The role of air and gas treatment systems in nuclear applications is vital to protect public safety by minimizing exposure to radioactive material. High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are used as primary means to capture radioactive particles to ensure greater safety in nuclear facilities. US Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) currently requires their facilities to meet the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) AG-1 Code on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment (CONAGT). Approximately 6000 nuclear grade HEPA filters are purchased each year for use in the DOE/NNSA complex. These filters are designed and tested in accordance with the ASME AG-1 Code that establishes design requirements and qualification procedures. Qualification testing of AG-1 HEPA filters is intended to verify the reliability of a filter design and confirm the pedigree of components used in manufacture for that filter design. 

This presentation details qualification tests and performance evaluation of nuclear grade HEPA filters conducted in the Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET) at Mississippi State University (MSU) under a contract with the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). ICET is a certified Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 (NQA-1) facility and has developed a Quality Assurance Program to ensure that all aspects of testing adhere to the ASME NQA-1 requirements. Testing capabilities and infrastructures at ICET for establishing performance envelope and qualifying filters in accordance with ASME AG-1 Code are discussed. Data reduction procedures and representative test results are also discussed in this talk. In addition, the recent research progress made at MSU ICET is presented in this seminar.