Radiological examination of MR reactor rooms using a remote-controlled spectrometric scanning system

Work on dismantling the MR and RFT reactors at the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute began in 2008. To plan the disassembly work, it is necessary to know the distribution of radionuclides in the reactor rooms. The radionuclide distribution was measured using a remote-controlled spectrometric scanning system. The system consists of a collimated γ-ray detector, color video camera, control blocks for the apparatus and a rotary setup, which are mounted on a rotary facility, and a computer. The apparatus was used for radiological examination of the rooms holding the equipment of the water loop. The scanning parameters are: 5° along the vertical and horizontal axes, acquisition time for one spectrum 1 min and number of measurement points ~450. 137 Cs and 60 Co activity distribution maps were constructed from the measurements and assessments were made of the total activity of the radionuclides in the rooms. The results made it possible to minimize the radiation loads on workers.