SOLICITATION NOTICE
39 -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON REMOTE MANIPULATOR SYSTEMS FOR
- Notice Date
- 5/13/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Bechtel SAIC Company, LLC (DOE Contractor), Yucca Mountain Project, 1180 Town Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV, 89114
- ZIP Code
- 89114
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-50203-001
- Response Due
- 5/27/2003
- Archive Date
- 6/11/2003
- Point of Contact
- Carolyn Makaena, Subcontract+Specialist, Phone xxx-xxx-xxxx, Fax 702-295-2639,
- E-Mail Address
-
Carolyn_Makaena@ymp.gov
- Description
- Bechtel SAIC Company, LLC (BSC), under Prime Contract No. DE-AC08-01RW12101 with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) on the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) in support of the Office of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), is seeking information from potential sources that can provide remote manipulator systems for removable radiological contamination surveying and decontamination. The YMP is a monitored geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste that will be licensed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In the course of normal operations, YMP will package the spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste in disposal containers, called Waste Packages (WPs) once they are loaded, sealed, and certified. Specifically, this Request for Information (RFI) seeks the following information: - commercially available remote manipulators that could be used at the YMP for performing WP surface radiological contamination surveys and WP decontamination operations, - commercially available surface radiological survey equipment compatible with the remote manipulators, - commercially available decontamination equipment compatible with the remote manipulators, - sizes of, and space allocation requirements, for the remote manipulator systems including the survey and decontamination equipment suitable for the described applications. Background Physical survey of loaded and sealed WPs will be routinely performed prior to emplacement in the repository to determine levels of removable radioactive material contamination on exterior surfaces. If necessary, WPs will be decontaminated to meet predetermined standards. Extensive contamination of the exterior surfaces of WPs is expected to be infrequent, and a thorough decontamination of WPs prior to loading in the repository will be a non-routine operation, performed in a separate facility. Because of the variety of waste forms, a number of different sizes of WPs will be used. WPs will be cylindrical, with nominal diameters of 4?5?-7?0?, and nominal lengths of 11?5?-19?3?. During surface surveys as well as decontamination operations, WPs will be positioned vertically, standing on one end (bottom). There is no requirement for surveying or decontamination of WPs bottoms. The WP provides some radiation shielding, but not enough to keep occupational exposures within allowable limits. Therefore, hot cells and remotely operated manipulators will be used for performing surface surveys and decontamination operations. Surveying Waste Package Exterior for Removable Radiological Contamination During routine operations, contamination of the exterior surface of loaded WPs is expected to be below levels of concern, and localized to small areas. The contamination surveys will be conducted on all WPs. To adequately accommodate the throughput rates, survey performance and measurements to determine levels of contamination must support efficient operations (obtain, count, and record the results of swipes), and should not take longer than 2 hours. A conceptual approach to the surveying operation is shown in Figure 1 (Page 4 of 4). Consistent with typical methods, surveying for removable contamination would be performed by wiping the surface with muslin cloth for gross indication and with filter paper for quantification. Five locations on each loaded waste package would be surveyed with muslin and filter paper: top, weld area, two opposite sides, and side near the bottom. At least 10% of the surface area of each loaded waste package would be surveyed. Survey muslin and filter paper would be passed out of the shielded cell via a special port and measured using portable instruments. As discussed above, contamination of exterior surfaces of a WP is expected to be limited to small areas. In the unlikely event that the exterior contamination approaches allowable limits, it is desired that the remote survey apparatus should be capable of performing repeated wiping of the contaminated areas, thus, providing a ?limited decontamination? capability. This would be an off-normal event, and the 2-hour time limit would not apply. Decontamination of Waste Package The contamination survey, as discussed above, determines the need for WP decontamination, and also provides a ?limited decontamination? capability. Excessive contamination of the exterior surface of a WP is expected to be infrequent. If the contamination survey indicates excessive contamination over a large amount of the WP surface, a thorough decontamination of the WP would be warranted. The WP would be moved to a dedicated decontamination hot cell where decontamination operations would be performed using remote manipulators. The decontamination media could be either water or CO2 but, due to process restrictions, chemical solutions cannot be used to improve the effectiveness of decontamination in this particular situation. Wiping and other drying methods (such as heat lamps) can be used to dry the WP. After decontamination, a survey of the WP will be performed to demonstrate whether the remaining contamination levels are acceptable. Conceptually, the approach illustrated in Figure 1 for the routine WP surveys could be used for verification surveys in the decontamination cell. Submittal Information: The decision to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the work described in this notice is solely within BSC?s discretion. Please note that this is not an RFP, and the information provided in response to this notice may be used as a basis for a future solicitation. Should a solicitation be initiated as a result of the information provided, the procurement will be handled in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the U.S. Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR). Please send information, company brochures, etc., (5 copies each) by 4:00 PM PST on Tuesday, May 27, 2003, to the point of contact listed below. Include the company name and address as well as the name of the responsible person to whom future communications should be addressed and their telephone number, facsimile telephone number, and E-mail address. Electronic and/or faxed responses are not accepted for this RFI, however, inquiries or clarifications may be sent to the email address below. Point of Contact: BECHTEL SAIC COMPANY, LLC 1180 Town Center Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89144 Subcontract Specialist: Carolyn Makaena Reference: RFI No. RFI-50203-001 Email: Carolyn_Makaena@ymp.gov Figure 1 Conceptual Approach to Waste Package Surface Contamination Surveying in a Hot Cell Due to the inability to post the figure on this site, please visit BSC?s website at BSCUpdate.com to access the drawing. (This prequalification notice is posted in ?Active Requests for Information? under ?Vendor/Supplier Information.? The figure is on Page 4 of 4.)
- Record
- SN00322963-W 20030515/030513213326 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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