Radiation protection issues after 20 years of LHC operation

TL;DR

This paper reviews radiation protection challenges associated with dismantling LHC components after 20 years of operation, focusing on worker safety and radioactive waste management during upgrades.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of radiation protection issues for LHC upgrades, especially concerning dismantling and waste handling after long-term operation.

Findings

Worker exposure to ionizing radiation is a key concern during dismantling.

Radioactive waste production and management are critical for safe LHC upgrades.

Detailed procedures are discussed for handling radioactive materials during component removal.

Abstract

Since November 2009, the LHC commissioning progresses very well, both with proton and lead beams. It will continue in 2011 and nominal LHC operation is expected to be attained in 2013. In parallel, plans for various LHC upgrades are under discussion, suggesting a High-Luminosity (HL) upgrade first and a High-Energy (HE) upgrade in a later state. Whereas the upgrade in luminosity would require the modification of only some few key accelerator components like the inner triplets, the upgrade in beam energy from 7 TeV to 16.5 TeV would require the exchange of all dipoles and of numerous other accelerator components. The paper gives an overview of the radiation protection issues related to the dismantling of LHC components prior to the installation of the HE-LHC components, i.e. after about 20 years of LHC operation. Two main topics will be discussed: (i) the exposure of workers to ionizing radiation during the dismantling of dipoles, inner triplets or collimators and experiments and (ii) the production, conditioning, interim storage and final disposal of radioactive waste.