Non-destructive in situ measurement of radiological distributions in Hanford Site waste tanks

Abstract

Measurement of radiological materials in defense nuclear waste stored in underground tanks at the Hanford Site is being used to indicate material distributions. Both safety assessment and future processing challenges are dependent on knowledge of the distribution, kinds, and quantities of various key components. Data from CdTe and neutron detector measurements are shown and correlated with physical sampling and laboratory results. The multiple assay approach is shown to increase the confidence about the material distributions. As a result, costs of physical sampling and destructive analyses can be controlled while not severely limiting the uncertainty of results.

Compact Viscometer Prototype for Remote In Situ Analysis of Sludge

“…The current strategy for analysis of remnant materials mainly focuses on visual inspection, radiological measurements and chemical composition analysis. Radiological measurements vary from using scintillators in storage tanks to determine the activity of remnant materials, pipe crawling robots assessing the contamination of pipework or autonomous platforms for analysis of floor contamination [5,6,7,8]. Current academic research focuses on imaging systems and the deployment of these in challenging environments.…”