CONCRETE SLAB AND BIO-SHIELD SAMPLING,CHARACTERIZATION,AND ANALYSIS USING THE TRUPRO® ADVANCED SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM AT OMEGA WEST REACTOR LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

摘要

Radioisotopes can penetrate porous concrete and contaminate the concrete well below the easily measured surface.The challenge is to determine the extent and the magnitude of the problem in real-time.The concrete profiling technology,TRUPRO®in conjunction with portable radiometric instrumentation produces a profile of radiological or chemical contamination through the material being studied.The data quality,quantity,and representativeness may be used to produce an activity profile from the hot spot surface into the material being sampled.This activity profile may then be expanded to ultimately characterize the facility and expedite waste segregation and facility closure at a reduced cost and risk.Performing a volumetric concrete or metal characterization safer and faster(without lab intervention)is the objective of this characterization technology.This way of determining contamination can save considerable time and money. The objective of this Facilities Project was to deploy a concrete sampling and profiling tool to Omega West Reactor(OWR)located at Technical Area 2 in Los Alamos Canyon.The OWR slabs and subsurface structures were to be sampled and characterized in support of cost effective, waste minimization and safe removal of the slabs and bioshield foundation footers for the U.S. Department of Energy Cerro Grande Rehabilitation Project. The concrete profiling technology,TRUPRO®has four major components:a drill with a specialized cutting and sampling head,drill bits,a sample collection unit and a vacuum pump. The drill head is used under hammer action to penetrate hard surfaces.This causes the bulk material to be pulverized as the drill travels through the radioactive media efficiently transmitting to the sampling unit a representative sample of powdered bulk material.The profiling equipment is designed to sequentially collect all material from the hole.The bulk material samples are continuously retrieved by use of a specially designed vacuumed sample retrieval unit that prevents cross contamination of the clean retrieved samples.No circulation medium is required with this profiling process;therefore,the only by-product from drilling is the sample.The data quality,quantity,and representativeness may be used to produce an activity profile from the hot spot surface into the bulk building material.The activity data obtained during the profiling process is reduced and transferred to building drawings as part of a detailed report of the radiological problem.This activity profile may then be expanded to ultimately characterize the facility and expedite waste segregation and facility closure at a reduced cost and risk.