A NEW IRRADIATION PLANT IN ITALY - TECHNICAL FEATURES AND ACTIVITIES PERFORMED

Since 1995, a new Hitesys Co. pilot/industrial irradiation plant has b een operating in Aprilia, 50 km south of Rome. The plant, which was jo intly designed by ENEA and Hitesys Co., is equipped with a highly flex ible automatic materials transport system which is also suitable for c ontinuous process repetition or, when upturned, for double-side materi al treatment. The main features of the irradiation plant are: the radi ation source: EB-machine LINAC type (s band) with maximum electron bea m energy of 10 MeV and beam power of 1000 W; the bunker: external type , shielded by ordinary concrete, equipped with a suitable entrance/exi t maze in order to allow easy handling and managing of materials as we ll as to facilitate equipment and machinery maintenance and inspection activities. An intense program of R&D activities and technological se rvices has already been performed in relation to industrial processes and environmental applications, as well as many other radiation techno logy applications, including agriculture related processes.