The procedure called for emptying nine barrels, each containing 7 cubic feet of anion resin, into an open resin addition tank. The tank is located in the Primary Coolant Pump Motor Area. Typically, resin is staged in the area for no more than 24 hours before the procedure. In the procedure, the lid of the first barrel is removed, the barrel is lifted approximately 5 feet above the floor using a barrel hoist, and then the barrel is manually upended to empty the resin into the tank. Each barrel takes about 90 seconds to empty once it is upended.
Barrels continue to be opened, lifted, and upended until the tank is full.
When the first barrel was opened, the operators noticed an ammonia odor. However, when the resin was emptied into the tank, the operators realized the odor was much stronger. When a second barrel was opened and emptied, the odor was so strong during the last 20 seconds that the operators discontinued the job and sought technical assistance. The Advanced Test Reactor Chemistry Coordinator and the Industrial Hygienist generated a Safe Work Permit that prescribed the use of full-face respirators equipped with an MSA chemical cartridge to complete the job. Air sampling equipment measured the concentrations of trimethylamine gas in the workers' breathing zone while a third barrel of anion resin was emptied.