Identification of a defected fuel rod in the TRIGA R.C.-1 facility of the ENEA Casaccia Research Center: radiation protection aspects

The nuclear facility TRIGA RC-1 is located at the ENEA Casaccia Research Center in Rome. It is a thermal spectrum research reactor with a thermal power of 1 MW and a Mark III containment. The failure of the fuel cladding of the General Atomic TRIGA is a well-known phenomenon in the literature and is normally expected during its lifetime. Depending on the severity of the cracking, this results in the transfer of radioactivity from inside the fuel rods to the demineralized moderation and cooling water of the primary circuit. This occurs especially when the fuel is heated, as the temperature rise leads to an increase in the internal pressure inside the rods, causing fission products, especially gaseous ones, to be released through the cracks. The sustained release of these fission products over time causes impurities with longer half-lives (e.g., Cs-137) to accumulate in the primary water purification system and, in particular, in the ion exchange resin tank. Therefore, the detection of Cs-137 in the ion exchange resins of the primary water purification system of the reactor is a sufficiently clear indication of the occurrence of such disturbances. Indeed, Cs-137 is not only a direct fission product of U-235, but is also produced by the decay of Xe-137 (one of the major fission noble gasses), which, because of its physical nature, readily escapes through the rod cladding. To ensure worker protection from ionizing radiation during the identification and replacement of defective fuel rods, a special program of physical, environmental, and personal radiation protection monitoring was conducted. In addition to a brief description of the work performed, this report presents the results of radiometric measurements and associated individual dose assessment performed before, during, and after the identification and replacement of the defected fuel elements.