Characterization of suspended particles in Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor coolant water

On commencing defueling operations in the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor vessel damaged core region, the defueling water cleanup system (DWCS) encountered rapid plugging of its filter media. Characterization of the suspended material was an important task in resolving DWCS filtration difficulties. The characterization of the suspended material involved laboratory analyses of reactor vessel coolant samples collected from May through November 1986. The results of these characterizations indicated that the major elements present in the suspended particles were silver, aluminum, cadmium, iron, indium, silicon, uranium, and zirconium, all of which correspond to the five known source terms in the TMI-2 reactor vessel control rod alloy, zeolite, diatomaceous earth, steel, fuel, and Zircaloy cladding. The particle analysis data indicate that the majority of the particles were <5 {mu}m and many of these suspended particles existed as colloidal particles; hence, these particulates are believed to have been the principal basis for filter plugging. In addition, based on these characterization data and data from previous analyses of reactor components, it was postulated that some mass fraction of the liquefied control rod alloy formed aerosols from mechanical formation due to high-velocity gas interaction with the moving liquid alloy.