Radiation safety management during a TFTR shutdown

A radiation exposure management program has been established for the TFTR (Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor). The program distributes exposures to a larger group, thereby minimizing individual doses, and also incorporates methods of personnel and hardware contamination control. Facilities have been set up for the decontamination of hardware and anticontamination clothing . The operation of these facilities leads to considerable cost savings for materials that otherwise would have been disposed of at approved sites. The proper methods of reworking activated and/or contaminated materials are important in contamination control. Dedicated shop and assembly areas are used to complete such operations as machining and rebuilding. All operations described are performed under the guidance of the Health Physics Branch. The relatively low levels of activation and contamination encountered so far have been a good rehearsal for D-T operation