hollow fiber filter system used for liquid radioactive

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Mrs. Leo Drey JuN 15 !E9,.515 West Point AvenueUniversity City, MO 63130

Dear Mrs. Drey:

I received your April 24, 1989 letter in which you requested information on ahollow fiber filter system used for liquid radioactive waste filtration atnuclear power plants. Your letter cited an inspection report from theCallaway County Nuclear Station that described the " reuse" of the filtersafter cleaning. You said in your letter that you did not understand how a'

filter could be reused.

There are several types of reusable liquid radwaste filters currently in useat nuclear power plants. They provide the necessary filtration of the liquidradwaste stream without creating the solid radwaste problem of disposablefilter cartridges, the type of filtration system replaced at the Callawayplant. I have enclosed one section from the document entitled, "The Use ofFiltration to Treat Radioactive Liquids in Light-Water Cooled Nuclear ReactorPower Plants," (NUREG/CR-0141) which addresses reusable filters.Unfortunately, this document does not address the hollow fiber filter systemspecifically, however, it works essentially the same as the porous metallicfilters described in 4.2.1.1 of the enclosed materials.

The hollow fiber filter system installed at the Callaway plant consists of 32 ,

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filter modules enclosed in a unit approximately 5 feet tall that is designedto handle the flow of Callaway's liquid radioactive waste system. The filtersystem is essentially a " membrane system", where each filter module consistsof a bundle of spaghetti sized-hollow tubes that hang down vertically from theattachment point, and filtration is provided as the liquid radwaste streamflows through the nominal 0.1 micron pore openings of the fibers. The hollowfiber filter tubes are made from treated polyvirtyl alcohol, a type of plastic. j

Cleaning of these filters for reuse is accomplished by the backflushing i

procedure, which is described in the enclosed materials.

Two hollow fiber filter systems are currently marketed in the United States.Ons is manufactured and marketed by the Japanese Gas Company (JGC). The otheris manufactured by Toshiba, and marketed in the United States by HPD, Inc.The Callaway Plant's system was designed by Toshiba, and if you desire moreinformation about that specific system, I suggest that you contact HPD. Theiraddress is 1717 N. Naper Boulevard, Naperville, IL, 60566.

8906290138 890615PDR WASTE .

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I; hope that this letter addresses your concerns about the new filtrationsystem at the Callaway plant.

Sincerely,.

(simLU)) m ; ,. W u.!C S -

John J. Surmeier, ChiefTechnical Branch,

Division of Low-Level Waste Managementand Decommissioning, NMSS'

Enclosure:As Stated.

-DISTRIBUTION: (withoutenclosure)Ecentranf11eJn2003

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SUBJECT ABSTRACT: Hollow fiber filter systems at nuclear pow'er plants

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