Slimhole drilling and directional drilling for on-site inspections under a Comprehensive Test Ban: An initial assessment

摘要

On Site-Inspection (OSI), under the Comprehensive Test Ban being negotiated in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, may include drilling at the site of a suspected clandestine underground nuclear explosion to recover radioactive samples. It is in the interest of the drilling party to operate as light and compact a system as possible because it is likely that the drilling equipment will first be airlifted to the country being inspected, and then will be carried by air or surface to the inspection site. It will be necessary for the inspection party to have the capability for more than vertical drilling since there may not be a drilling site available vertically above the suspected nuclear cavity location. This means having, the ability to perform directional drilling and to obtain accurate positioning of the drilling tool. Consequently, several directions may be explored from a single surface drilling pad. If the target depth is expected to be at or less than 600 m (2000 ft), slant drilling may be required to a length well in excess of 600 m. Clearly, the operation must be designed with health and safety features to prevent radioactive exposure if the drilling encounters a nuclear source region. The DOE/LLNL community has developed a strong expertise in this regard. In this initial assessment we focus on the portability and directionality of drilling systems.