Radiation protection and the design of the shielding envelope at the MINERVA facility

The SCK CEN is developing the Multi-purpose HYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications (MYRRHA), an accelerator driven system (ADS) which consist of a 600 MeV proton linear accelerator coupled to a lead-bismuth cooled sub-critical fast reactor. The MINERVA project, MYRRHA Isotopes production coupling the linEar acceleRator to the Versatile proton target fAcility, is the first phase of this project, whose objective is to validate the technology choices for the LINAC and to evaluate its reliability goal. The project includes the design, construction and operation of a facility composed of a 100 MeV, 4 mA LINAC coupled to an ISOL (Isotope Separation On-line) target station as well as to a target station for fusion material research, the Full Power Facility (FPF). Construction of the facility requires permission from the Belgian Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC). The license application is based on the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) [1] that was submitted in the autumn of 2021. The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of the main radiation protection elements implemented in support of the conceptual design of the MINERVA facility. In addition, the results of the calculations carried out to characterize the radiation environment, to design the appropriate shielding and to derive the inventory of radioactive material of different parts of the facility are also presented.