Technology assessment for improved structural demolition and dust suppression techniques

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:477553

Williams, P T; Boudreaux, J F; Ebadian, M A ^[1]

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1. Florida International Univ., Miami, FL (United States)

As nuclear research facility buildings are deconstructed, many nonnuclear technologies are being adapted to the nuclear decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) industry, particularly in the case in final building demolition. Final building demolition technologies include implosion, the pull-over technique, explosive cutting, piece-by-piece dismantlement, and a combination of the three technologies. As these technologies are proposed for application at individual sites, a review process is conducted to gather information related to health and safety, dust generation, and final material form. However, in many cases this review does not provide the details needed to perform a comprehensive evaluation. This lack of data requires many conservative measures to be taken to implement the technology or may eliminate the technology from consideration because of this lack of comprehensive data. This paper will target the problem of dust generation during demolition and contribute to the compilation of a comprehensive source of information that will assist in the evaluation of the technologies used during building demolition. Three building types and the different demolition techniques will be simulated in the Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology (HCET) laboratory setup located on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) with various dust suppression techniques. The three simulated conditions include a poured concrete wall, a block wall, and a built-up roof. The main parameters controlled to minimize dust suppression during demolition activities are the moisture content and the fraction of the surface that is easily dispersed into air. The data resulting from the experimental work will be correlated based on factors such as drop height, particle distribution, mass concentration, and particle number concentration. These correlations will provide a means by which the amount of dust can be assessed during demolition using a particular technology.

• OSTI ID: 477553
• Report Number(s): CONF-960804--Vol.3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
AEROSOLS
DEMOLITION
DUSTS
INHIBITION
SURPLUS NUCLEAR FACILITIES
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT