Chapter GROUP 2B

Nuclear Facilities, Equipment and Appliances

B1	Plant for the separation of isotopes of natural and depleted uranium, and other fissile materials, and specially designed or prepared equipment and components therefor, the following–
	(a) Plant specially designed for separating isotopes of natural and depleted uranium, and other fissile materials, the following–
	(1) Gaseous diffusion separation plant	C
	(2) Gas centrifuge separation plant	C
	(3) Aerodynamic separation plant	C
	(4) Chemical exchange separation plant	C
	(5) Ion-exchange separation plant	C
	(6) Atomic vapour laser isotopic separation plant	C
	(7) Molecular laser isotopic separation plant	C
	(8) Plasma separation plant	C
	(9) Electromagnetic separation plant	C
	(b) Equipment and components, the following: specially designed or prepared for–
	(1) Gaseous diffusion separation process–
	(A) Valves wholly made of or lined with aluminium, aluminium alloys, nickel or alloy containing 60% or more nickel, 40 mm or more in diameter, with bellows seals	C
	(B) Blowers and compressors (turbo, centrifugal and axial flow types) wholly made of or lined with aluminium, aluminium alloys, nickel or alloy containing 60% or more nickel and having a capacity of 1,000 litres per minute or more, including compressor seals	C
	(C) Gaseous diffusion barriers made of porous metallic, polymer or ceramic materials resistant to corrosion by UF₆ with a pore size under 100 nm, a thickness of 5 mm or less, and, for tubular forms, a diameter of 25 mm or less	C
	(D) Gaseous diffuser housings	C
	(E) Heat exchangers made of aluminium, copper, nickel or alloys containing more than 60% nickel, or combinations of these metals as clad tubes, designed to operate at sub-atmospheric pressure with a leak rate that limits the pressure rise to less than 10 Pa (0.1 millibar) per hour under a pressure differential of 100 kPa (1 bar)	C
	(2) Gas centrifuge separation process–
	(A) Gas centrifuges	C
	(B) Complete rotor assemblies	C
	(C) Rotor tube cylinders with a thickness of 12 mm or less, a diameter of between 75 mm and 400 mm, made from any of the following high strength-to-density ratio materials–
	(a) Maraging steel capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 2.05 GN/m² or more	C
	(b) Aluminium alloys capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 460 MN/m² or more	C
	or
	(c) Fibrous and filamentary materials with a specific modulus of more than 3.18 × 10⁶ m and a specific tensile strength greater than 76.2 × 10³ m	C
	(D) Magnetic suspension bearings consisting of an annular magnet suspended within a housing containing a damping medium, and having the magnet coupling with a pole piece or second magnet fitted to the top cap of the rotor	C
	(E) Specially prepared bearings comprising a pivot-cup assembly mounted on a damper	C
	(F) Rings or bellows with a wall thickness of 3 mm or less and a diameter of between 75 mm and 400 mm and designed to give local support to a rotor tube or to join a number together, made from any of the following high strength-to-density ratio materials–
	(a) Maraging steel capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 2.05 GN/m² or more	C
	(b) Aluminium alloys capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 460 MN/m² or more	C
	or
	(c) Fibrous and filamentary materials with a specific modulus of more than 3.18 × 10⁶ m and a specific tensile strength greater than 76.2 × 10³ m	C
	(G) Baffles of between 75 mm and 400 mm diameter for mounting inside a rotor tube, made from any of the following high strength-to-density ratio materials–
	(a) Maraging steel capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 2.05 GN/m² or more	C
	(b) Aluminium alloys capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 460 MN/m² or more	C
	(c) Fibrous and filamentary materials with a specific modulus of more than 3.18 × 10⁶ m and a specific tensile strength greater than 76.2 × 10³ m	C
	(H) Top and bottom caps of between 75 mm and 400 mm diameter to fit the ends of a rotor tube, made from any of the following high strength-to-density ratio materials–
	(a) Maraging steel capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 2.05 GN/m² or more	C
	(b) Aluminium alloys capable of an ultimate tensile strength of 460 MN/m² or more	C
	or
	(c) Fibrous and filamentary materials with a specific modulus of more than 3.18 × 10⁶ and a specific tensile strength greater than 76.2 × 10³ m	C
	(I) Molecular pumps comprised of cylinders having internally machined or extruded helical grooves and internally machined bores	C
	(J) Ring-shaped motor stators for multiphase AC hysteresis or reluctance motors for synchronous operation within a vacuum in the frequency range of 600 to 2,000 Hz and a power range of 50 to 1,000 Volt-Amps	C
	(K) Frequency changers specially designed or prepared to supply motor stators for gas centrifuge enrichment, having all of the following characteristics, and specially designed components therefor–	C
	(a) Multiphase output of 600 to 2,000 Hz;
	(b) Frequency control better than 0.1%;
	(c) Harmonic distortion of less than 2%; and
	(d) An efficiency greater than 80%;
	(3) Aerodynamic separation process–
	(A) Separation nozzles consisting of slit-shaped, curved channels having a radius of curvature less than 1 mm and having a knife-edge contained within the nozzle which separates the gas flowing through the nozzle into two streams	C
	(B) Tangential inlet flow-driven cylindrical or conical tubes, specially designed for uranium isotope separation	C
	(C) UF⁶-hydrogen helium compressors wholly made of or lined with aluminium, aluminium alloys, nickel or alloy containing 60% or more nickel, including compressor seals	C
	(D) Aerodynamic separation element housing, designed to contain vortex tubes or separation nozzles	C
	(E) Heat exchangers made of aluminium, copper, nickel, or alloys containing more than 60% nickel, or combinations of these metals as clad tubes, designed to operate at pressures of 600 kPa (6 bar) or less	C
	(4) Chemical exchange separation process–
	(A) Fast-exchange liquid-liquid centrifugal contactors or fast exchange liquid-liquid pulse columns made of fluorocarbon lined materials	C
	(B) Electrochemical reduction cells designed to reduce uranium from one valence state to another	C
	(5) Ion-exchange separation process– Fast reacting ion-exchange resins, pellicular and reticulated resins in which the active chemical exchange groups are limited to a coating on the surface of an inert particle or fibre	C
	(6) Atomic vapour laser isotopic separation process–
	(A) High power electron beam guns with total power of more than 50 kW and strip or scanning electron beam guns with a delivered power of more than 2.5 kW/cm for use in uranium vaporization systems	C
	(B) Trough shaped crucible and cooling equipment for molten uranium	C
	(C) Product and tails collector systems made of or lined with materials resistant to the heat and corrosion of uranium vapour	C
	(D) Lasers and components designed for atomic vapour laser isotopic separation, the following–
	(a) Lasers to pump dye lasers–
	(1) Copper vapour lasers of 40 W or more	C
	(2) Argon ion lasers of more than 40 W	C
	(3) ND:YAG lasers that can be frequency doubled and thereby have an average power of more than 40 W	C
	(b) Other lasers and accessories–
	(1) Tunable pulsed dye laser amplifiers and oscillators	C
	except–
	single mode oscillators, with an average power of more than 30W, a repetition rate of more than 1 kHz and a wavelength between 500 nm and 700 nm.
	(2) Modulators for controlling and modifying dye laser bandwidth	C
	(3) Tunable pulsed single mode dye oscillators capable of an average power of more than 1W, and having a repetition rate of more than 1 KHz, a pulse width less than 100 ns, a wavelength between 500 nm and 700 nm and frequency modulation for bandwidth expansion	C
	(7) Molecular laser isotopic separation process–
	(A) Para-hydrogen Raman shifters designed to operate at 16 micrometres output wavelength and at a repetition rate of more than 250 Hz	C
	(B) Supersonic expansion nozzles designed for UF⁶ carrier gas	C
	(C) Uranium fluoride (UF⁵ ) product filter collectors	C
	(D) Equipment for fluorinating UF⁵ to UF⁶	C
	(E) UF⁶ carrier gas compressors wholly made of or lined with aluminium, aluminium alloys, nickel or alloy containing 60% or more nickel, including compressor seals	C
	(F) Lasers designed for molecular laser isotopic separation, the following–
	(a) Alexandrite lasers with a bandwidth of 0.005 nm (3.0 GHz) or less, a repetition rate of more than 125 Hz, and an average power of more than 30W	C
	(b) Pulsed carbon dioxide lasers with a repetition rate of more than 250 Hz, an average power of more than 1.2 kW and a pulse length less than 200 ns	C
	(c) Pulsed excimer lasers (XeF, XeC1, KrF) with a repetition rate of more than 250 Hz and an average power of more than 250W	C
	(8) Plasma separation process–
	(A) Product and tails collectors made of or lined with materials resistant to the heat and corrosion of uranium vapour	C
	(B) Radio frequency ion excitation coils for frequencies of more than 100 kHz and capable of handling more than 40 kW power	C
	(C) Microwave power sources and superconductive electromagnets designed for use in the plasma separation process, the following–
	(a) Microwave power sources of more than 30 GHz and greater than 50 kW for ion production	C
	(b) Solenoidal superconductive electromagnets of more than 30 cm inner diameter, with a magnetic field of more than 2 T and uniform to better than 1% over the central 80% of the inner volume	C
	(9) Taking on-line samples of feed, product or tails from UF⁶ gas streams–
	UF⁶ mass spectrometers/ion sources having all of the following characteristics	C
	(A) Unit resolution for mass of more than 320 amu;
	(B) Ion sources constructed of or lined with nichrome or monel, or nickel plated;
	(C) Electron bombardment ionization sources; and
	(D) Collector systems suitable for isotopic analysis.
PL6013	(turbo, centrifugal and axial flow types) wholly made of or lined with nickel alloy, phosphor bronze, stainless steel, aluminium or aluminium alloy, corrosion resistant to uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) or hydrogen fluoride (HF) and having a capacity of 1,000 litres per minute or greater, including compressor seals	C
B2	Specially designed or prepared equipment and components, for plant for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel elements, the following–
	(a) Fuel element chopping or shredding machines, ie remotely operated equipment to cut, chop, shred or shear irradiated nuclear reactor fuel assemblies, bundles or rods	C
	(b) Dissolvers (ie criticality safe tanks) specially designed or prepared for the dissolution of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel, which are capable of withstanding hot, highly corrosive liquids, and which can be remotely loaded and maintained	C
	(c) Counter-current solvent extractors and ion-exchange processing equipment, specially designed or prepared for use in a plant for the reprocessing of irradiated natural uranium, depleted uranium or special or other fissile materials	C
	(d) Process control instrumentation specially designed or prepared for monitoring or controlling the reprocessing of irradiated source or special or other fissile materials	C
	In this entry “plant for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel elements” includes equipment and components which normally come into direct contact with and directly control the irradiated fuel and the major nuclear material and fission product processing streams.
	Note 1: See also entry PL6016 in this Group.
	Note 2: For process control equipment for Lithium, see entry PL6010 in this Group.
PL6016	Specially designed or prepared equipment and components, for plant for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel elements, the following–
	(a) Holding or storage vessels resistant to the corrosive effects of nitric acid	C
	(b) Systems for the conversion of plutonium nitrate to plutonium oxide	C
	(c) Systems for the production of plutonium metal	C
	In this entry “plant for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel elements” includes equipment and components which normally come into direct contact with and directly control the irradiated fuel and the major nuclear material and fission product processing streams.
B3	Nuclear reactors, ie reactors capable of operation so as to maintain a controlled, self-sustaining fission chain reaction, and equipment and components specially designed or prepared for use in connection with a nuclear reactor, the following–
	(a) Pressure vessels and metal vessels as complete units or as parts therefor, which are specially designed or prepared to contain the core of a nuclear reactor and are capable of withstanding the operating pressure of the primary coolant, including the top plate for a reactor pressure vessel	C
	(b) Fuel element handling equipment, including reactor fuel charging and discharging machines	C
	(c) Control rods specially designed or prepared for the control of the reaction rate in a nuclear reactor, the neutron absorbing part and the support or suspension structures therefor, and control rod guide tubes	C
	(d) Electronic controls for controlling the power levels in nuclear reactors, including reactor control rod drive mechanisms and radiation detection and measuring instruments to determine neutron flux levels	C
	(e) Pressure tubes specially designed or prepared to contain fuel elements and the primary coolant in a nuclear reactor at an operating pressure in excess of 50 bars (atmospheres)	C
	(f) Coolant pumps specially designed or prepared for circulating the primary coolant of nuclear reactors	C
	(g) Internals specially designed or prepared for the operation of a nuclear reactor, including but not limited to core support structures, thermal shields, baffles, core grid plates and diffuser plates	C
	(h) Heat exchangers	C
	In this entry a “nuclear reactor” means the items within or attached directly to the reactor vessel, the equipment which controls the level of power in the core, and the components which normally contain, come into direct contact with or control the primary coolant of the reactor core.
B4	Plant specially designed for the fabrication of nuclear reactor fuel elements and specially designed equipment therefor	C
	Note: A plant for the fabrication of nuclear reactor fuel elements includes equipment which (1) normally comes into direct contact with or directly processes or controls the production flow of nuclear materials, (2) seals the nuclear material within the cladding, (3) checks the integrity of the cladding or the seal, or (4) checks the finish treatment of the solid fuel.
B5	Plant for the production of heavy water, deuterium or deuterium compounds, and specially designed or prepared equipment and components therefor, the following–
	(a) Plant for the production of heavy water, deuterium or deuterium compounds, the following–
	(1) Hydrogen sulphide-water exchange plant	C
	(2) Ammonia-hydrogen exchange plant	C
	(3) Hydrogen distillation plant	C
	(b) Equipment and components, the following: designed for–
	(1) Hydrogen sulphide-water exchange process–
	(A) Tray exchange towers	C
	(B) Hydrogen sulphide gas compressors	C
	(2) Ammonia-hydrogen exchange process–
	(A) High-pressure ammonia-hydrogen exchange towers	C
	(B) High-efficiency stage contactors	C
	(C) Submersible stage recirculation pumps	C
	(D) Ammonia crackers designed for pressures of more than 3 MPa (30 bar)	C
	(3) Hydrogen distillation process–
	(A) Hydrogen cryogenic distillation towers and cold boxes designed for operation below 35 K	C
	(B) Turboexpanders or turboexpander-compressor sets designed for operation below 35 K	C
	(4) Heavy water concentration process to reactor grade level (99.75% deuterium oxide)–
	(A) Water distillation towers containing specially designed packings	C
	(B) Ammonia distillation towers containing specially designed packings	C
	(C) Catalytic burners for conversion of fully enriched deuterium to heavy water	C
	(D) Infrared absorption analysers capable of on-line hydrogen-deuterium ratio analysis where deuterium concentrations are equal to or more than 90%	C
B6	Plant for the production of uranium hexafluoride (UF⁶ ) and specially designed or prepared equipment and components therefor, the following–
	(a) Plant for the production of UF⁶	C
	(b) Equipment and components specially designed or prepared for UF⁶ production, the following–
	(1) Fluorination and hydrofluorination screw and fluid bed reactors and flame towers	C
	(2) Distillation equipment for the purification of UF⁶	C
PL6015	Equipment for the handling or processing of UF⁶ , and specially designed components therefor made from or lined with UF⁶ resistant materials, the following–
	(a) Feed autoclaves for passing UF⁶ to gaseous diffusion or centrifuge cascades	C
	(b) Desublimers or cold traps used to remove UF⁶ from gaseous diffusion or centrifuge cascade	C
	(c) Product and tails stations for trapping and transferring UF⁶ into containers	C
	(d) Liquefaction stations where UF⁶ gas is compressed and cooled to form liquid UF⁶	C
	(e) Piping systems and header systems for handling UF⁶ within gaseous diffusion or centrifuge cascades	C
	(f) Vacuum manifolds, vacuum headers and vacuum pumps having a suction capacity of 5 m³/minute or more	C
C1	Neutron generator systems, including tubes, designed for operation without an external vacuum system and utilizing electrostatic acceleration to induce a tritium-deuterium nuclear reaction	C
C2	Power generating or propulsion equipment specially designed or adapted for use with military, space, marine or mobile nuclear reactors	C
C3	Electrolytic cells for the production of fluorine with a production capacity greater than 250 g of fluorine per hour	C
C4	Equipment specially designed or prepared for the separation of isotopes of lithium, the following–
	(a) Packed liquid-liquid exchange columns specially designed for lithium amalgams	C
	(b) Amalgam pumps	C
	(c) Amalgam electrolysis cells	C
	(d) Evaporators for concentrated lithium hydroxide solution	C
C5	Equipment specially designed for the production or recovery of tritium	C
C6	Frequency changers (converters or inverters) specially designed or prepared to supply motor stators for gas centrifuge enrichment, having all the following characteristics, and specially designed components therefor	C
	(a) A multi-phase electrical output of between 600 to 2,000 Hz;
	(b) Frequency control better than 0.1%;
	(c) Harmonic distortion of less than 2%;
	(d) An efficiency greater than 80%.
PL6007	Equipment specially designed for the manufacture or assembly of gas centrifuges capable of the enrichment or separation of isotopes, and specially designed parts, components and equipment therefor (For gas centrifuge plant, see entry B1, plant for separation of isotopes, in this Group.)	C
PL6008	Mass spectrometers and mass spectrometer sources designed for measuring the isotopic composition of uranium hexafluoride (UF⁶ ) gas, uranium and uranyl compounds	C
PL6009	Pressure gauges capable of measuring pressures to 100 Torr (13332.2 N/m² ) or less having sensing elements of nickel, nickel alloy, phosphor bronze, stainless steel, aluminium or aluminium alloy, corrosion resistant to uranium hexafluoride (UF⁶ ) or hydrogen fluoride (HF); and such sensing elements	C
PL6010	Process control equipment or instrumentation specially designed or prepared for monitoring or controlling the reprocessing of irradiated lithium	C