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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Ambient krypton-85 air sampling at Hanford

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6308806
In the fall of 1982, the Environmental Evaluations Section of Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) initiated a network of continuous krypton-85 air samplers located on and around the Hanford Site. This effort was in response to the resumption of operations at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant located onsite where krypton-85 was to be released during fuel dissolution. Preoperational data were collected using noble gas samplers designed by the Environmental Protection Agency-Las Vegas (EPA-LV). The samplers functioned erratically resulting in excessive maintenance costs and prompted a search for a new sampling system. State of the art krypton-85 sampling methods were reviewed and found to be too costly, too complex and inappropriate for field application, so a simple bag collection system was designed and field tested. The system is composed of a reinforced, heavy plastic bag, connected to a variable flow pump and housed in a weatherproof enclosure. At the end of the four week sampling period the air in the bag is transferred by a compressor into a pressure tank for easy transport to the laboratory for analysis. After several months of operation, the air sampling system has proven its reliability and sensitivity to ambient levels of krypton-85. 3 references, 3 figures, 1 table.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
6308806
Report Number(s):
PNL-SA-12395; CONF-841187-8; ON: DE85003602
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English