Underwater Coatings for Contamination Control
The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is deactivating several fuel storage basins. Airborne contamination is a concern when the sides of the basins are exposed and allowed to dry during water removal. One way of controlling this airborne contamination is to fix the contamination in place while the pool walls are still submerged. There are many underwater coatings available on the market that are used in marine, naval and other applications. A series of tests were run to determine whether the candidate underwater fixatives are easily applied and adhere well to the substrates (pool wall materials) found in INEEL fuel pools. The four pools considered included 1) Test Area North (TAN-607) with epoxy painted concrete walls; 2) Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) (CPP-603) with bare concrete walls; 3) Materials Test Reactor (MTR) Canal with stainless steel lined concrete walls; and 4) Power Burst Facility (PBF-620) with stainless steel lined concrete walls on the bottom and epoxy painted carbon steel lined walls on the upper portions. Therefore, the four materials chosen for testing included bare concrete, epoxy painted concrete, epoxy painted carbon steel, and stainless steel. The typical water temperature of the pools varies from 55oF to 80oF dependent on the pool and the season. These tests were done at room temperature. The following criteria were used during this evaluation. The underwater coating must: · Be easy to apply · Adhere well to the four surfaces of interest · Not change or have a negative impact on water chemistry or clarity · Not be hazardous in final applied form · Be proven in other underwater applications. In addition, it is desirable for the coating to have a high pigment or high cross-link density to prevent radiation from penetrating. This paper will detail the testing completed and the test results. A proprietary two-part, underwater epoxy owned by S. G. Pinney and Associates was selected to be applied by divers after scrubbing loose contamination off the basin walls and floors using a ship hull scrubber and vacuuming up the sludge. A special powered roller with two separate heated hoses that allowed the epoxy to mix at the roller surface was used to eliminate pot time concerns. The walls were successfully coated and water was removed from the pool with no airborne contamination problems.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - EM
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 911043
- Report Number(s):
- INEEL/CON-04-02252; TRN: US0704358
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM-05,Tucson Arizona,02/27/2005,03/03/2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
UNDERWATER COATINGS FOR CONTAMINATION CONTROL
En-Vac Robotic Wall Scabbler. Innovative Technology Summary Report