RADIO TELEMETRY BASED LANDFILL COVER MOISTURE MONITORING SYSTEMS FOR REDUCTION OF BOTH INSTALLATION COST AND LIGHTNING DAMAGE SUSCEPTIBILITY

摘要

A radio-telemetry-based system forrnmonitoring special nuclear materials, developed atrnSandia National Laboratories for DOE DefensernPrograms, is being adapted for long-term landfillrncover monitoring applications at DOE sites1. Thernfollowing is an analysis illustrating some of thernbenefits of any telemetry-based system thatrneliminates the extensive interconnecting wiringrnotherwise required for conventional monitoringrnsystems. Differentiating aspects of the Sandiarnsystem over currently available commercialrnsystems include 1) an ultra low power design thatrngreatly extends the expected battery life (7-10 yrs)rnin the remotely located transceivers, and 2)rnseamless integration into a sophisticated datarnmanagement system that eliminates the need forrndataloggers and guarantees data authenticity.rnCapping and cover systems are needed in thernDOE complex for the closure of landfills, wasternsites, high-level waste tanks, and other locationsrnwhere contaminants will remain after cleanup isrncompleted. The purpose of the cap or coverrnsystem is to significantly limit or preventrnprecipitation from contacting the waste orrncontaminated soil. Many of these caps will coverrnlarge areas (typically 10 to 50 acres). In order tornobtain local government, environmental regulatorrnand stakeholder acceptance, it is highly likely thatrnthese cover systems, especially thosernincorporating lower cost alternative designs suchrnas evaporation/transpiration (vegetated) covers,rnwill require some sort of long-term performancernverification monitoring system. Due to the largerncover areas and sparse density of sensor nests,rntraditional monitoring systems require extensiverninterconnecting wiring. This interconnectingrnwiring adds significantly to the installation costsrnof the monitoring system and greatly increases thernsusceptibility of certain sensors to damage byrnlightning. The use of radio telemetry to transmitrnthe data from each sensor nest to a centralrncollection point offers a means for reducing bothrnthe cost of installation and the susceptibility tornlightning damage.