1. Session 2 - Specifications and Design of Beryllium Facilities
Summary by:
M. Merola (IO) and P. Lorenzetto (F4E)
Workshop on Beryllium Applications and Health & Safety Aspects for ITER
ITER Organization
30 June 2017
The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ITER Organization

2. Session 2 - Agenda
Session 2 - Specifications and Design of Beryllium Facilities Chairs: P. Lorenzetto / M. Merola
Council Room
Functional Requirements for ITER Facility to Store and Handle Beryllium Components
Spencer Pitcher (IO)
Specifications/Design/Construction of Atmostat Beryllium Facilities (including equipment required inside the beryllium facility)
Denis Conchon (Atmostat, France)
Specifications/design/Construction and Operation of AREVA Beryllium facility
Delphine Bossu (AREVA)
Benchmarking and Design of Beryllium Facilities (including equipment required inside the beryllium facility)
Kathy Creek (Beryllium Health and Safety Committee, US)
Discussion
All

3. Functional Requirements for ITER Facility to Store and Handle Beryllium Components - Spencer Pitcher (IO)
A Working Group was formed in October It concluded in April 2017, with a decision to build a dedicated beryllium facility to bridge the gap between the arrival at IO site of the Blanket FW panels (Dec 2024) and the availability of the Hot Cell (2029)
The main objective of the beryllium facility is to perform the “trial fit” between the FW panels and the corresponding Shield Blocks prior to their installation into the ITER machine.

4. Functional Requirements for ITER Facility to Store and Handle Beryllium Components - Spencer Pitcher (IO)
The beryllium facility has to comply with the regulation / safety / security:
To provide static and dynamic confinement
To prevent, detect and mitigate internal risks, external risks and malevolence

5. Specifications/Design/Construction of Atmostat Beryllium Facilities - Denis Conchon (Atmostat, France)
Presentation about Atmostat’s Beryllium workshop at Villejuif (F) made by Denis Conchon.
Worshop devoted to Be machining and grinding operations but also for assembly, welding, etching, ultrasonic examination, cleaning and Be storage needed for the manufacture of FW Be-armored components and for many other applications.
Stringent precautions are implemented to minimize the production of Be airborne and avoid contact of Be with workers as Be is considered as allergen material.
Respiratory Protective Equipments are used by workers and Be exposure is assessed by representative sampling.
Be dust and airborne limits are in accordance with Occupational Exposure Limit in France (2 µg/m3).
Surface contamination on the ground can go up to 300 µg/m2.
In-house spectrometry analysis equipment allows fast checks.
Beryllium confinement ensured through properly designed depressurization system and air control system (air change rate 3/hr). In particular, for highly Be dust generating operations (machining, grinding), exhaust ventilation is located as close as possible of the source.
Wet methods preferred. Particular attention devoted to BeO.
Weekly cleaning of the workshop.
All Be containing wastes (liquids, solids) are collected for proper waste processing.
Medical supervision performed for each operator including skin examination and yearly sensitization checks. Positive results lead to the exclusion of the worker from Be controlled zones.
Thanks to their close Be monitoring, no disease of workers identified so far.

6. Specifications/Design/Construction of Atmostat Beryllium Facilities - Denis Conchon (Atmostat, France)
Many detailed questions about the operation of the Atmostat facility addressed after the presentation. In particular:
Proliferation test performed at the Hôpital Henri Mondor (Creteil, F).
Installation classified ICPE because the electrical power installed in the workshop exceeds the limit, not because of Be since the quantity handled (several kg) is far below the limit for an ICPE (about 10 tons).
No automatic fire extinguishers in the workshop.
A question about scatter band obtained for the contamination measurements by smear tests gave very different responses, from 10% to 50% up to being a non representative test. Variability of the result decreases with larger surfaces swept.

7. Specifications/design/Construction and Operation of AREVA Beryllium facility - Delphine Bossu (AREVA)
Presentation about AREVA’s Beryllium facility at the Technical Center in Le Creusot (F) made by Delphine Bossu.
Facility devoted to assembly, welding, etching, ultrasonic examination operations and Be storage needed for the manufacture of FW Be-armored components.
Beryllium confinement ensured through properly designed depressurization system and air control system.
All Be containing wastes (liquids, solids) are collected for proper waste processing.
Health monitoring of the operators essential. Implemented following four main routes:
authorization provided by the occupational medecine and training,
protection of the workers,
Be monitoring and
medical follow-up.
AREVA prepared to cope with the planned more restrictive Be limits.

8. Specifications/design/Construction and Operation of AREVA Beryllium facility - Delphine Bossu (AREVA)
Many detailed questions about the operation of the AREVA facility addressed after the presentation. In particular:
Installation not classified ICPE because the quantity of Be handled (several kg) is much less than the limit (about 10 tons).
No automatic fire extinguishers.
The operation generating the largest quantity of waste is ultrasonic testing due to the amount of contaminated water used.
Further improvements of the protection of the workers being considered using costumized individual RPEs, better fitting the facial morphology of each worker.

9. Benchmarking and Design of Beryllium Facilities - Kathy Creek (Beryllium Health and Safety Committee, US)
Presentation about benchmarking and design of beryllium facilities led to the following main outcome:
Facilities had different approaches for the level of operational, facility, personal protective equipment, and exposure monitoring controls or methods
Medical surveillance varied from employee required to voluntary
Sampling logic and the use of data varied drastically
A number of lessons learned and practical considerations were reported, in particular
Hospital Operating Room Level of Cleanliness (Class 10,000 clean room)
10-12 air changes per hour, laminar flow of room air
Clean-room design considerations such as recessed lighting
Seal all electrical system conduits (control system wiring, fire protection, communications wiring) that penetrate into the beryllium areas
Smooth Surfaces, No wood, No unsealed concrete
Air and surface sampling should be used as a daily control measure
Recommend the laboratory be near but not in the facility
Laboratory should be adequately staffed with trained personnel

10. Benchmarking and Design of Beryllium Facilities - Kathy Creek (Beryllium Health and Safety Committee, US)
Cont’d:
A number of lessons learned and practical considerations were reported, in particular
Facility access by badge reader with link to worker being up-to-date on training and medical surveillance
In-house laundry and water soluble laundry bags (dissolve at higher temperature)
Equipment, isolation points, and controls need to be outside the beryllium area as much as possible to allow for preventative maintenance and repairs without exposure
Minimize or eliminate the use of “one-of-a-kind” software, equipment, or systems as well as equipment/software that is proprietary
Use Nuclear Grade Filtration Systems that are designed to be safely maintained and tested; Use multiple filtration steps with HEPA filtration for final stage
Use high quality components; Reputable manufacturers
Use components that last (i.e., LED lighting vs fluorescent)
Staff with experience in control of beryllium operations is a must for the design and initial implementation phases

11. Thank you for your attention