 mm. A small portion of the supply piping is increased
to 600 mm in order to restrict the pump head. The size of the common return

44
 header is 1200 mm considering the total HP process water flow and active process
water cooling pump flow. Return header goes up to IDCT.
The static head IDCT w.r.t. the basin water level is 12MWC. Pressure at the
outlet of RB is about 12.7 MWC at 98M.
Motor for NAHP water pumps are 145 KW rating, 415V, 50 cycle/sec power
supply. These are led from class III buses. head required is 37.5 MWC.

Non-Active Low Pressure Process Water System (NALPPW):

Purpose: This system supplies cooling water to:-
1. Main BFP
2. Main CEP
3. Live steam re-heater drain pumps.
4. Moisture separator drain pumps.
5. Main transformer oil pump.
6. Status water cooler.
7. Seal oil coolers.
8. Chiller.
9. Analysis panel.

System Description:
Locked in CW pump house and take water from pump which is for CCW pumps.
These are located in NDCT loop. Low pressure system starts from pump
discharge forming a common header for both the units. Common header size is
800 mm. The header size for chiller units is 600 mm. Return header of 700 mm is
bifurcated for each unit in two branches of 500 mm for connection with 2 Nos. of
2000 CW system header of each unit.
Pipelines from the header are provided for feeding various auxiliaries.
Total head of pump = 28.5 MWC.
Total requirement of lp process water for 2 units is about 3010m3/hr.
Motor for NALP water pumps are 150 HP, 415V, 50 cycle/sec power supply.
They are fed from class IV buses.

45
 Active Process Water System:
Purpose: This system is meant for the extraction of heat load from various reactor
auxiliaries located in reactor building and service building which handle radioactive
process fluids. For removal of heat, DM water is circulated in closed loop.
Design Basis
APW system is used to cool various coolers in RB and service building i.e.
moderator heat exchanger, calanderia, end shield coolers, spend fuel bay cooler
etc.
System utilities DM water as a cooling agent in a closed loop which imparts the
heat picked up from these cooler to APW cooling water system through plate
type Hx. The final disposal of heat is in IDCT.
Main role for this system is:
To remove heat from various components and heat exchangers and reject the heat
into plate type heat exchangers and to act as a secondary barriers to the potential
release of radioactivity to the environment from there system handling reactor
coolant for other active fluids which are cooled by process water system.

LP Active Process Water System:

Total flow requirement per unit during normal operation is 6591 m3/hr and
during class-III operation 608 m3/hr against heat load of 58.872 MW thermal and
1.65 MW thermal. There are 2 horizontal centrifugal pumps with 6875 m3/hr
flow and 31.5 MWE are provided.
Two numbers emergency LPPW pumps are provided with capacity of 615 m3/hr
and TDH 49 MWC are provided.

HP Active Process Water System:

Total flow requirement per unit during normal operation is 680 m3/hr and class-
III operation is 1692 m3/hr against head load of 7.5 MW and 12.453 MW
respectively.
Five horizontal centrifugal pumps with capacity of 440 m3/hr each and TDH 49
MWC are provided.

46
 Return header of active LP and active HP process water system is joined together
and led to the plate type heat exchanger where it is cooled by active process water
cooling water.

Active Process Water Cooling System:

Purpose: APW cooling system is for cooling of active process water which gets
heat from various equipments in reactor building and service building. Active
process water is cooled by this system in plate type HX. Cooling water is finally
disposing its heat in IDCT.
This system is provided to supply cooling water to NAHP process water system
which cools DG compressors, DG coolers, Aux-BFPs and RB vault coolers.

Active Process Water Cooling Pumps:

There are two pumps of centrifugal vertical pull out type each for both the units.
One other pump is kept as stand by. Capacity to the pump is 7225m3/hr with
20.1 MWC head mother for this pump is 535 KW, 50 Hz, class-IV, 750 rpm.
These have thrust pad arrangement attached to column opp. to discharge flange
connection. Thrust pad is provided to take pressure due to provision of expansion
joint at the pump discharge.

Emergency Active Processs Water Cooling Pumps:

There are two pumps:
Vertical non-pull out type
Capacity = 1575 m3/hr
Head = 15.4 MWC
415 V, 50 Hz, Class III
At non availability of class-IV power supply. Total quantity of CW required
through plate type hx is 1530 m3/hr.
One pump with another as stand by is running under class III operation.

Induced Draft Cooling Tower (IDCT):

This is selected due to moderate heat duty. This is generated for safe shutdown
earthquake condition as this system will be used to remove reactor decay heat
after a shutdown.

47
 Available pumps for IDCT are heat load, PW side flow and desired CW tank
temperature for PW after coming out from plate type HX.

Heat Exchangers:
For removal of heat at APW, plate type Hx are selected instead of tube and shell
type Hx because of following reasons:
a. They are compact as heat transfer co-efficient is very high.
b. These are flexible in design since Hx surface and heat transfer capacity can
be increased or decreased as required by adding or removing plates.
c. Because of high degree of turbulence existing in a plate Hx, the fouling
tendency is much less.
d. Leakage in gaskets can be easily detected since the gaskets are open to
atmosphere mixing of hot and cold fluids due to leaking gaskets is thus
avoided.
e. Plate type Hx are economical as compared to shell and tube type Hx.

48
 Chapter 10: Chiller & Compressors

Chillers are used to cool the water. Chilled water system provides a continuous
supply of low temperature water (6.1C) at a predetermined rate as required for Air-
Conditioning, ventilation system as well as cooling process in various other
equipments of system.
Chilled water is required in following areas of NAPS: -
(1). For Air-Conditioning load and other process cooling in reactor building.
(2). For Air-Conditioning and associated area in service building.
(3). For Air-Conditioning and associated area in turbine building.
(4). Chilled water is required in D2O upgrading plant.
For NAPS I & II combined operation 2/3 units of 550 TR will be required to
function with 2/3 Nos chilled water pumps.
The chilled water system consists of three Nos centrifugal water chilling units
with one stand by, each chiller has net refrigeration capacity of 550 TR and volume
capacity of 600m/hr.
For condenser cooling, non-active low-pressure process water at a temperature
of 34C is used.
One expansion tank is used, located on roof of turbine building. This tank is
used for initial filling of system and provides positive suction head to pump. A make
up line connects to it.

Cycle Used in Refrigeration System:

The cycle used in chiller is Vapour Compression refrigeration cycle. The main
components of chiller system are:
Compressor:
Compressor used in chilled water system is Open type single centrifugal
compressor. The impeller and capacity control device are located in spiral casing
and speed increasing gears and lubricating system contained in gear box.
Condenser:
Upper part of unit cooler is condenser. Non-active low-pressure water flow
through tubes of condenser to which heat of compression is rejected.

49
 Expander or Throttle valve:
In the throttle valve, the refrigerant converts into partially vapour form at the
evaporator temperature.
Evaporator:
The unit cooler is of horizontal shell and tube type. It is divided into two by
partitioning plate. The bottom section is the evaporator. Chilled water flows
through coil of evaporator, shell side of which refrigerant flows.

Principle of cooling water in chiller:

Refrigerant used in previous system was Freon-11 (R-11) i.e. CCl2F2
(Dichlorodifluoromethane) but in new chillers refrigerant is R-134a. Refrigerant
boils at low pressure to pick up heat and it dissipates the picked up heat during
condensation at higher pressure.
Above principle is accomplished by having a compressor, condenser, expansion or
throttling valve and an evaporator. At NAPS chiller has a centrifugal compressor,
which sucks vaporized refrigerant from evaporator and discharges to condenser. It
maintains positive pressure in evaporator and hence avoids the problem of air
ingress and purging. In condenser vapour refrigerant changes to liquid refrigerant
by giving its heat to process water.
In evaporator refrigerant pick up latent heat from the water circulated through
evaporator. This water becomes cool. Heat picked up by refrigerant in evaporator
is easily dissipated in condenser to process water. The operation of chiller is
controlled by microtech unit controller which is microprocessor based control
panel.

Compressed Air System:

The compressed air system provides L.P. and H.P. instrument, service air and the
mask air for both units of the station. The dry and wet air is supplied to the
various areas of station.
Six Nos air compressors each having separate air receiver are located in turbine
building. The compressors are horizontal opposed balanced type double acting
having two stages. Capacity of each compressor is 14.85 Nm/min.

50
 There are three Nos air drying unit of capacity 20 Nm/min. each have been
provided with two Nos adsorbing towers, filled with silica gel, electric heater
with blower for regeneration of silica gel towers, two Nos prefilter and two Nos
after filter. The instrument air should be moisture and oil free, having dew point
of -40C.

Main Components of a Compressor:

1) Suction Filter:
Suction valves are provide in the inlet of the suction filter which sucks the air
from the atmosphere and sent it to suction filter, which filters the dust
particles in the air and passes it to LP cylinder.
2) LP Stage:
From suction filter the air enters into the LP cylinder, where the compression
of the air takes place and it is up to 2.8 Kg/cm.
3) Inter Cooler:
Now the low-pressure compressed air passes through the delivery valve to the
water-cooled inter cooler. There air is cooled very near to atmospheric
temperature.
4) HP Stage:
Now air is sucked by the 2nd stage i.e. HP stage through the suction valves and
is compressed to 8.5 Kg/cm.
5) After Cooler:
After HP cylinder, air is again cooled in after cooler and finally passes to air
receiver through a non-return valve. High-pressure water is used for cooling.
6) Receiver:
With the help of discharge valve, which gets opened because of pressure
gradient, the compressed air is discharged to receiver. The capacity of air
receiver is 4.5m. Air receiver is provided to dampen the pulsation from the
discharge line and also serve as a reservoir to take care of sudden unusually
heavy demand or in emergency.
The air receiver capacity is being selected in such a manner that it will be able
to supply air for not less than 5minutes at a rate of 13.75 Nm/min.and

51
 pressure does not drop below 5.0 Kg/cm. Local air receivers have also been
provided near the point of sudden high consumption. They are as follows: -
a. Air receiver near DM plant, capacity is 0.38m.
b. Air receiver, one for each unit near steam discharge valve, capacity is
2.5m.
c. Air receiver, 3 for each unit, capacity is 3.7m.
Automatic moisture drain traps are provided for draining the moisture from
inter cooler, after cooler and receiver.
Lubricating oil is supplied by gear pump, which is driven directly by crankshaft.
The lubricating oil pumps feeds lubricating oil to the main bearings, connecting
rod bearing.
7) Air Dryer:
Air-drying plant is provided to supply dry air (Dew point= 40C) for
instruments to avoid the malfunctioning of instrument by moisture and dirt.
This is achieved by passing air through Pre-filters, Absorbers (filled with silica
gel), after filters. There are three air dryer units one for each unit and one
common to both (can be connected to any unit). Two pre filters and two after
filters are connected to every dryer out of them one remains in service and
other standby.

52
 Chapter 12: Waste Management Plant

Abstracts:
Modern Society creates wastes material, which have to be disposed off in nature
without disturbing the ecological equilibrium. Hence effective waste management
in all industries is a major concern today. Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS)
generates low and intermediate level liquid, solid and gaseous wastes during it's
operation and maintenance. The generation of wastes is controlled at source itself.
The wastes are managed by adequate and appropriate treatment before releasing to
the environment. Different types of liquid wastes are treated by chemical co-
precipitation, ion exchange, evaporation, filtration, and dilution technique. For
handling and conditioning of solid wastes, volume reduction techniques such as
incineration and baling are employed. The treated wastes are immobilised by
incorporation into cement and polymer matrices. Gaseous waste is cleaned by
passing through pre-filters and high efficiency particulate (HEPA) filters and
diluted with inactive air prior to release to the atmosphere through a 145 m high
stack to get further atmospheric dilution. Regular monitoring upto 30 Km. radius
is carried out by fully equipped Environmental Survey and Micrometeorological
Laboratory which is functioning independently under the Directorate of Health
and Safety, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai. So far, the annual
maximum dose to the public around NAPS is reported to be 0.2 to 0.3 % of limit
of 1 mSv/year recommended by the International Commission on Radiological
Protection (ICRP). A decade of experience has proved that present practices of
nuclear waste management at Narora Atomic Power Station are quite safe and
effective with respect to ecological equilibrium.
Introduction:
The most important objective in radioactive waste management is to isolate the
waste from the biosphere and to ensure that man will not receive unacceptable
detriments at present and in the future. NAPS is the fourth nuclear power station
having twin units of 220 MW(e) capacity each. It is situated on the bank of the holy
river Ganga at Narora which is 140 Km. away from New Delhi, the capital of
India. It is the first standardized and totally indigenous PHWR type nuclear power

53
 station. The operation and maintenance of these two units generate low and
intermediate level waste of various composition and activity levels. It is necessary
to ensure that these wastes are managed and controlled in a perfect manner to
comply with the requirements specified by the regulatory body. Radioactive spent
fuel is stored in a spent fuel storage bay for adequate duration of time to remove
decay heat and then sent to another site for reprocessing the fuel. The spent fuel
does not form a part of the radioactive waste treatment and management system at
NAPS and hence is not covered here. Radioactive waste management aims at
isolation of the environment from the spread of radioactivity till it decays to
innocuous levels. This is achieved by removing most of the radioactivity from the
liquid and gaseous waste before discharging to the environment. The concentrated
wastes containing the radioactivity thus removed are immobilized and along with
the solidified conditioned waste isolated from the environment using a multi-
barrier approach such as cement/polymer matrix, the engineered barrier, and the
geo-environment.
Radioactive Waste Management:
The waste management facility at Narora Atomic Power Station provides facility
for segregation, collection, treatment, storage and safe disposal of liquid and solid
radioactive waste. The philosophy of waste management is based on the principle
of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) taking economic and social factors into
account. Three principles governing the management of radioactive wastes are:
1. Dilution and dispersal of low level waste,
2. Delay, decay and dispersal of waste containing short lived radio-nuclides.
3. Concentration and containment of wastes containing long lived radio-
nuclides after conditioning.
The waste management facility is functionally divided into the following four
systems:
1. Liquid effluent segregation system (LESS),
2. Liquid waste treatment and disposal system,
3. Solid waste management system,
4. Gaseous waste management system.

54
 Liquid effluent segregation system (LESS):
This system is located in the service building and provides for collection and
segregation of all the liquid wastes generated in the station at source based on
radioactivity levels and chemical nature so as to:
a. Minimize cross contamination, and
b. To facilitate judicious decisions in respect of management of each category
of waste.
Liquid waste received is sampled, monitored and pumped for treatment or
dilution and discharge depending on the activity content. All pipelines carrying
liquid waste are made of stainless steel and hydro tested at regular intervals to
ensure their integrity.
Type and source of liquid waste:
The waste management facility is designed to handle the liquid waste of the
following nature generated from different sources as mentioned below:
a. Potentially active waste (PAW): Showers/washroom and laundry,
b. Active non-chemical waste (ANCW): Service area floor drains,
decontamination wastes: Lab. washes and rinses, SFSB area, spent
resinhandling system,
c. Tritiated waste (TTW): Reactor bldg. sump and D2O upgrading plant,
d. Active chemical waste (ACW): Decontamination and laboratory solutions.
A storage capacity of 25 x 10 litres is provided to meet any contingency
requirement.
Reduction of liquid waste:
In this system, control over waste volume and activity generation is made effective
at source. The following measures are used to keep the generation of liquid wastes
as low as practicable: - Provision of close loop operation in spent radioactive resin
handling system, - Operating the reactor so as to avoid fuel failures and
discharging failed fuel bundles as soon as possible, - Reducing leakage from the
primary coolant system and other related systems, - Planning and performing
maintenance work with care and with emphasis on precautions to minimize the
spread of contamination, - Taking precautions to minimize the contamination of
equipment and tools so as to reduce the need for decontamination, - Ensuring

55
 proper contamination monitoring and usage of appropriate decontamination
procedures. - Reducing the production of secondary wastes by proper selection of
waste treatment methods.
Liquid waste treatment and disposal system:
A schematic showing treatment methodology for different streams of liquid waste
is shown in Figure 1. The basic philosophy of various treatment techniques used,
such as chemical co- precipitation, flocculation and sedimentation is to
concentrate and contain as much radioactivity as possible, prior to their discharge
in an environmentally acceptable manner. Decontamination by chemical
treatment involves co-precipitation using Ferro-cyanides, phosphates, hydroxide,
etc., in 134,- 90c association with scavenger often used for effective removal of
fission products ( Cs, ~ Cs and Sr), corrosion and activation products (60Co,
65Zn). This process gives a decontamination factor (DF) of 10-20 for dissolved
radioactivity. For separation of precipitated solid and liquid, a sludge blanket type
clarifier is used in which two meter thick sludge blanket is always maintained.
This blanket acts as a filtering media also. Hence, when the waste mixed with
chemicals is passed through the sludge blanket clarifier, very finely suspended
radioactive particles also gets trapped in the sludge blanket giving a high DF of the
order of 90-100 for the suspended radioactive particles. This results in very low
turbidity (<1 N.T.U) in the treated waste water.

56
In case of radioactivity due to I3II the philosophy of delay and decay is adopted. This
process, followed by treatment if required for polishing through a synthetic ion
exchange system, is used for the liquid waste having gross beta-gamma radioactivity
up to 55 KBqL"1 which include dissolved as well as suspended radioactivity. If gross
beta-gamma radioactivity level is higher, steam evaporation system is envisaged in the
design. This system need not to be operated, since higher level of radioactivity is not
observed in the liquid waste during normal operation. However, it may be useful in
case of any off-normal waste generation. The waste stream like PAW which does not
have gross beta-gamma radioactivity or is very low in radioactivity is directly sent to a
post-treatment tank. No specific treatment is planned for radioactive tritium except
dilution and discharge. In the treatment process almost 98% of the total gross beta-
gamma radioactivity (see Figure 2) is removed from the liquid waste and stored as
solid waste at the plant site.
Treated waste is stored in a post-treatment tank. Finally, it is re-circulated for
homogenization, sampled and after filtration is injected into the condenser cooling
water blow down line for dilution. The diluted waste is released to the flowing canals.
An on line proportional sampler is provided at the final outlet to check the specific
radioactivity level of the diluted waste water being released. Sludge generated from
chemical treatment forms a part of the solid wastes.

57
 Solid waste management system:
Categorization of Solid Waste
In India, solid wastes from nuclear power plants are broadly classified based on
surface dose as per the categorization recommended by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) as follows:
Category I. Waste with contact surface dose rate < 2 mGy/h,
Category II. Waste with contact surface dose rate > 2 mGy/h but < 20
mGy/h,
Category III. Waste with contact surface dose rate > 20 mGy/h.
However, for the purpose of segregation at source, Category-I waste is further
divided into two groups:
Combustible waste,
Non-combustible waste.
From the point of view of disposal of solid/solidified waste packages, Category III
wastes are further sub-divided into two groups: -
Category-IIIA: Waste packages having surface dose rate < 0.5 Gy/h,
Category-IIIB: Waste packages having surface dose rate > 0.5 Gy/h.
Generation of Radioactive Solid Waste:
Category I waste
This type of waste largely originates from reactor maintenance/operation and
consists of protective clothing, contaminated metal parts, cleaning/packaging
materials like cotton, paper and wood etc. Solidified sludge/precipitate generated
from chemical treatment for removal of radioisotopes from liquid wastes and
exhausted pre-filters and HEPA filters from the ventilation system also form a part
of this category of waste. Majority of the waste has a contact field much less than 2
mGy/h which is the upper limit chosen for the purpose of categorization.
Category II and III wastes
These types of wastes originate from on line water purification system and consist
of filter cartridge and ion exchange resins. Typically this waste has an unshielded
radiation field greater than 10 mGy/h. Therefore, additional shielding and greater
precautions are required during transportation, handling and storage operation
than those required for category-I wastes.

58
 Spent filter cartridges from various purification systems are handled by shielded
flasks to protect personnel from radiation during removal and transportation to the
radioactive waste storage area.
Spent radioactive ion exchange resins with high radiation levels are produced m
primary heat transport system, spent fuel storage bay purification system and
moderator system.

Reduction of solid waste

Solid waste production is kept as low as practicable by using measures such as:
a. Measurement of solid waste in low background area,
b. Pre-fabrication of jobs in inactive areas,
c. Restriction on movement of inactive items such as packing materials in
active area.
d. Recycling of waste,
e. Careful planning and performance of maintenance work,
f. Careful movement of radioactive material,
g. Efficient operation of primary heat transport, moderator, spent fuel
storage bay purification systems, liquid and gaseous waste treatment
systems,
h. Provision of effective contamination control at source,
i. Good segregation practice at waste generation point itself.
Treatment and conditioning
A schematic showing treatment and conditioning techniques is shown in Figure 3.
Category I waste consist of combustible waste, non-combustible waste, and
compactable waste.

59
 Combustible waste
It contains mostly paper, cotton, and protective clothing etc. which are incinerated
in a pyro lytic type incinerator furnace at a temp, of 850C to 1000C to obtain
over all high volume reduction factor of the order of 35 to 40 which after
immobilization with cement slurry resulting in a final volume reduction factor of
18 to 20. The incinerator system needs to be operated hardly for four to five days
in four months. The gases emanating from the incinerator are released to
atmosphere after necessary cooling and cleaning. For gas cleaning, a dry type
filtration system with cyclones, bag house filters and HEPA filters (having
efficiency 99.9 % for 0.3 micron size particles) is used. At the final out let an on
line activity monitor is installed and no radioactivity is allowed to be released to
the atmosphere. Ash collected is immobilized with cement and vermiculite that
form a monolith in a 200 liters standard drum. The fuel used is liquefied
petroleum gas which is a neat and clean fuel system. All the equipment in this
system are maintained at slightly negative pressure to avoid any probability of

60
 ground level activity release due to leakage from the system if it occurs. An in-
built safety feature shuts down the whole system automatically in case of low
negative pressure.
Non combustible waste
It contains mostly sludge precipitate from chemical treatment of liquid waste and
some metallic items. Sludge is solidified and metallic items are embedded in
cement and vermiculite.
Compactable waste
It contains mostly plastic protective wearing and particulate filters. These are
reduced in volume by a factor of 5. This is achieved by in-drum baling of the waste
using a hydraulic baling machine having pressurisation capacity of 68.71 x 10
Pa(g).
Category II and III waste consist of filter cartridges, metallic components, and
spent resins.
The filter cartridges and metallic components are incorporated in cement and
vermiculite.
The spent resins are immobilised into polymer matrix to have better isolation from
the biosphere. Spent resins contains most of the activity generated in the form of
solid wastes and hence needs a special care for it's management. The technique of
immobilization of spent resin in polymer has been developed for the first time at
NAPS and has been recently put into commercial use. In the process of
immobilization, spent resin beeds are physically incorporated into polyester-
styrene (isophthalic grade) by making a 200 litres monolith block. The catalyst and
accelerator used in this process are benzoyl peroxide and dimethyle aniline
respectively. The polymer is found to be a most compatible matrix material for
immobilization of spent resins. Compatibility of matrix with waste, chemical and
biological durability of immobilised product and thermal/radiological stability of
product under storage conditions have been found to be satisfactory. Compressive
strength and leach rate of the product are 165 x 105 Pa(g) and 2 x 10"4 kg.m.
"2d"' as against acceptance criteria of 48.54 x 105Pa(g) and 10"3 kg.m. "2d"'
respectively. Fully remotised operation in a hotcell is carried out for spent resin

61
 immobilisation. The various remote handling facilities existing in this system are as
follows:
a. Rugged duty type with extended reach Master slave manipulators,
b. In-cell crane,
c. Electrically driven trolley,
d. Motorised valves,
e. Radiation shielding viewing window,
f. Self aligned electrically driven mixer assembly.
Disposal of conditioned waste
All waste are disposed into engineered containers in shallow land burial facility
located inside the plant premises only. Depending upon the category of wastes,
different modes of storage/disposal containments are used.

Earth trenches
These are vermiculite lined trenches (16m x 10m x 2m) having 3 chambers.
The waste packets reading upto 0.03 mGv/h are disposed in these trenches.
After filling, they are covered with soil giving a mound shape at the top.
Re-inforced cement and concrete (RCC) vaults
These are 4m x 4m x 2m concrete vaults located above ground level and have
an RCC wall of 0.125 m thickness. All waste packets reading more than 0.03
mGy/h to 0.5 Gy/h are disposed in these vaults. In general, higher radioactive
waste will form the bottom layer in the RCC vaults followed by less radioactive
waste on top. After filling the vault with waste, cement grout is poured to seal
the vault permanently. Further, vaults are closed with top RCC covers and
sealed with cement grout. Water proofing is done on the top surface.
High integrity containers (HIC)
These are steel lined cylindrical RCC containers as shown in Figure 4. Waste
package having more than 0.5 Gy/h surface dose is disposed in high integrity
container and sealed completely by welding the top cover and concreting over
that. FflCs are stacked in single layer in earth trenches and can be retrieved in
the future, if so required. It is specially designed to provide higher life span and
integrity against any natural calamity. It also provides a shielding of about 2
TVL (tenth value layer).

62
 Gaseous waste management:
An extensive ventilation system consisting of pre-filters and HEPA air filters as
indicated in Figure 5 collects potentially active exhaust air from areas such as
reactor building, spent fuel handling and storage area, the decontamination centre,
and the heavy water management area. The exhaust flow is further diluted with
inactive exhaust air from service building and monitored for noble gases, tritium,
iodine and active particulate before being released to the atmosphere through a
145 m high stack. Signals from iodine, wide range gamma and particulate monitors
are recorded in control room. Tritium monitoring is carried out by laboratory
analysis of bubbler samples. Activity releases are maintained well below technical
specification limit.

63
 Safety Analysis of Waste Management Facility:
Detailed safety analysis of waste management facility at NAPS has been carried out
by BARC. An institutional control of 300 years on the solid waste repository has
been assumed for the purpose of analysis. Using a unidirectional model with axial
dispersion and taking into consideration the total loss of engineered containers and
further sinking of above ground storage to sub-surface levels during a catastrophe,
the analysis indicates the following.
Even with a conservation accident scenario without taking any credit of engineered
containment and assuming the site fully submerged under water and relatively high
input, source term of 3.33 x 108BqL"', the concentration of isotopes at 200 m and
500 m distance from the source is negligible.
Hence, it can be concluded that the characteristics of the conditioned wastes, the
geohydrological condition, together with the engineered barriers will render the
waste disposal/storage site at Narora Atomic Power Station safe and acceptable.

64
 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING:
Around solid waste disposal area regular monitoring of underground water is being
done by a series of monitoring bore wells to check the integrity of waste
management facility. For assessment of environmental impact, a fully equipped
environmental survey and micrometeorological laboratory is established at each
nuclear power plant which is functioning under the Directorate of Health and
Safety of BARC, an independent agency. So far, none of nuclear power plant has
shown any significant environmental impact on its surroundings. The maximum
dose to the public at any nuclear power plant in India is 1 to 2 % of the limit of 1
mSv/year recommended by the ICRP. Here it is to be noted that contribution of
dose due to NAPS to the public is only 2 to 3 Sv/year which is in addition to 2
mSv/year getting from natural sources. Hence a decade of experience have proved
that present practice of nuclear waste management at NAPS is quite safe and
effective with respect to ecological equilibrium.

65
 Chapter 12: Radiation Protection

1. Atomic Structure
Elements:
There are millions of different types of materials in the world. Some of these may
be in the form solid or liquids or gases. All these materials, in whatever form they
may be, are up of about 100 basic substances called elements. Some of the
common elements are nitrogen, carbon, iron, gold etc.
Atom:
All elements are made up of tiny particles called atoms. If we break up an
element into pieces called atom. These atoms are very small in size. About
thousand millions of atoms put together side by side may an inch. An atom is the
smallest piece of an element that can exist.
Atoms of the same element are similar and cannot be distinguished from each
other. For example, an atom of iron is different from atom is aluminum. But all
atoms of aluminum will be similar.
Atoms are built from three basic particles. They are
1. Protons
2. Neutrons
3. Electrons
These three basic particles are arranged in the following way in the atom.
Protons and neutrons are together at the center of the atom called NUCLEUS.
Electrons are moving around the nucleus in different orbit similar to the planets
circling round the sun in the orbits.
Atoms of different elements differ from each other by having different number of
protons in the nucleus. In other words atoms of different elements can be
identified by the number of protons in the nucleus. For example an atom having 6
protons in the nucleus is always an atom of carbon. Similarly, an atom having only
one proton in the nucleus is always an atom of hydrogen.
In an atom the number of protons in the nucleus is always equal to the number of
electrons revolving round the nucleus in various orbits. The number of neutrons in
the nucleus may or may not be equal to the number of protons in the nucleus.

66
 Isotopes:
Addition of a proton to a nucleus or removal of a proton from a nucleus will
convert it into as atom of different element. For example, if you remove one
proton from oxygen nucleus (t protons) it becomes a nitrogen nucleus with 7
protons. If you add one proton to a boron element become carbon i.e. number of
protons in the nucleus identifies the atom.
Now let us see what happens if we add one or more neutrons to the nucleus of an
atom, say to carb-on atom which has 6 protons and 6 neutrons in the nucleus.
Since we have not changed the number of protons in the nucleus it will be still the
atom of carbon. But they differ in the number of neutrons in the nucleus. These
different kinds of the same atom, which are characterized' by the different number
of neutrons are called Isotopes of the elements. Thus isotopes are atoms of the
same element i.e. atoms having the same number of protons in the nucleus, but
different number of neutrons. Hydrogen has three isotopes. They are Hydrogen
(11H), Heavy hydrogen (Deuterium) (21H); Tritium (31H).
A particular isotope of an element is denoted by writing along with alongside the
name of the element the total number of protons and neutrons.
Carbon-12 6 Protons + 6 neutrons
Deuterium-2 1 Proton + 1 neutron
Tritium-3 I Proton + 2 neutrons
Compound:
As stated earlier all the materials of the world are made up of different elements
combined together. The materials thus formed by the combination of two or
more elements are called Compounds. Water is a compound made up of two
elements Hydrogen and Oxygen. Carbon dioxide is made up of carbon and
oxygen.
Molecules:
If we take a compound and divide it repeatedly we would come to Basic Building
Block from which a compound is made. This basic building block is called a
molecule.
The molecule is the smallest particle of an element or compound which can exist
in a free state. Molecules of a given substance are all identical and are actually a

67
 group of atoms joined together. In water two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen are combined together to make one molecule of water.
Compounds are not mixtures and it is generally difficult to separate out the
elements of a com-pound. Compound has properties different from that of
various elements of which it is formed. For example one atom of element sodium,
which is a metal, combines with an atom of chlorine which is a greenish poisonous
gas to give a compound sodium chloride well known common salt.
We have earlier discussed that an atom is made up of three basic particles protons,
neutrons and electrons. We will now try to know a little more about these
particles.
Proton is a positively charged particle. The electron is a negatively charged
particle, its charge being same as that of proton but opposite in sign. Neutron has
no charge but has the same mass as that of proton.
The total charge on the nucleus therefore is equal to the total negative charge on
the electrons revolving around it so that the net charge on the atom is zero.
Atomic Number:
Atomic Number of an atom is equal to the total number of protons in the nucleus.
Atomic Mass Number:
Atomic mass number is the total number of protons and n neutrons in the
nucleus.
Thus hydrogen has mass number equal to 1.
Deuterium has mass number equal to 2.
Tritium has mass number equal to 3.
Uranium-235 has mass number equal to 235.

2. Radioactivity
Stable Atoms & Unstable Atoms:
Generally materials we come across in our life are made up of atoms which do not
undergo any changes and these atoms are called Stable Atoms & Non-Radioactive.
Stable atoms are those having certain number of protons, neutrons and electrons
arranged in such a manner that the atom does not change. It does not lose any of
its constituents of which it is made.

68
 Unstable or Radioactive are those in which constituents the atom are in excess of
the required number and they, in their process of re-arrangement eject out some
particles from the nucleus. These atoms are called Radioactive.
The radioactive atoms may give the following particles, which are often called
nuclear radiation.
a) Beta Particles: These are high speed electrons with negative charge.
b) Alpha Particles: These consist of two neutrons and two protons together.
They are positively charged.
c) Gamma Rays: In addition to these particles above mentioned radioactive
atoms usually gives off radiations which are similar to suns rays carrying
energy. These are Gamma rays and energetic.
Interaction of these Radiation with Matter:
When nuclear particles pass through matter they transfer their energy to atoms of
the medium and knock off electrons from them leaving, the atom positively
charged. The process of knocking of electron from the atom is called Ionization.
A charged particle causes ionization. If the particles are heavy the ionization
caused is more.
Thus alpha particles are more stable than betas and gamma rays. They lose their
energy much faster than beta and gamma rays.
Penetration:
Alpha particles being heavy can cause more damage along their path i.e. they
produce more ionization. They lose energy much faster and hence cannot
penetrate much into the material. In fact the alpha particles can be stopped by a
thin sheet of paper or even by skin of the person.
Beta particles being of light weight can penetrate up to about into the persons
body. A thin plate of aluminum can stop most of the beta particles.
Gamma rays are still more penetrating and can pass through greater thickness of
material before being absorbed. Heavy metals like lead can stop most of the
gamma rays.
Neutron which can cause dense ionization indirectly can penetrate and pass
through greater thickness of materials. Neutron in addition to the damage caused,
can also make the material radioactive.

69
 Any material which emits nuclear radiations is called Radioactive Source.
Shielding:
Beta radiations are more penetrating than alpha radiations. These can pass through
paper but can be stopped by thin sheet of metal like aluminum. Light materials
like wood and Lucite (Perspex) can also be used as shield materials for betas.
Since it can penetrate our skin beta radiation can cause skin damage.
Many radionuclides produce in a reactor are beta emitters.
Gamma rays can penetrate much deeper into the body causing damage to our
body organs. Gamma rays can be shielded by heavy metals like lead, concrete and
by water. The gamma radiation cannot be stopped completely but its intensity can
be reduced to low levels. Some of the dense materials like gold etc. can he used
for shielding gamma rays but because of their high cost they are not used. The
reduction in intensity of gamma radiation depends the strength of the gamma
source, thickness of the shield and the nature of the shielding material. The
reactor core in nuclear power plant is a powerful source of gamma radiations. The
shielding wail around them is made up of concrete of 8 to 10 feed thicknesses.
Neutrons, like gamma rays, are very penetrating and can travel fairly large
distances. Like gamma rays they cannot be completely absorbed but can be
reduced to acceptable levels. The best materials for shielding neutrons are
materials which are rich in hydrogen atoms such as water, paraffin wax etc.
For certain types of neutrons boron and cadmium are excellent shield materials.
For sources emitting both gamma and neutron, concrete with boron in it would
be a good shield. Concrete can be used as a shield and is cheaper.
Strength of Radioactive Materials:
We have told that radioactive materials are unstable. These radioactive atoms will
be decaying by emitting alpha or beta and gamma radiation. The number of atoms
decaying in a unit time is known as the strength of the source. CURIE is the unit
of radioactivity. A radioactive source which is decaying at the rate of 2.22 million
disintegrations per minute (2.22 x 1012 dpm) is said to have strength of one
curie. Bequrel is also a unit of radioactivity which is equal to one disintegration
per second.

70
 A curie being a big unit, fraction of curie is used
1 microcurie - 1 millionth of a curie
1 millicurie - 1 thousandth of a curie
1 CURIE = 3.7 x 101 Bq.
Decay of Radioactive Source and Half Life:
A radioactive source consists of unstable atoms which decay by emitting alpha or
beta particles and change to new atoms. Suppose we have a source of strength of
one micro-curie (uCi) the number of atoms decaying or disintegrating is 2.22
million per minute. If we store this source and measure after some time the
source strength will be less and not any more equal to one micro curie. This
radioactive source is said to have decayed. This is due to reduction in the total
number of un-stab ,le atoms which have changed to stable atoms. In this way we
will see that after a particular interval (0 the total strength of the source will be
reduced to half its initial value at the start i.e. in this case 1/2 microcurie, If we
keep the same source for another interval of the same duration we will be left
With 1/4 microcurie and so on. This period is called HALF LIFE of the source
material.
The time that a radioactive element takes for half of its atoms to disintegrate is
known as half-life of that particular element or the half-life of a radioactive
material is the time required for it to lose 50% of its activity by decay.
All the radioactive substances do not have the same half-life. Half-life varies from
substance to substance and also varies from fraction of a second to thousands of
years.
Half life of a few common isotopes are given below :
Radionuclide Half-Life
Nitrogen-1 67 Seconds
Iodine-131 8 Days
Cobalt-60 5.2 Years
Tritium-3 12 Years
Plutonium-239 24000 Years
Uranium-235 700 Million Years

71
 Half-life of an isotope does not change. This is the characteristic property of a
radioactive nuclide.
Fission:
Fission is a process which the nucleus of an atom splits in two or more fragments.
Fission can be caused by an interaction of neutrons with nucleus or by the
instability of the nucleus itself.
All radionuclides do not fission. Only few elements undergo fission and this is
common among heavy elements which have large number of protons and
neutrons. They are say, Uranium-235, plutonium 239. In a fission fragment two
or three neutrons also are produced along with gamma radiation. Heat is
produced.
When a neutron hits a Uranium-235 atom fission takes place extra neutrons are
produced. Not it is possible to arrange that out of the neutrons produced,at least
one of them another Uranium 235 atom to cause fission again and produce
neutrons . In the way one can continue to produce fission continuously in a chain.
This is chain reaction.
Nuclear Reactor is an assembly of uranium and other materials, designed so that
may fission take place in controlled manner. These fission produce betas gamma
rays along with heat. This huge quantity of heat produced in this way may be used
to produce steam and generate electricity.
Fission Products:
We have already learnt that in each fission two or more fission fragments are
formed. All these new fission fragments are unstable and radioactive. They
generally decay and emitting beta particles and gamma radiations. A number of
?few radioactive elements are formed and these elements are called Fission
Products.
Neutron Activation:
In a nuclear reactor many millions of fissions art taking place every second and
many millions of neutrons are produced, flying around. Ira material is placed in a
reactor and it gets hit by neutrons then the material itself becomes radioactive.
This process of making and element radioactive in a reactor is called Neutron
Activation.

72
 This method is used to produce many useful radioactive isotopes (Co-60) which
are used in treatment of cancer and for other purpose.
Neutrons are different in this respect from other radiations like betas and
gammas.
If a steel rod is inserted in an operating reactor, and removed, it will be
radioactive. Similarly liquids passing through the reactor core will become
radioactive. The materials of the reactor itself will become radioactive. These
activation products continue to emit radiation even after the reactor is shut down.
3. Radiation Exposure
Around a nuclear reactor, various types of radiations exist like beta, gamma and
neutrons. All these radiations, in passing through our bodies, lose their energy by
ionization and cause damage to our body.
Our body is exposed to these radiations in two different ways :
a) By external radiations.
b) By internal radiations.
In external exposure, the source of radiation is outside our body and damage is
caused by radiation falling on our body from the sources.
Whereas in internal exposure, the source of radiation is inside our body and
irradiates our body from within. However, in both the cases external as well as
internal exposure, radiation causes damage to our body.
If a small source is placed in your hand, you will be getting an external exposure. If
you swallow that source, then as long as the source is inside your body, you will be
getting the internal exposure.
The protection procedure for external radiation is much different from those for
internal radiation.
Radiation Units:
To measure anything, a unit has to be devised. For measuring length, we use
meter, for weight, gram is used as the unit. There different units used in radiation
measurements.
RAD: Grey Rad Grey is a unit of absorbed dose.
1 Grey = 100 RAD

73
 We have already learnt that when radiation passes through matter the material has
absorbed energy.
When one kilogram of the material absorbs 1 joule of energy, it is known to have
received a dose of one Grey. When tissue receives one rad. of radiation dose,
irrespective of the kind of radiation giving off the energy, beta, gamma or
neutron, the same amount of energy is delivered to the tis-
sue.
A dose of 1 Grey is actually a very large does and as such smaller units are
commonly used:
Milli Rad. (m Grey =1/1000 rad (Grey)
This unit is used for measuring X and gamma rays and is related to how much
ionization is produced in air.
For radiation protection purposes an exposure of 1 Roentgen can be considered
equal to a dose of 1 Rad. The short form of Roentgen is R. 1 Grey = 100 R
Quality Factor:
Same dose (say 1 Grey) of different radiation, will result in the same amount of
energy absorption. But the damage caused to human body by the same doses of
different types or radiations is different. A weighting factor is required to take
into account of the different damage caused by the same dose. This factor is called
(Quality factor) (Q.F.).
REM: Roentgen Equivalent Man
This is the unit in radiation protection. When the rad dose from a certain
radiation is multiplied by the quality factor, the dose equivalent the Rem is
obtained.
Rad x Quality Factor = REM
New unit is seviert which is obtained by multiplication of quality factor with
grey.
Quality factors have been determined for different types of radiation. They are
given below:
Types of Radiation Quality Factor
Gamma Radiation 1
Beta Radiation 1
Slow Neutrons 3

74
 Fast Neutrons 10
Alpha Neutrons 10
A dose of 1 rad of various radiation means a different equivalent in rem.
1 rad of gamma radiation corresponds to equivalent of 1 x 1 = 1 Rem 1 rad of
beta radiation corresponds to equivalent of 1 x 1 = 1 Rem 1 rad of slow neutrons
radiation corresponds to equivalent of 1 x 3 = 3 Rem 1 rad of fast neutrons
radiation corresponds to equivalent of 1 x 10 = 10 Rem 1 rad of alpha radiation
corresponds to equivalent of 1 x 10 = 10 Rem
Example : A person working around a reactor received the following doses :
50 mrad/of gamma radiation
25 mrad/of slow neutrons
15 mrad/of fast neutrons
The total equivalent dose will be as follows :

Rad Dose Quality Factor Equivalent Dose

50 mrad 1 50 x 1= 50 mrem
25 mrad 3 25 x 3= 75 mrem
15 mrad 10 15 x 10= 150 mrem
Total = 275 mrem
Dose Rate:
The rate at which the dose is delivered is known as dose rate. For instance, we
could measure the dose rate at a certain point in a nuclear reactor and find it equal
to 50 mrem/hour. This means that a person working in that area would receive a
dose of 50 mrem in 1 hour.
The dose that results from a radiation field is obtained by multiplying the dose
rate by the time. Usually the dose rate is expressed in mrem/hour and time in
hours.
Dose = Dose Rate x Time
This is required to work out the time a person can work in a particular field to
keep his dose limited to a particular value when the some rate is known.
Maximum Permissible Doses (Dose Equivalent Limit):
We have earlier said that radiation causes damage to our body. Because of this
fact, it is necessary to limit the radiation dose that a person can receive. These

75
 limits are based on the recommendations a group of experts in radiation
protection known as International Commission on Radiological Protection
(ICRP).
Some of the organs are more easily damaged by radiation than other. For humans,
these are the blood forming organs (bone-marrow) and gonads (reproductive
glands). The maximum permissible doses for these organs and the whole body
exposure are as follows :
Annual Dose (Equivalent Limit):
A person over the age of 18 years is permitted to receive an annual dose not more
than 50000 mrem or 50 m Sv. by internal & external exposure, both.

Maximum permissible exposure values are given as following:

Organ or Tissue Max. Permissible Dose for Adults exposed in the
course of their work.

Annual Quarterly Fortnightly

mRem mSv. mRem mSv. mRem mSv.

a) Whole Body Glands, 5000 50 3000 30 450 4.5

bone marrow
b) Skin, Bone any 30000 300 8000 80 1200 12
Thyroid
c) Hands, Forearms, 75000 750 20000 2000 3000 30
Feet & Ankles
d) All Other Organs 15000 150 4000 40 750 7.5

External Exposure Control:

While working in radiation field, one should always keep in mind the saying
"RADIATION DOSES SHOULD BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM".
There are some very simple principles which a person should follow to keep his
dose as low as possible.

76
 Time:
The first principle is to reduce the time spent in the radiation field. In a known
radiation field, if the working time reduce by half, the dose received by the person
will also be half.
The best means of reducing man-hours is to preplan a job carefully, making sure
that all the tools that are required are on hand and then carry out the job quickly
without wasting time. In case of work to be carried out in high radiation field, a
mockup can be arranged and practiced in a non-radiation area.
Distance:
The second simple way of reducing the dose is to use the fact that the radiation
dose from a source drops off rapidly as our distance from it increases.
For instance if the radiation field at 1 yard from a gamma radiation source is 1
R/hour. By moving away from the source, it will become less. at 2 yards it will
drop to 1/4 R/hour. At 3 yards it will be 1/9 R/hour. This is one of the simplest
ways of reducing the external exposure.
This can be achieved by using specially designed long tongs and other tools with
long handles.
Shielding:
As stated earlier reduce the radiation field. So in addition to time and distance we
can use shielding method of reducing the dose, whatever feasible.

4. Internal Radiation Exposure:

Internal radiation exposure occurs when the radioactive material enters out body.
Once enter inside our body, it continuously irradiates our body organs.
A radioactive source can enter inside our bidy in the following ways:
Inhalation:
This can happen by breathing contaminated air. Radioactive material present in
the air gets into our lungs when we breathe and gets absorbed in it.
Absorption:
Radioactive material could enter our body through cuts and wounds are liable to
get the radioactive material inside his body through it.

77
 Absorption can also take place in some cases through our skin. When our bare
skin is exposed to certain radioactive materials like Tritium, it gets absorbed into
our body.
Protection against Internal Radiations:
Ingestions: In case of ingestion, protection can be provided by strict rules
of behavior in areas where loose radioactive materials exist.
Eating and smoking should be strictly prohibited in active areas. Hands and
feed should be thoroughly checked for contamination and cleaned before
leaving the active areas or after work-ing with active materials.
Inhalation:
Protection against inhalation can be achieved by providing clean air to the
workers. It can be achieved by good design of ventilation system and
providing respirators to be worn by personnel in case air contamination
exists.
Absorptions:
Persons with open wounds and cuts are usually not permitted to work with
radioactive material. Protection against absorption through skin can best be
given by use of proper protective equipment like, plastic suits, rubber
gloves etc.
Annual limit of Intake:
ALI is the activity of the radio nuclide which when taken alone in the body during
the year would give the dose equivalent limit.
This can be satisfied by the following equation:
ALI x Wt. (H50T per unit intake) <= 0.05 SV or 5 Ram. Where H50T per unit
intake (in Sv/Bq.) is the committed dose equivalent in tissue (T) from intake of
unit activity of radionuclide by the specified route in works involving exposure to
ionizing radiation.
There is different ALI for different organs of the body. The ALI for different
organs has been calculated by the above equation.

78
 Permissible Contamination Level:
Air Bourne Contamination:
The leaks of air borne contamination in working areas at the station should
be maintained below the derived air concentration (DAC) value.
Derived Air Concentration (DAC) :
The amount of radioactive material inhaled or absorbed in the body depends
upon the concentration of radio nuclide in the air and the time to which
person to expose.
DAC is the concentration of radioactive material in atmosphere in which a
person works continuously throughout his life, the accumulated activity in
his body shall not be exceeds by ALI.
DAC (Bg/M3) = ALI (Bq./Year) /2400 (M3/Year)
2400 (M3/Year) represents the total volume of air breathed by a normal
adult man during work in a year.
The values of ALI and DAC for important radionuclides which are generally in
connected at the station are given below:
Radionuclides Bq. ALI (uCi) DAC (Bq./ M3)
a) Tritium 3 x 109 8100 8 x 105 2 x 10-5
b) Iodine[3] 2 x 106 54 2 x 102 2 x 10-8
c) Iodine[b] + all other 4 x 102 1 x 10-8
radionuclides
d) Gross B.R Emitters
i. Half Life 20
Mins 2 x 103 4.5 x 10-2
ii. Half 20 Mins 1 x 105 2.7 60 2 x10-9

Exposure to Tritium:
Tritium is produced by irradiation of heavy hydrogen (deuterium) by neutrons in
a reactor using heavy water. Heavy water is compound of two heavy hydrogen
and one oxygen atoms. When a reactor is operating, lot of neutrons are available
for bombardment of heavy hydrogen atoms. More and more of tritium is
produced in continuous operation of a reactor and the amount of tritium in heavy
water increases.

79
 Tritium exists in the form of triturated water and behaves just like water. When a
person is exposed to an atmosphere containing tritium as water vapor, he absorbs
tritium into his body both by inhalation and by absorption through skin. The
amount absorbed through skin is almost equal to the amount absorbed through
inhalation.
Protection against Tritium Exposure:
To prevent tritium uptake in the body it is necessary to supply clean breathing air.
This eliminates absorption by breathing. It is also necessary to surround the
person by clean air which eliminates the absorption through skin. This achieved by
using plastic suits and supplying clean air to the plastic suit. Fresh air is supplied
for inhalation through an airline respirator.
Dose Due to Tritium:
Once inside our body, tritium gets distributed throughout the body by mixing
with the body water. The tritium body burden is generally measured by
measuring the tritium content in urine. Knowing the amount of tritium in urine,
the radiation dose to the person can be calculated. The dose is not received
immediately but gradually over the time it takes for the body to eliminate it
complete.
To control the tritium intake the following procedure will be followed:
(a) An individual having 50 uCi/L (2 G.Bq/m3) in urine, but less than 4
G.Bq/m3 (100 uCi/L). will be placed in "caution Category". He will continue to
be in "Caution Category" till H3 concentration in urine falls to below 1 G B./m3
(25 uCi/L).
(b) An individual having more than 4 G 13q./m3 (200 Ci/L) will be placed in
"Restriction Category". He will not be permitted to carry out work involving
tritium exposure till H3 con-centration in urine falls below 1 G Bq./m3 (25
Ci/L) and gets clearance from Health Physicist.
Tritium Half Life in Body:
Radionuclides once they enter the body, do not remain there forever. Some part
of the material is absorbed by the body and gets eliminated by natural processes.
The length of time a radioactive material remains in the body depends upon this
natural removal process and the radioactive half-life of the material. In case of

80
 tritium it is found that if a certain amount of it is present in the body, after an
interval of 10 days, its amount in the body is reduced to one half. This figure (10
days) varies from person to person and also for the same person it varies from
time to time. It has been found that the half-life is related to the quantity of liquid
water, coffee etc. consumed and eliminated from the body. Increase in the liquid
consumption, will thus hasten the process of elimination and reduce the biological
half-life of tritium (say 5 days).

5. Biological Effects of Radiations:

Natural Source of Radiation:
Persons have been exposed to natural sources of radiation from time immemorial.
There are both internal and external exposures due to natural sources of radiation.
The main external radiation sources are:
a) Cosmic Rays: These are high energy radiation which comes from outer space.
b) Gamma Rays from ground and building materials soils and rocks contain
materials which are naturally radioactive such as uranium.
The main sources of intermit natural exposure are Potassium-40 and Radium
which are present in very low concentration in drinking water and foodstuff.
Although, the dose received from natural sources depends upon w here a person
lives, the average dose which a person gets is about 150 mrem/year due to natural
radioactive sources.
Organ Sensitivity:
Our body consists of a number of organs, with each organ having a specific
function. All these body organs are made up of small building blocks called cells.
Cells are constantly being replaced to maintain a healthy organ. Radiation can
cause damage or kill our body cells. Two main ways by which our body cells are
damaged by radiation are:
a) Damage or destruction of these cells by direct action of ionizing radiation.
b) Radiation may produce some chemicals which are poisonous to our body cells
and may damage or kill them.
The organs of the body are not all affected to the same extent. Some are damaged
more readily than others. For example muscles are not very radiosensitive and can

81
 withstand large radiation doses. Some other organs show signs of damage at lower
doses.
The most radiosensitive organs of the body as far as human race is concerned are:
a) Blood forming organs (bone-marrow)
b) The gonads (reproductory organs)
Other organs which arc important as far as radiation damage is concerned are:
a) Eyes
b) Skin and Bone
c) Thyroid gland.
Genetic Effects:
The normal function of sex organs is to produce sperm or eggs. These cells are
not very radiosensitive as far as their normal functions are concerned. However,
the effect of radiation is such that they may produce a damage egg or sperm. This
will affect the off spring of the person exposed. These are known as genetic
effects.
Actual Dose:
If a person receives a radiation dose in a short period of time it is known as Acute
Dose.
Chronic Dose:
If he receives a dose of radiation over a long period of time it is known as chronic
dose.
For example, a person getting a dose of 100 rem in a day would be getting an
acute dose and if the same dose of 100 rem spread over 20 years, it would be a
chronic dose.

Damage to our Body:

The physical damage our body suffers from a given radiation dose depends upon
whether the dose is acute or chronic. In an acute exposure the symptoms
sometime readily exhibit themselves, whereas in a chronic exposure of the same
order, there may not be any visible effect.
The longer the period a dose can be spread over the less is the damage done. If the
dose is received over an extended period of time, the body can repair the damage.

82
 An acute dose of 300 rem might kill a person but the same dose spread over life
time, would have no apparent effect.
The amount of damage caused is also related to the rate at which a dose is given to
the organ.
Probable Effects of Acute whole Doses:
From the experience gained from the study of radiation accidents and experiments
on animals, we know to some extent the effect of acute doses on human beings.
The probable effects of the acute whole body dose are summarized in the
following table:
Acute mSv. Probable Effects
Exposure
(REM)
0-25 0-250 No detectable defects. Probably delayed effects.

25-100 250-1000 Slight blood changes with later recovery.

Possible sick feeling.
100-200 1000-2000 Sick feeling with fatigue, possible vomiting, or
certain blood cell changes with slow recovery.

200-300 2000-3000 Feeling of sickness & vomiting on first day, two

week apparently normal period followed by a
general tired sick feeling, loss of appetite;
diarrhea; moderate loss of weight; recovery
likely.
300-600 3000-6000 Sick feeling, vomiting and diarrhea in first few
hours. Short period free from symptoms
followed by loss of appetite, general sick feeling,
then bleeding, loss of weight, sore throat and
loss of hair. Some deaths in first and possible
eventual death for 50% of individual exposed to
450 Rem.
Above 600 6000> Feeling of sickness, vomiting, diarrhea in first
few hours. Short period free from symptoms
followed by bleeding, sore throat, fever,

83
 extreme fatigue end of first week, rapid loss of
weight, Death as early as second week with
possible eventual death of 100% of exposed
individuals.

The information given in the above table is for whole body irradiation. Persons can
survive very large local doses, where only a part of their body is exposed. In
treatment of diseases like cancer a dose 5000 rem is often given to a part of the
body in about 8 to 10 sittings without any serious effect.
Skin Doses:
High doses of low penetrating radiation such as low energy X-rays or beta
radiation do not affect the body as a whole. In such cases only skin gets irradiated.
In case of skin dose of below 400 rem, no observable effect results. Between 400
to 1000 rem, reddening of the skin will occur.
Effect of Chronic Radiation Exposures:
Chronic radiation exposure is known to have produced harmful effects. The most
important of these is increased tendency to contract cancer, especially leukemia
i.e. cancer of blood.
Genetic Effects:
Gene is the main part of the sperm or eggs responsible for the growth of the new
offspring. Radiation can damage or destroy these genes. The change in the gene is
called mutation. Mutations are generally harmful in that they may produce an
abnormal offspring. The present value of maxi-mum permissible dose have been
established with due consideration to this genetic effect.
The harmful effect that may be produced by chronic radiation exposure is that the
chance of contracting cancer, particularly leukemia is slightly increased. But the
chances of getting leukemia in the first place are very low. Let us look at this
chance in comparison to some other causes of death (Canadian statistics).
The death rate per billion persons due to leukemia is less than 10 per hour. The
death rate per billion persons due to influenza is about 50 per hour. The death rate
per billion persons when driving a car is about 500 per hour (Due to car
accidents).

84
6. Radiation Measurements:
In nuclear reactor to achieve the radiation exposure control we require to take
certain routine measurement. These measurements have been summarized below:

Radiation Protection
Measurments

Surface Airbourne
Dose Rate Dose
Contamination Contamination

Gamma Gamma Beta-Gamma Beta-Gamma

Beta Beta Alpha Alpha65

Fast Neutron Fast Neutron

Slow Netron Slow Neutron

Dose Rate:
A rate at which you are receiving a dose is called dose rate. For example if a man
is exposed to a dose rate of 200 mrem/hour and he works for 2 hours in this
radiation field, then the total dose received by him is 200x2 = 400 mrem. The
type of radiation mostly encountered around a reactor is gamma. There are
locations though not very common where, beta fast neutron and slow neutron are
also found along with gamma radiation. Dose rates are usually expressed as
roentgen/hr. rad/hr. rem/hrs. mSv/hr. If' dose rates of fast or slow neutrons are
measured in rad/hr. or milli rad/hr. then these values are to be multiplied by
appropriate quality factor to obtain the dose in rem/hr (equivalent dose) or milli
rem/hr (This has been told already in earlier chapter). There are instruments
which measure the dose equivalent rate of fast or thermal neutrons in rem/hr or
milli rem/hr.

85
 Dose Measurements:
Dose rate measurements are carried out to predict, the dose a person will receive
working at a location where dose rate and the time he spends is known. We can
also determine location at the station which is hazardous so that warning posters
or caution boards are kept there.
A person may move about in any area during the course of his work and dose rate
will vary from place to place. In such cases, a device knows n as Dosimeter is
worn by the worker. It gives the total dose received by him during a particular
job. There are dosimeters for measuring, gamma, fast neutron, slow neutron and
beta dose.
Contamination:
Contamination is defined as the presence of radioactive material in unwanted
places. When it is spread over surfaces, it is called surface contamination. When a
radioactive material escapes from its container and gets dispersed in air, it is called
air contamination. Contamination is detected with the help of instruments which
detect the radiation given out by radioactive material. Contamination must be
detected, mainly to prevent internal exposure.
The units used for measuring surface contamination are micro-curie/square ft. or
dpm/cm.2 or cpm/100cm.2
Contamination and Dose Rate:
The difference between contamination and dose rate can be explained with the
following example:
The work has to be carried out on a pump which has been pumping out
radioactive liquid. Now in case, the pump has been leak free and the work has to
be carried on the outside of the pump, the hazard is only that the external
radiation and we are interested in measuring dose rate and the dose.
In case, the work is to be carried out inside the pump and it has to be dismantled,
the dose rate measurements must are required for external radiation and
contamination measurements must be made to assess internal exposure. The
internal exposure is possible due to uptake of radioactive material through
contamination of worker's hand from the contamination of the pump parts and
also radioactive material getting airborne and inhaled.

86
 Radiation Detectors:
There are two very common types of detectors which are based on the principle
that radiation when passing through a gas causes ionization. These are Ionisation
Chamber and Geiger Muller Tube.
Ionization Chamber:
If a battery is connected to two plates with air in between; then no electric cur-
rent flow through the wire. Now if ionizing radiation is passed between the plates,
then a small electric current flows in the circuit.
Radiation has caused ionization of air and the electrons released constitute a small
current. Which is measured, if we replace the two plates with a cylindrical
conductor, it behaved in the same manner and is called an ionization chamber.
The electric current produced in an ionization chamber depends upon how' much
radiation passes through the gas in the chamber volume. The higher the radiation
dose rate, the higher is the current measured and so this kind of device can be
used for radiation measurements. The electrical current produced by radiation is
very very small and usually has to be amplified by an amplifier. Ionisation chamber
can be used to measure gamma dose rate and has a measuring scale in mrem/hour
or rem/hour.
Dosimeter:
Ionisation chambers can also be used to measure the total dose received by a
person over a period of time. In this case, it is not the current that is measured.
The device is called Dosimeter and works on the following principle.
If a voltage is applied to two conductors of an ionization chamber and if the
chamber is exposed to radiation, the voltage across the conductors becomes less.
The drop in voltage is related to the radiation dose which can be measured with a
sensitive voltmeter attached to the ionization chamber.
The design of the dosimeter is such that the person can at a glance know how
much dose he has received during the time he has worn it. The dosimeter works
in the following way.
When a voltage from a battery is applied to the central conductor, then a fine
quartz fiber moves away from this central electrode. As the voltage of the
electrode falls due to radiation, the position of the fiber changes. This change in

87
 position is observed by a small microscope against a scale which is calibrated to
read directly the dose received. The device is normally worn by all persons
working in high radiation field. The wearer can estimate the dose received by
taking a reading before and after the job.
Care should be taken in handling these dosimeters. They should not be dropped.
Geiger Muller Tube:
A widely used detector of ionizing radiation is Geiger Muller Tube. In principle
and construction, it is similar to an ionization chamber. G.M. Tubes operates at
much higher voltages. In an ionization chamber we cannot detect an individual
radiation like beta particle or a gamma ray. What we detect is the total electric
current caused by many particles.
In the case of G.M. Tubes the high voltage results in large pulse of current and
consequently we can detect individual particles. So G.M. Tubes are very sensitive
and are very useful in detecting small contamination. They also make very
excellent gamma ray detectors. The sensitivity range of a G.M. Tube can be
increased by reducing the size of the tube.
Geiger tubes come in many shapes and sizes.
This walled Geiger tubes usually made or glass, are used for beta particles
detection and are useful in fission product contamination detection.
Very very thin walled tubes less than 1/1000th of an inch are used for detection of
alpha particles or very low energy beta particles. Usually the tubes are built with
thick metal walls and only the end of the tube is made of thin material to allow the
radiation to pass. Such tubes are also called END WINDOW Geiger Tubes.
Scintillation Detectors:
When a radiation particles passes through certain materials like zinc sulphide
(ZnS), these materials give off' a flash of light. These materials are called
Scintillators and the process is known as Scintillation.
These small flashes of light can be converted into current pulses with the help of a
Photomultiplier. The electric pulses thus produced are fed to an electronic pulse
counter.
Scintillation detectors are able to detect small amounts of radioactive material and
are very useful in detecting contamination.

88
 In a scintillation detector, a photomultiplier tube is positioned besides the
scintillator and converts light flashes into electric pulses. Both scintillator and
photomultiplier are enclosed in a light tight cover to keep out the outside light.
The photo multiplier feeds the electrical pulses into an electronic pulse counter or
a count rate meter.
Film Dosimeter:
Property of photographic film to turn black when exposed to radiation has been
utilized to assess the dose received by a person.
'The amount of blackening that it produced on the film depends on the radiation
dose it has Higher the blackening, more is the dose it has received. By measuring
the blackening on a film, the dose assessment is made.
A film pack used for radiation dose measurements is usually designed to cover
from 10 mrem to 1000 rem.
The film is usually worn in a film badge. This is worn by a person on chest for a
period of two weeks or a month and then changed. The used film is that
developed and its density of blackening is measured and dose is assessed from the
density of blackening.
Film Badge:
The film badge is worn on the chest with the film loaded inside. The different
filters fixed inside the badge help in estimating the correct dose of different types
of radiation. These filters are in the form of small strips of uniform thickness. It
has been found that a bare film exposed to I Rad of X-rays is blackened more than
a film exposed to 1 Rad of gamma rays. The filters help in correcting this
discrepancy and ensure that blackening is same with 1 Rad regardless of whether it
is X-rays or gamma rays.
The open window in the badge is without any filter. This is to find out whether
the wearer is being exposed to any beta radiation and the dose is considered to be
received by the skin only. The blackening under open window and under plastic
filters enable the beta dose of the wearer to be estimated. The dose under lead
metal filter will be due to gamma rays. Two copper filters of different thickness to
estimate the dose in case of x-ray exposure of low and high energy x-ray. Thermal
neutrons are measured by knowing the film blackening under the cadmium filter.

89
 Thermoluminscent Dosimeter:
In this dosimeter a crystal is used which is having property to scintillate and
regenerate when crystal is heated up after exposure of radiation. The intensity of
scintillation is a function of radiation exposure. It measures B, r, X-ray radiation.
It has properly to measure radiation from the order of u Rem to 1000 Rem.
The TLD is used to wear by individual while entering in Zone-2 area for external
dose measurement. This is issued to individual by name and it is replaced by
new/regenerated TLD, monthly. The dose also measured monthly and recorded
in individual accounts.

7. Contamination
Contamination is simply loose radioactive material which has escaped from
confinement. There are two types of contamination.
a) Surface Contamination: Contamination present in floors, outside pipe surface,
on walls of building etc.
b) Airborne Contamination: These are due to radioactive material in Air.
These may be in the form of dusts, gases and water vapors contamination cause
external and internal hazards. We have already told you that internal hazards are
much more serious than external hazard. Reading of the meter increases
indicating the contamination of that area or surface. The detector should not
touch the area because if it touches the detector it gets contaminated.
This direct method of detecting the contamination is not possible if the
contaminated object itself is an intense source of radiation. It cannot be used
where other background radiations are high. In this case smear technique is
employed.
Smear Techniques:
This method consists of just getting the loose contamination on the object
transferred to a wiper or smear. This smear may be a filter paper. Later this smear
can be checked in a laboratory where the background is less. The smear is rubbed
over a known area of the contaminated object and the transferred activity is
measured with a G.M. Tube or an alpha counter.

90
 The method can also be employed using swabs of cotton wetted with water or
alcohol to check loose contaminations in areas where direct measurements cannot
be made.
Airborne Contamination:
Air borne contamination may occur in a variety of ways. Surface contamination
may get disturbed and become air borne. We have already mentioned that air
contamination may be:
a) Dusts
b) Gases
c) Vapors
Radioactive dust or particulate contamination may be any of the solid fission
products or activation products. There are many ways in which radioactive dusts
can get into air.
In nuclear power stations these dusts will be generally be active. Although the
ICRP has established the maximum permissible concentrations for different types
of radioactive nuclides, often it is different types of radioactive nuclides, often it is
difficult to identify the nuclides. Generally the recommended value for such
unknown nuclides is 1000 dpm/M3.
Radioactive dusts emitting alpha particles are not generally found in nuclear
power station in significant levels.
Gases & Vapors:
Sometimes the air borne contamination may be due to certain types of gases like
Xenon and Iodine. When a fuel element ruptures these gases escape into the
reactor system and subsequently escapes into the atmosphere.
Some radioactive gases are produced by neutron activation. Argon-41 is one such
gas which may become air borne. This gas is produced quite often in air cooling
systems associated with the reactor.
The activation product which causes most air borne problems around heavy water
reactors is Tritium. Tritium is produced by neutron bombardment W' heavy
water and is generally released to air in water vapors form.

91
 Measurements:
We have already mentioned that air borne radioactive dust is an internal hazard.
The maximum permissible concentration is very low in cases of certain
radionuclides. The technique used to measure that low concentration is to collect
the dust from a large volume of air and measure the collected activity. The dust is
collected on a filter paper and the activity on the paper can be measured by using
the G.M. Counter or a scintillation counters.
In certain locations in nuclear reactor the air is liable to get contaminated. In these
locations it is necessary to monitor the activity in the air continuously.
The fixed filter monitor consists of a filter paper and holder through which air
containing radioactive dust is draw n. A Geiger counter or scintillation counter is
mounted close to the filter paper and it measures the radioactivity which has been
collected. The activity is recorded on a count rate meter or recorder. The
detector is often enclosed in a lead shield to reduce the back ground level.
If the air is tree of activity then the count rate will remain same, as no radioactive
material will be collected on the filter paper. A small reading is obtained.
If the radioactive material is present then it will start collecting on the filter paper
and this will be shown by an increase in the recorder. The recorder will present a
sloped line during the whole time as long as long as the radioactive material is
present in the air since more and more activity is ac-cumulating on the paper.
If the radioactive material in the air is removed, no additional radioactivity will be
collected on the filter paper and this recorder reading will stop rising. The
recorder Ns ill trace a line which is neither raising nor falling due to the activity
present on the filter paper.
The technique of measuring the concentration of active dust is very simple, that is,
a) Collect the dust from a measured volume of air on a filter paper.
b) Measure the amount of activity collected.
c) Calculate the activity in dpm/cubic meter.
The dust is collected using a portable air sampler;
Some of the products of fission are gases and vapors. One of the most important
material which exists as a vapor is Iodine. One of the most hazardous isotopes is
Iodine-131.

92
 The method used to detect the presence of Iodine-131 in air is in principle the
same as that for the detection of particulate activity i.e. collect the active material
from the air and measure the amount collected on a suitable detector. However, a
dust filter paper will not filter out vapors. The most suitable material for removing
iodine vapor in air is a charcoal filter, or charcoal impregnated paper. Normally
the gamma scintillation detector is needed to measure the iodine activity.
Tritium, as already mentioned, is an activation product. Tritium behaves just as
ordinary water. It is produced in large quantities in heavy water reactors and is a
constant air contamination problem.
Tritium emits beta particles. These beta particles are having a very low energy.
Their penetration is small. Hence special techniques are to be used for measuring
tritium in air, in the form of water vapor. The first of these is an ionization
chamber in which the tritium contaminated air is draw n right into the chamber
and ionization is measured. You may recall that ionization chambers are used to
measure gamma radiation also to correct for this gamma background radiation,
two ionization chambers are used, one which, measures tritium and gamma
together and the second one measures only gammas. The difference gives the
measure of tritium activity.
Another method is to bubble the air through water. Tritium vapor is removed
from the air and retained in water.
The quantity of tritium picked up by the water is measured using liquid
scintillation counter. A small amount of the water whose tritium content is to be
measured is dissolved in a scintillator which is a liquid. This mixture is placed in
close to a photomultiplier and light flashes produced by tritium are measured.

8. Contamination Control:
As in the case of conventional hazards like fire, electricity, radiation protection is
based on the following three principles:
a) Detect the hazard
b) Assess the hazard
c) Control the hazard

93
 Detection of radiation hazard is carried out with the help of measuring
instruments. Our senses, smell, sight etc. are ineffective as far as nuclear radiation
is concerned and so we seek the help of instruments to detect them.
Assessment of a radiation hazard is done by measuring radiation levels, dose rate,
air borne contamination and surface contamination and comparing them Ns ith the
maximum permissible levels.
Control of radiation hazard is divided into two parts.
External radiation hazard is controlled by the use of Time, Distance and Shielding
as discussed in earlier chapters. In this section the techniques to control the
contamination which is responsible for internal uptake of radioactive material is
discussed.
Radioactive contamination may spread from one place to another in various ways.
One of the principal ways is by people moving into a contaminated area and
carrying the loose radioactive material on their clothing, shoes and person, to
other locations. This is controlled by various movement control techniques.
Zoning:
Certain areas in a nuclear power station are more likely to become contaminated
than others. For this reason the nuclear station is divided into different zones
according to the like hood of contamination occurring.
Clean Zone:
This covers, the inactive part of the Nuclear Station, lunch room, administrative
building etc. (Zone-I).
Active Zone:
The dirtiest are from the radioactive contamination point of view is termed
contaminated zone. The chances of contamination in this area are very high
(Zone-4).
Intermediate Zones:
These are areas between active zone and clean zone (Zone-2 and 3).
The routes which a person is permitted to take between different zones are
limited. Instruments for checking contamination are provided en-route from active
to clean zone.

94
 Change Rooms:
Movement of personnel from active areas to clean areas is strictly controlled. It is
controlled at very entry point to clean areas. A change room is provided on this
route. All persons working in active areas pass through change room. They
remove their working clothes and put on their street clothes. Showers are
provided to wash off loose contamination if any. Monitoring facilities are also
provided. The change room, however, may be by passed by persons not working
with radioactive materials.
Working of a Change Room:
Person working in the active areas of the station, enter the "Locker Room" where
their personal clothing is removed and stored.
They then proceed to station clothing storage area where they get work clothes.
These are put on in the "Dressing & Undressing Area".
After finishing work with radioactive material, before entering the change room,
hands should be washed thoroughly to prevent contamination of monitoring
equipment. Body and clothing should then be monitored. Contaminated clothing
should be removed and put in laundry bag. The user then passes to the showers
and then to the monitor placed before entry to the street clothes locker.
Rubber Stations:
In active areas, whenever loose contamination is known to exist or when it is
expected that the area may get contaminated by particular job to be carried out,
the areas are segregated by setting up Rubber Stations. The area is cordoned off
with a red tape and a polythene sheet is spread over the floor. Access is allowed
only at a single entry point where a bench is placed which constitutes a rubber
station. This also includes, two sets of boxes, one of which contains "clean
Overshoes" and the other "contaminated over-shoes". A portable Geiger
contamination monitor is set up near the rubber station.
Use of Rubber Stations:
Crossing from Clean to Contaminated Area:
(a) Rubber are taken from the box on the clean side and put on before stepping
over the barrier.

95
 (b) The unprotected or bare foot is never placed on the floor on the contaminated
side of the barrier.
(c) In case, rubber arc not available on clean side, used rubbers should be checked
for contamination from inside before putting them on.
Crossing from Contaminated to Clean Area:
(a) Rubbers are removed carefully without touching the soles, without shaking
them and are kept on the contaminated side of the barrier.
(b) The unprotected foot is not placed on the contaminated side of the barrier, but
is put down directly on the clean side.
(c) The used rubbers are placed in the box provided on the contaminated side of
the barrier.
(d) Hands and feed should then be monitored for any contamination.
Rubber Change Areas:
Sometimes within a contaminated area, in case of high contamination levels,
additional protective clothing is provided. It is essential to change overshoes from
one rubber station to cross the other rubber station. To avoid mix up of
overshoes, different colours are used for rubber shoes.
Protective Clothing:
In a nuclear power station, persons working in radioactive area, handling
radioactive materials are required to change into radioactive work clothing which
comprises of boiler suits, socks, underwear, and shoes. For radioactive work
normally, cotton clothes are most suitable which also has advantages in comfort
and absorptive qualities.
Gloves:
While handling loose radioactive material, gloves are always worn Cotton gloves
are used only in case of low level dry operation as it gives limited protection.
When work involves wet operation, surgical gloves are used. Where heavy duty
work is done, heavy duty rubber gloves are used. Gloves with long sleeves are
useful in work where full length of hand is to be dipped in liquids. To offer more
protection, the gloves are taped to the sleeves of the boiler suit with masking tape.
If gloves are not taped to the clothing, then the cuff is turned back about an inch
for ease of removal. This enables the person to insert a finger under the overlap

96
 and grip the cuff of the glove to peel it off inside out without touching the skin.
The clean inside surface of the glove can then be handled with bare hand, and can
be used peel off the other glove. The gloves should then be deposited in active
gloves container.
Foot Wear:
Special shoes often issued by the establishments are to be used when working in
radioactive or contaminated areas. Rubber overshoes, cotton or plastic foot
coverings are used. In extreme wet conditions gum boots are sometimes worn.
Plastic Clothing:
For work in areas as where loose contamination levels are very high or in
atmospheres containing tritium, cotton cloths do not provide adequate protection
and plastic clothes are used.
The suit consists of one piece plastic coverall closed at the feet and having double
sleeves to tape rubber gloves and seal it. A hood with double bib tying under the
arms is provided. Air is supplied to the suit through a hose which is connected to
the compressed air supply system of the plant. Air is also supplied to the
respirator worn for breathing for communications; the respirator is fitted with a
microphone and can be plugged to the communication system of the plant.
Certain precautions are essential in the use of plastic suits. Contaminated gloves
should be removed first and clean gloves put on the remove the plastic suit. Plastic
hood should be removed first and then plastic suit, inside out to confine the
activity. Contaminated plastic suits should be packed in polythene bags and sealed
to be decontaminated later. The respirator should be removed last as removal of
the contaminated clothes may give rise to air contamination.
Undressing of plastic suit should be done by a person wearing protective clothing.
Respirators:
One of the main routes by which radioactive material can enter out body is by
inhalation of contaminated air.
Maximum permissible concentration has been established for different
radionuclides. The following table gives the Maximum Permissible Levels of air
contamination:

97
 Activity Location Working Level
Beta (Long Lived) Indoor Air 1,000 dpm/m3
Beta (Iodine) Indoor Air 10,000 dpm/m3
Beta (Strong Lived, Indoor Air 10,000,000 dpm/m3
Gaseous Fission product)
Alpha Indoor Air 4.4 dpm/m3
Tritium (HTO) Indoor Air 10/uCi/ m3

Whenever the air contamination levels cross the working levels, respirators are
used. Respirators are equipment which removes aerosols from the air and allow
the clean air for breathing. The respirators are usually classified as follows:
a) Dust Respirators:
In this type of respirator, air is passed through a filter paper which removes most
of the dust particles. This is usually a half-face respirator.
b) Full Face Respirators:
This type of respirator covers the whole face. It is provided with eye lenses and in
addition to the filter paper a cartridge containing activated charcoal is provided to
trap iodine and some other gases. This is called anti gas respirator. This type of
respirator is used in higher concentrations of contamination.
c) Fresh Airline Respirators:
The types of respirators explained above are of little use when working in tritium
atmospheres and noble gases. In heavy water reactors tritium is the main air
contamination problem. The best protection in such case can be provided by
Fresh Airline Respirator. The fresh air supply is given through compressed air
system of the plant.
Testing of Respirators:
Respirator should be tested before issuing to an individual for the following:
a) Leak Test:
It should be according to the facial measurement of the person using the
respirators. Straps are usually tilled to tighten the respirator. To test for any leak,
paint of the hand should be kept on the inlet valve and breathed. If the breathing is
difficult there is no leak.
b) Activity Test:

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 The filter paper, accumulates lot of active dust particles. If the level of
contamination on the filter paper is high filter paper should be changed.
Ventilation:
In a conventional plant the ventilation provides fresh air to the people in the plant.
In addition to these, ventilation system in a nuclear establishment is designed.
a) To supply air free from radioactive contamination.
b) To prevent the spread of airborne and surface contamination throughout the
plant.
c) To clean up the air in room or enclosure after it is contaminated.
One method of preventing the spread of air borne contamination and also of
providing clean air for plant personnel is to have separate ventilation system for
clean and dirty areas. Care must be taken in the design and operation of
ventilation system that air does not flow or leak from an ac-tive area to adjacent
clean area. This can be achieved by a having a lower pressure in the active area
compared to adjacent areas.
The other system is to have each room supplied with fresh air, the exhaust air
from the room then passes directly to the exhaust from the building and is not
used again.
These above systems provide an excellent air contamination control. But they are
uneconomical. Generally conditioned air from clean parts of the plant can be used
to ventilate the dirty areas after which they go exhaust system.
Operations which are known to release radioactive material should be carried out
in enclosures which confine the activity and which have their own ventilation
system.

9. Decontamination:
Tools and equipment like pumps and valves used in a reactor system become
contaminated that is, a radioactive material gets attached the surface of the
equipment. Removal or cleaning of this surface contamination is known as
Decontamination.
Decontamination is necessary to eliminate health hazards in case the equipment is
to be sent out from the station or in case the equipment is to be reused.

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 Decontamination Principles:
As far as radioactive contamination is concerned, even small traces of radioactive
material left on the surface of the equipment can be hazardous and has to be
removed. The methods followed in radioactive decontamination are more or less
similar to other industrial cleaning, that is, by use of chemical or detergents or by
physically removing the surface.
Radioactive material may be loosely or firmly, attached to the surface. It may be
attached chemically or mechanically trapped in cracks or holes. The
decontamination process must break the union or bond between the surface & the
contaminant which, then, can be removed from the surface.
Chemical Decontamination:
There are various detergents which along with water form excellent
decontamination agents. These detergents are also used in combination to achieve
the full decontamination. But the best decontamination results are achieved by
repeated cleaning with soap, water and detergent.
Organic solvents have also been used for decontamination where soap and water
have failed. But organic solvent may pose a problem as they are toxic and
inflammable. So care should be taken in their use.
Acid:
Application of acids is a way of decontamination. Generally very dilute acids are
used as they may corrode the surface.
Alkalis:
Alkali such as caustic soda solutions are occasionally used as decontamination
agents. These are particularly used in decontamination of rubber articles.

Physical Methods of Decontamination:

Unlike chemical methods, physical force is used to tear off the contaminant, from
the surface by one of the following process:
a) Scrubbing with abrasive powder
b) Sand blasting
c) High pressure steam jet cleaning
d) Vacuum brushing

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 e) Ultrasonic cleaning.
Some of these are discussed here in detail.
High Pressure Steam Jet Cleaning:
Cleaning with high pressure steam jet is very useful and a simple technique. A
steam jet is passed very close to the surface to be cleaned. A small amount of
detergent is added to the steam to assist cleaning and keep the contaminant thus
removed in solution. One of the advantages of this method is that very little water
is used compared to normal washing. Care should be taken, as high temperature
steam may damage delicate objects.
Ultrasonic Cleaners:
It is extensively used for decontamination of small delicate objects. The advantage
of this method is that it does not in any way damage the object. It is also rapid and
needs no continuous attendance.
High frequency electrical waves are produced by the generator. The transducer
converts this electrical energy into high frequency sound waves in the cleaning
solution. Microscopic bubbles are formed by the sonic energy. The bubbles
collapse or implode on the surface of the object being cleaned and literally.
Tear the contaminant off the surface. A good detergent with water is used as
solution.
Decontamination of Buildings:
Decontamination of a building or a part thereof' is a big task but the technique
used in same as used for smaller articles. There are three stages in cleanup work.
First -Remove of Gross Contamination In case of gross contamination, fields
will be very high and remote handling equipment should be used. Adequate
shielding should be provided. Close circuit T.V., and shielded disposable
containers can be used.
Second -Removal of Loose Particulate Material This is done with the help
of vacuum cleaners. Absolute filters are often attached to vacuum cleaners. If the
radiation fields are high due to large scale contamination, shielding may be
required.
Third - Removal of Remaining Activity This is achieved by mopping,
scrubbing or steam cleaning with deter-gents and water. In case of large release of

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 activity, all the surface of the building should he treated which may take a few
months. In the final stages, contaminated areas should be marked and cleaning
should be carried out from boundary towards inside. Mops and solutions should be
changed frequently. Waste materials like mops etc., should be sent for waste
disposal after carefully packing them in polythene bags.
Outdoor Decontamination:
Contamination ground surfaces may be removed and sent for waste disposal. If the
activity level is not very high, the activity may be fixed by covering the surface
with asphalt or some other technique.
Personnel Decontamination:
Personnel handling radioactive materials may sometime get contaminated on their
skin or hands due to rubber gloves getting born or by touching contaminated
surfaces.
The best way to remove skin or hand contamination is to wash it with soap and
water. If it does not reduce the contamination, the process should be repeated a
few times, sometime using a soft nylon brush taking care that it does not roughen
the skin and perhaps allow the radioactive material to enter the body.
In case the above procedure is inadequate, then use of chemicals is made. A
mixture of suitable cleaning agents is generally provided handy.
If the contamination level is not brought well below the maximum permissible
level, further decontaminations should be carried out under Medical Supervision.
Waste Disposal:
In disposal of radioactive waste, generally two principles are used :
a) Dilute and disperse
b) Delay and decay
Dilute and Disperse :
This is applicable particularly to radioactive gases and liquids released by nuclear
plants. Radioactive liquids can easily be dispersed in river or sea if they are
sufficiently diluted. Similarly radioactive gases can be let off in the atmosphere if
the levels are brought down below the maxi-mum permissible concentration after
dilution. To achieve this radioactive gases are let off at a sufficient height through a
big stack.

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 Delay and Decay:
In this principle, the radioactive material is stored for a sufficient period that
allows it to decay to harmless levels. Some of these processes are burial under-
ground or disposal by fixing it in concrete and leaving it at the bottom of the
ocean. It is sometimes necessary to reduce the bulk of material by using
incinerators, evaporators and boilers.
Waste Handling Practice at Nuclear Station:
The following procedure is given for handling of radioactive waste at a nuclear
plant:
a) Segregation: Radioactive waste should be segregated from non-radioactive.
This is done by using different waste bins for active and non-active material.
b) Monitoring: This is done to decide on the method of disposal to be used.
c) Packing: Safe packing of waste is required to carry it to the waste disposal area.
d) Disposal: Correct disposal according to the type of waste and activity.
e) Accurate Record: This is kept for future reference so that people know, how
much waste is buried and where.
f) Monitoring: Monitoring of the disposal area to determine that the disposal is
safe.

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 Bibliography

http://www.npcil.nic.in/
http://www.davinci-
mode.co.jp/e/index.html?gclid=CJifuc69_9QCFcMVjwodAnEFzg
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.mt.com/int/en/home/applications/L1_AutoChem
NAPS Brief Description Manual STC
Station Training Centre Manual STC
Chemistry Training Manual STC
Waste Management Plant Manual STC
Simlified Radiation Protection Manual - STC

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