Decontamination of surfaces by blasting with crystals of H(sub 2)O and CO(sub 2)

摘要

A major mission of the US Department of Energy during the 1990s is site and environmental cleanup. In pursuit of this mission, numerous remediation projects are under way and many others are being planned at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this report, tests using two proposed methods for decontaminating surfaces one using water ice crystals (Crystalline Ice Blast (CIB)), the other using dry ice crystals (CO(sub 2) Cleanblast(trademark)) -- are described. Both methods are adaptations of the commonly used sand blasting technology. The two methods tested differ from sand blasting in that the particles are not particularly abrasive and do not accumulate as particles in the wastes. They differ from each other in that the CO(sub 2) particles sublime during and after impact and the ice particles melt. Thus, the two demonstrations provide important information about two strong candidate decontamination methodologies. Each process was tested at ORNL using contaminated lead bricks and contaminated tools and equipment. Demonstrations with the prototype Crystalline Ice Blast and the CO(sub 2) Cleanblast systems showed that paint, grease, and oil can be removed from metal, plastic, asphalt, and concrete surfaces. Furthermore, removal of contamination from lead bricks was highly effective. Both processes were found to be less effective, under the conditions tested, with contaminated tools and equipment that had chemically bonded contamination or contamination located in crevices since neither technology abrades the substrates or penetrates deeply into crevices to remove particulates. Some process improvements are recommended.