Project basis for automation of a quality assurance system in radioactive waste management

Abstract

A low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste management facility is required to comply with Regulation 1.16 of the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission “Quality Assurance for the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants and Other Facilities”. However, the text of this regulation is very generic and does not address the more specific controls necessary for the management of quality. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to identify such detailed controls in all applicable activities of the facility and to provide an implementation plan in the form of flowcharts, for further development of an automated system. This work takes as a basis the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the rules and procedures implemented by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Civilian Waste Management related to Quality Assurance. In such way, we intend to provide a more reliable implementation system of quality assurance for management of radioactive waste in Brazil.