Conference: ActiWiz – Optimizing material selection at CERN's accelerators from the radiological point of view

by Dr. Helmut Vincke (CERN), Chris Theis (CERN).
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 from 15:00 to 16:30
at CERN ( 864-1-D02 - BE Auditorium Prévessin )

Description:
The operation of a high-energy accelerator inevitably triggers the activation of equipment, which poses a safety hazard. Consequently access and handling constraints have to be imposed to ensure optimized working conditions. One of the key parameters determining the level of radioactivity is the material composition. Considering the radiological impact in addition to the engineering requirements during the selection of material clearly results in a safety benefit as well as a more efficient accelerator operation due to less stringent access and handling constraints. Another aspect is the minimization of future radioactive waste, which constitutes an important part of CERN’s commitment to limit its environmental impact by applying best practices.

The ActiWiz software developed at CERN provides an easy to use method to optimize the material selection from the radiological point of view. Based on a large amount of generic FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations the software applies a specifically developed model to provide non-experts with a radiological hazard ranking of materials within a few seconds. The seminar introduces the risk assessment concept and demonstrates several practical applications of the tool.