New free release monitoring post with a large volume 600 L container counting geometry was designed and developed. The monitoring system is able to monitor a material also in standard counting geometry of 200 L drum. Using counting geometry of 600 L rectangular container that is equipped with self-discharger is able to increase the total monitoring capacity. The monitoring system is based on a pair of electrically cooled semiconductor HPGe detectors that are placed into a modifiable vertical or horizontal pair of lead collimators. The monitoring system is integrated with an industrial scale for determination of massic activities of measured materials and in addition by a rotating table in the case of 200 L drums monitoring. Monitoring system is integrated into transportable ISO container with constant environmental conditions that are ensured by air-condition unit. Full-energy peak detection efficiency (FPE) polynomial curves for various densities of measured material were in both cases determined by ISOCS calibration code based on designed counting geometry and delivered ISOCS/LabSOCS detector characterization. Uncertainty analysis of massic activity measurement by container and drum monitoring system in designed counting geometry is introduced below in more detail.

An intergovernmental agreement on cooperation about chemical weapon destruction was signed between France and the Russian federation on 14th February 2006 in the context of a Global Partnership dedicated to preventing catastrophic terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It came into effect on 25th April 2007 after ratification by both countries. The present demonstrated project was launched as part of this collaboration on the Shchuchye site (Russia – Kurgan Oblast). The project concerned the environmental surveillance system for the Shchuchye site required for the safe operation of the installation used to destroy chemical weapons. The aim was to implement equipments and methods of analysis for very low concentrations of pollutants in the three environmental compartments: air, water and soil. This has been achieved with the help of industry and other organizations in France (Environment/SA for supplies, INERIS and Antea Group) and Russia (ROST Association and EKROS Engineering). This system takes account of the normal operation of the installation as well as incident management. It includes 11 stationary atmospheric measuring stations constructed by Environment/SA and EKROS Engineering including ASTEK dedicated toxic gas detector: “Terminator FOV-1”, 3 mobile atmospheric measuring stations, 2 mobile soil & water measuring stations, 4 sampling cars constructed by Environment/SA and EKROS Engineering, a complete Chemical analysis laboratory which can handle ppb analysis of toxic gases, organics and minerals pollutants, an information collection center and a meteo station which can retrieve, display and archive all the datas or alarm from the stationary and mobile stations. Antea Group has provided a technical expertise and various negotiations during the negotiation phase, the project initiation files & contracts redaction, the project Monitoring and reporting to stakeholders, the REX. Up to 2009, No other site of the world uses such an innovative system. Antea Group worked on this project for 4 years. It successfully began operating in March 2009, before the start of destruction operations, after 15 months of work on the site.

Measurements of the dynamic response of a rock mass are inevitable in the systematic long-term monitoring and the maintenance of the radioactive waste disposal repository. With this point of view, AE (acoustic emission) detection is considered to be a promising technique for monitoring the in-situ performance of a rock mass. In this study, the propagation and interactions of guided acoustic waves in a waveguide connector, which is required in an in-situ application of an AE monitoring system were investigated and the coupling methods of a waveguide to the surface of rock mass were compared. The changes in acoustic wave amplitude, time delay, frequency variation, and system transfer function were measured between the waveguide and a rock sample. Subsequently the waveguide coupling conditions filled with epoxy were compared with a mechanical type of coupling for the validity of field application. The results derived from this study can be valuable information for the quantitative analysis of signal processing in AE source localization and the degree of crack damage in a radioactive waste repository.

Decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear sites is an increasing business in Europe and worldwide. New methods and instruments are demanded to perform it effectively and economically. NUKEM Technologies has accepted this challenge and has shown that there is a specific solution for each task. Nukem monitoring systems include Bridge Monitors for incoming radwaste, Sorting Monitors to separate low, intermediate and high level waste, Drum/Container Monitors mainly for outgoing waste, Monitors for Room Clearance Measurements and High Throughput Free Release Measurement Systems . The last monitor was designed for a 100% measurement of soil or building material with up to 50.000 kg waste throughput per hour.

The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) Project, a comprehensive research project investigating the deep underground environment in crystalline rock, is being conducted by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency at Mizunami City, Central Japan. The MIU Project is being carried out in three overlapping phases: Surface-based Investigation (Phase I), Construction (Phase II), and Operation (Phase III), with a total duration of 20 years. The overall project goals of the MIU Project from Phase I through to Phase III are: 1) to establish techniques for investigation, analysis and assessment of the deep geological environment, and 2) to develop a range of engineering techniques for deep underground application. Phase I was completed in March 2004, and Phase II investigations associated with the construction of the underground facilities are currently underway. Phase II investigation goals are to evaluate the geological, hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and rock mechanical models developed in Phase I and to assess changes in the deep geological environment caused by the construction of underground facilities. Geological mapping, borehole investigations for geological, hydrogeological, hydrochemical and rock mechanical studies are being carried out in shafts and research galleries in order to evaluate the models. Long-term monitoring of changes in groundwater chemistry and pressure associated with the construction of the underground facilities continue in and around the MIU site, using existing boreholes and monitoring systems. This report summarizes the current status of the MIU Project on results of the Phase II investigations to date.

The Grimsel Test Site owned and operated by Nagra is located in the Swiss Alps ( www.grimsel.com ). The sixth Phase of investigations was started in 2003 with a ten-year planning horizon. With the investigations and projects of Phase VI the focus is shifted more towards projects assessing perturbation effects of repository implementation and projects evaluating and demonstrating engineering and operational aspects of the repository system. More than 17 international partners participate in the various projects, which form the basic organisational ‘elements’ of Phase VI, each one further structured in field-testing, laboratory studies, design and modelling tasks, as appropriate. Each project phase is planned with a duration of 3 to 5 years, to facilitate all practical and administrative aspects, ensuring flexibility for updating the overall plan with the recent findings. Scientific and engineering interaction among the different projects is ensured via the annual international meeting and ad-hoc meetings, as appropriate. As Phase VI approaches its mid-term point, a review of the accomplishments to date is performed to provide a sound basis for the detailed planning of the next steps. The accomplishments to date are described and assessed below; the opportunities with the on-going projects as well as new projects – currently under discussion – are also presented and discussed. The on-going projects include: studies of the long-term diffusion with emphasis on the processes in the rock matrix (LTD); colloid studies under in-situ generation conditions and migration velocities closer to velocities expected in an actual repository site (CFM); studies of the long-term cement interactions with natural systems (LCS); evaluation of full-scale engineered systems under simulated heat production and long-term natural saturation (NF-Pro/FEBEX); gas migration through engineered barrier systems (GMT); emplacement of shotcrete low-pH plug (ESDRED/Module IV); test and evaluation of monitoring systems (TEM). In addition, various shorter term projects assessing, for example, new geophysical investigation tools, wireless transmission, testing new tools and training for in-situ tracer transport studies have been performed and/or are planned for the near future.

The German-Russian project that is part of the G8 initiative on Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction focuses on the speedy construction of a land-based interim storage facility for nuclear submarine reactor compartments at Sayda Bay near Murmansk. This project includes the required infrastructure facilities for long-term storage of about 150 reactor compartments for a period of about 70 years. The interim storage facility is a precondition for effective activities of decommissioning and dismantlement of almost all nuclear-powered submarines of the Russian Northern Fleet. The project also includes the establishment of a computer-assisted waste monitoring system. In addition, the project involves clearing Sayda Bay of other shipwrecks of the Russian navy. On the German side the project is carried out by the Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour (BMWi). On the Russian side the Kurchatov Institute holds the project management of the long-term interim storage facility in Sayda Bay, whilst the Nerpa Shipyard, which is about 25 km away from the storage facility, is dismantling the submarines and preparing the reactor compartments for long-term interim storage. The technical monitoring of the German part of this project, being implemented by BMWi, is the responsibility of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). This paper gives an overview of the German-Russian project and a brief description of solutions for nuclear submarine disposal in other countries. At Nerpa shipyard, being refurbished with logistic and technical support from Germany, the reactor compartments are sealed by welding, provided with biological shielding, subjected to surface treatment and conservation measures. Using floating docks, a tugboat tows the reactor compartments from Nerpa shipyard to the interim storage facility at Sayda Bay where they will be left on the on-shore concrete storage space to allow the radioactivity to decay. For transport of reactor compartments at the shipyard, at the dock and at the storage facility, hydraulic keel blocks, developed and supplied by German subcontractors, are used. In July 2006 the first stage of the reactor compartment storage facility was commissioned and the first seven reactor compartments have been delivered from Nerpa shipyard. Following transports of reactor compartments to the storage facility are expected in 2007.

As part of a development program for radioactive waste management, two test boreholes have been constructed at the MosNPO “Radon” Site to evaluate the conditions of LILW storage in such facilities, to observe the behaviour of engineered barriers as a function of time, the ability of the system to contain radionuclides and to test the reliability of a monitoring system. To obtain a licence for operation of such boreholes, MosNPO “Radon” specialists have prepared a package of documents, including a “Report on Safety Assessment of LILW Storage in Large Diameter Boreholes” [1]. On the basis of radiation safety standards and requirements being in force in Russian Federation, a range of possible accidents and emergencies during the operational period has been considered in this study. In this paper, the authors present results of a long term safety assessment of LILW disposal in the boreholes, performed within the framework of the above mentioned report.

The Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) is a cooperative effort between military establishments of the Russian Federation, United States, and Norway to reduce potential environmental threats from military installations and activities in the Arctic region and enhancing the environmental security of all three countries. The goal of this project is to enhance the ability of the Russian Navy to effectively and safely perform radioecological monitoring of sites at facilities dismantling nuclear submarines and handling and disposition of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and the radioactive waste by-products. Radioecological monitoring is needed to protect workers at the sites engaged in work involving the dismantlement of nuclear submarines, the local public of the surrounding communities, and the environment. Radioecological monitoring is being accomplished by the installation of a centralized radiological surveillance system, the PICASSO Environmental Monitoring system developed by the Institute for Energy Technology, Halden, Norway. The Russian Institute for Nuclear Safety, Moscow, Russia, modified the system for use at Russian Federation Naval bases and developed a working model for its intended application. The working model includes Russian manufactured terrestrial and underwater gamma detectors, smart controllers, radiomodems for off-site transmission of data coupled with the PICASSO Environmental Monitoring system installed into local computers, work stations, and a centralized server to monitor the real-time activity of the particular site. The selected sites for installation of PICASSO are the Polyarninsky Shipyard No. 10 and the RTP Atomflot shipyards. The AMEC project teams visited Polyarninsky Shipyard No. 10 and the RTP Atomflot shipyards in June 2003 to monitor the progress of the installation of the detection and monitoring systems. The implementation of the PICASSO system will be integrated with other AMEC projects at both sites. Plans are being developed to implement the use of this system at most Russian Federation Naval sites handling SNF.

Radioactively contaminated land and its remediation is a growing sector of the Nuclear Business. The contamination is often associated with both naturally occurring and man-made radionuclides. A significant proportion of the waste contains only small amounts or low concentrations of radionuclides, and therefore much of the remediated material can be considered to be for “free release”. It has often not been possible to get adequate specific information on these materials, so a monitoring system is needed for their classification and characterisation. At the former Fuel Fabrication Facility NUKEM-Old in Hanau, Germany, all process equipment and installations were dismantled, building structure surfaces have been decontaminated. After final measurements of building contamination, mainly applying in-situ gamma-spectrometry, and approval for “free release”, or for dumping the material, all buildings were demolished. Since then, an Automated Soil Segregation System is being successfully used for the segregation and measuring of the remaining 20.000 tonnes of radioactively contaminated, or at least suspicious soil material, building foundations and sewerage system components.

The Old Solvent Tanks (OST), located at the Savannah River Site (SRS) Old Radioactive Waster Burial Ground (ORWBG), are comprised of 22 underground storage tanks that were used to store spent radioactive solvent and aqueous wastes generated from the plutonium-uranium extraction (PUREX) process. The OSTs were installed at various dates between 1955 and 1968 and used to store the spent solvents until 1974. The spent solvents stored in the OSTs were transferred out from 1976 through 1981 leaving only residual liquids and sludges that could not be pumped out. Final remediation goals for the ORWBG include an overlying infiltration control system. If the tanks were to structurally fail, they would collapse causing potential for onsite worker exposure and release of tank contents to the environment. Therefore, as an interim action, methods for stabilizing the tanks were evaluated. The preferred remedial action was “Grouting of the Tank Wastes In-situ.” The primary function of the grout is to provide structural stability of the tanks by filling void space with material that prevents tank collapse. Incidental to any mixing that may occur, residual material in the tanks will be incorporated into the grouting mixture. The incidental grouting will ultimately improve environmental protection by rendering the residual material immobile. To accomplish this task, the SRS Environmental Restoration Division (ERD) teamed with the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) to determine a remedial design strategy and to translate this strategy into a construction specification and drawings for implementation. The OST remedial design strategy contained the following key aspects for performance requirements and acceptance criteria: • Grout mix; • Tank atmosphere testing; • Grout delivery system and camera monitoring system; • Off-Gas HEPA filter system and environmental monitoring; • OST Sealing and labeling. From November 2001 through February 2003 all 22 Old Solvent Tanks were successfully stabilized. This paper will discuss the systems designed to perform and monitor the grouting operation, the grouting process, and the radiological controls and wastes associated with grouting the Old Solvent Tanks.

Radiometric specialist measurements are required for a variety of activities at Sellafield such as support to operational plants, building management, waste management and decommissioning. Measurements are performed using mainly standard components in a novel configuration or using standard products for a non standard application. They are required, for example, to characterise radioactive material which may be outside the normal operating envelope of installed monitoring systems, provide radiometric characterization to aid plant operations, characterise the neutron moderating / absorption properties of materal and vessels, identify the source and characteristics of blockages which may occur in plant vessels and pipes etc. Examples of recent projects have included: • Special investigations of residue material from fuel manufacturing operations, using a combination of Total Neutron Counting, Neutron Coincidence Counting and High Resolution Gamma Spectrometry. • Dose rate measurements and surveys in environments up to 100 Sv/hr in various locations at the Sellafield reprocessing plants. Applications include in-cell measurements and underwater measurements in fuel ponds. • Neutron transmission measurements to verify the presence of absorbing material in plant vessels. • HRGS gamma surveys to identify and quantify a wide variety of radionuclides in waste handling and decommissioing operations. This paper provides insight into BNFL Instrument’s Special Investigation work and will provide examples of interesting projects which have been successfully carried out recently at Sellafield and Dounreay.

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico (SNL/NM), operates a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU) for the United States Department of Energy (DOE). In 1997 SNL/NM was granted a permit modification that allowed construction and operation of a CAMU. The CAMU follows regulatory guidance that facilitates expedient and cost-effective cleanup and management of hazardous remediation wastes. Treatment operations were completed in January 2003 in conjunction with containment of 845,000 cubic feet (23,930 cubic meters) of treated soil. The containment cell is situated approximately 485 feet (148 meters) above groundwater in a semiarid region marked by low rainfall and high evapotransporation. These site conditions required a unique approach to monitoring the containment cell performance and ultimately protecting groundwater. To satisfy Resource Conservation and Recovery Act groundwater monitoring requirements, a Vadose Zone Monitoring System (VZMS) for rapidly detecting leaks was incorporated into the containment cell design. One component of the VZMS, the Primary Subliner (PSL) monitoring system, utilizes the containment cell subliner to focus potential leakage into five longitudinal trenches. Each trench contains a wicking material and a vitrified clay pipe used to provide access for a neutron probe to measure soil moisture content directly under the containment cell. The other component of the VZMS, the Vertical Sensor Array (VSA), consists of 22 time-domain reflectometers that provide a backup to the PSL. Environmental Protection Agency regulators accepted vadose zone monitoring of the CAMU containment cell as a substitution for groundwater monitoring wells because of its high probability for early detection of leakage if it were to occur. This monitoring approach would also enable timely implementation of a corrective action to mitigate the possibility of any impacts to groundwater. The CAMU VZMS provides a superior methodology for the detection and subsequent characterization of any potential leaks emanating from waste contained in the cell versus the use of groundwater monitoring wells. One of the main advantages offered by the VZMS is its ability to provide real-time data on containment cell performance. Because of the layout, aerial coverage, and the multiple monitoring parameters incorporated into the VZMS, the specific location of a leak from the cell can be defined as well as the nature of the contaminant liquid (volatile organic versus inorganic compounds). The SNL/NM CAMU is the only facility within the DOE complex that implements this innovative approach to environmental restoration waste management and monitoring. A significant cost savings to taxpayers for on-site waste treatment and containment versus off-site disposal was achieved. A cost saving of approximately $200 million was realized by utilization of the CAMU versus off-site waste disposition. The VZMS monitoring system will be utilized during the 30 year post-closure care period for the containment cell.

The decommissioning of Windscale Pile 2 Chimney resulted in the removal of one of most historically significant and prominent features of the Sellafield site. The project was the first large scale concrete “free release” operation to be undertaken on the Sellafield nuclear site, producing 4500 tons of concrete of which 3000 tons was demonstrated to be “free release”. The paper describes the radiometric techniques employed in the characterization and segregation of the concrete into Low Level Waste (LLW), Very Low Level Waste (VLLW) and Free Release categories. It examines the robust solutions that were developed to meet the technical and regulatory challenges of the project, which included the definition of free release, the selection of averaging volumes, the testing and validation of the monitoring systems employed for bulk quantities of concrete and the identification and removal of small numbers of fuel particles from the free release waste stream. As a result of interest shown by other BNFL and UKAEA decommissioning projects at Sellafield, the paper finishes by discussing ways in which the system may be developed to assay other waste streams.