The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was a real wake up call for the nuclear industry worldwide. Now the US Department of Energy is sponsoring the testing of new air filters that could be the last line of defense between the general population and the type of reactor meltdown that occurred during that disaster.
DOE officials joined representatives from the nuclear power industry at the Mississippi State University recently to observe testing of next-generation nuclear-grade high-efficiency particulate air filtration systems, known as HEPA filtration systems.
Concerns about Existing Filters
Earlier HEPA filtration systems currently are being used at energy facilities in Washington State, South Carolina, Idaho and elsewhere. But nuclear experts began to become concerned about the effectiveness of these systems should a combination of catastrophic events occur, such as the earthquake and tsunami that resulted in the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at Fukushima.
The DOE has now expanded funding at MSU’s Institute for Clean Energy Technology to further study the issue and the recent testing will help researchers determine how to make these filters withstand unexpected harsh conditions, such as a fire or a high humidity event such as a steam line failure, according to Charles Waggoner, director of the ICET and a research professor at the university.
“The testing we’re doing is very significant and we are the only place in the world with infrastructure and personnel capable of doing this work,” Waggoner told Mississippi Business Journal.
The HEPA filtration system prevent radioactive contamination from being released into the air. The systems currently in use at the DOE Hanforsd site in Washington State, the Savannah River site in South Carolina and elsewhere — known as “separatorless” systems — are 97.97% efficient. But that might not be good enough in the event of an unexpected event, like the type of damage to a facility caused by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami at Fukushima.
Department of Energy Responsible for Quality Control
Subir Sen, a HEPA filter technical specialist for the DOE’s Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security, said his department has been charged with creating new standards for the filters and assuring quality control.
“We also manage the additional testing that the filters used in nuclear facilities for DOE undergo through an independent filter test facility,” Sen said. Each filter used in a nuclear facility in the US must undergo rigorous testing before being put into operation.
“When test results were published by Dr. Waggoner which showed that separatorless filters may not perform under certain conditions, we became interested,” Sen said. “We are following through with this test to find out how they perform and if any recommendations need to be made within our standards.”
Also observing the testing in Mississippi were representatives from Bechtel National Incl., Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, and Washington State’s Department of Health, as well as leaders from throughout the nuclear energy industry.
Testing for Multiple Catastrophic Events
For the first time anywhere, ICET researchers are testing the next generation facilities against a variety of extreme conditions at the same time.
One observer of the testing — Scott MacMurray, a project engineer with the Savannah River National Laboratory, in Aiken, South Carolina — said the work being done at the Mississippi State is being closely watched by the nuclear industry.
“Lots of different groups have sent a representative because it’s such an important program,” MacMuray said. “All the different parties are interested in the results of the testing.”