Radiochemistry building for actinides research - Technology, radiation protection, methods

A new building devoted to radiochemical work was commissioned in 1998. It w as designed for studying the behavior of radionuclides such as thorium, ura nium, neptunium, plutonium, americium, curium, radium, technetium, carbon - 14 and tritium, which are important for the environment and for the life sc iences. In accordance to the German Radiation Protection Ordinance (3) we a re licensed to handle 170 different radionuclides with a maximum of activit y for each nuclide of 1011 Bq. The laboratory building has 24 radiochemical laboratories and 10 service rooms (rooms for short-term storage of solid a nd liquid radioactive waste, and waste water, a room for safely storing rad ioactive samples in special safes, a control room with devices for measurin g and signalization of safety and radiation protection relevant data, a sep arate top floor which houses all equipment for air conditioning, ventilatio n and filtering). The ventilation system guarantees an increasing negative pressure gradient from the hall-ways to the laboratories and from the labor atories to the glove boxes and hoods. The laboratories are equipped with 22 alpha-boxes, laminar boxes, hoods, dish washers for cleaning glass-ware, r efrigerators, and drying cupboards. Glove box systems are installed for han dling gram amounts of various actinide elements under air or inert gas. Sev eral boxes are foreseen for experiments under special gas atmosphere (humid ity, various carbon dioxide content e.g.), All rooms are located in one con trolled area. Radioactivity and the dose rate of the air are constantly mon itored. The exhaust air is automatically surveyed for tritium, carbon-14, r adioactive iodine, alpha-, beta- and, gamma -activity in aerosols. All safe ty related data are monitored by an automated survey system. The entrance s ystem to the building is controlled by an automated dosimetry system. This ensures a permanent overview and radiation exposure record for the personne l. Modern analytic methods are established in the laboratories. The buildin g provides laboratory space for about 50 scientists and technicans to work with radioactive materials.