Use of the Pipe Explorer{sup TM} System to Deploy a Custom Gamma Tool in the Laterals Beneath High Level Waste Tanks in the 'A' and 'SX' Tank Farms, US DOE Hanford Site
- Apogen Technologies, 100 Sun Avenue NE, Suite 500, Albuquerque, NM 87109 (United States)
- Three Rivers Scientific, 4200 West 19th Avenue, Kennewick, WA 99338 (United States)
- Pacific Northwest Geophysics, Grant Court, West Richland, WA 99353 (United States)
- CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc., P.O. Box 1500, Richland, WA 99352 (United States)
The 'laterals' are 3-inch tubing installed beneath single shell high level waste tanks in the 'A' and 'SX' Tank Farms at the US DOE Hanford Site during the late 1950's as part of a multifaceted leak detection system. A pneumatic deployment/wire line retrieval system was originally used to deploy two different custom Geiger-Muller detectors (a 'RED GM' and a 'GREEN GM') into the laterals for the purposes of characterizing activity levels in the soils beneath the waste tanks. Logging of the laterals was carried out from the mid 1970's through the early 1990's, when the activity was suspended. In support of the on-going vadose zone characterization efforts in the tank farms, CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. contracted with Apogen Technologies to utilize the Pipe Explorer{sup TM} system to deploy a custom gamma tool designed by Three Rivers Scientific and operated by Pacific Northwest Geophysics into selected laterals in the 'A' and 'SX' tank farms. The Pipe Explorer{sup TM} System is a unique deployment tool that utilizes a patented inverting membrane technology to deploy various detectors into piping, duct and drain lines. The conventional Pipe Explorer{sup TM} system was modified to interface with the PNG tool cabling and winch system that is typically used in bore hole applications. The gamma tool is comprised of three different detector systems, each with a different sensitivity. The most sensitive detector is a sodium iodide spectral gamma detector utilizing an on-board multi-channel analyzer. This detector is sensitive enough to measure the natural background radioactivity in these soils. Two additional Geiger-Muller gamma ray detectors complete the detector complement of the tool. These were designed with sensitivities similar to the historically used 'Green' and 'Red' GM detectors. The detectors were calibrated for Cs-137 concentration in the formation, and incorporated a correction for gamma ray attenuation due to the steel pipe of the lateral. The calibrations are traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In total, the gamma tool provides a dynamic range of eight orders of magnitude, from less than 200 Bq kg{sup -1} (5 pCi g{sup -1}) to 1.11 x 10{sup 10} Bq kg{sup -1} (300,000,000 pCi g{sup -1}) eCs-137. With an overall length of 8 ft. and a weight of 13 lbs., this is the longest and heaviest detector package yet deployed by the Pipe Explorer{sup TM} system. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21208726
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-06269; TRN: US09V1037079513
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 5 refs
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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