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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

EPRI Demonstration of an Autonomous Site Characterization Vehicle - 20523

A substantial effort is applied in performing radiological characterization of structures and land areas during decommissioning of a nuclear facility. This includes multiple surveys of land areas and large structures to support eventual site release under the Multi Agency Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM, Reference 1). These surveys are typically performed using manually delivered systems, which is time consuming and labor intensive. Radiological surveys intentionally follow a prescribed protocol with respect to areas covered, scan speeds, responses to elevated readings, required detector offsets, the need for repeat measurements, etc. Based on these attributes, combined with the repetitive effort of performing surveys over large areas, automation of radiological characterization techniques has a high potential to be successful and promises substantial benefit. EPRI has performed a project that resulted in the development and demonstration of an autonomous site characterization system. This EPRI project focused on building surfaces and the surfaces of large land areas as these configurations lend themselves more readily to automated survey. The project included: - Identification of the requirements for an autonomous site characterization system; - A survey of existing control systems that use automation to conduct characterization of structures and land areas. - As no fully adequate systems were identified, a complete system was developed that utilized commercially available detection and analysis systems and a self driving vehicle owned by EPRI. The system was demonstrated at the Kewaunee nuclear power plant site in the fall of 2019. The demonstration included: - Autonomous surveys of floor areas inside the Auxiliary Building at Kewaunee after manually controlled mapping of the survey areas. - For land areas, the vehicle autonomously surveyed areas using travel paths had been preprogrammed onto an internet available map of area. In this case, GPS coordinates from the preprogramming were used for navigation by the vehicles guidance system. This paper summarizes the characterization system development and system demonstration which will also be published in an EPRI report in the first half of 2020. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

Independent Verification Plan for Clearance of Real Property of the Operation Roller Coaster Sites

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing release of the Operation Roller Coaster sites under DOE O 458.1, “Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment.” The requirements for clearance and release of property under DOE O 458.1 are implemented when DOE intends to facilitate transfer of responsibility or control of real property from DOE. DOE O 458.1 prescribes that all radiological monitoring or surveys performed in support of clearance of property must use methods such as the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) method or other methods approved by DOE. DOE O 458.1 requires an Independent Verification for the clearance of real property. This Independent Verification Plan outlines the process for validating the method and implementation of the MARRSIM process for release of the Operation Roller Coaster sites.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Independent Verification Report for Clearance Operation Roller Coaster Sites

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing clearance of the Operation Roller Coaster sites under DOE O 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment. The clearance of property requirements in DOE O 458.1 must be implemented when DOE intends to facilitate future transfers of responsibility/control of real property. DOE O 458.1 prescribes that all radiological monitoring or surveys performed in support of clearance of property must use methods such as the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) or other methods approved by DOE. MARSSIM recommends using a series of surveys for collecting information required to demonstrate compliance. These surveys form the Radiation Survey and Site Investigation (RSSI) Process.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Radiological Impact of 2023 Operations at the Savannah River Site

This report presents the environmental dose assessment methods and the estimated potential doses to the public from 2023 Savannah River Site (SRS) air and liquid radioactive releases. Also documented are potential doses from special-case exposure scenarios, such as the consumption of wildlife or goat milk. Dose to the Offsite Representative Person The 2023 dose to the offsite representative person from SRS liquid releases was 0.14 mrem and from SRS air releases it was 0.016 mrem. To show compliance with the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) all pathway dose standard of 100 mrem/yr, SRS conservatively adds these two doses for a total representative person dose of 0.16 mrem which is 0.16% of the DOE standard. Sportsman Doses Onsite Hunter: SRS conducts annual hunts to control onsite deer and feral hog populations. The estimated dose from consuming harvested deer or hog meat is determined for every onsite hunter. During 2023, the maximum potential dose an onsite hunter received was 9.42 mrem, or 9.42% of DOE’s 100 mrem/yr all pathway dose standard. Creek Mouth Fisherman: SRS estimated the maximum potential dose from fish consumption at 0.17 mrem from bass collected at the mouth of Lower Three Runs. This dose is 0.17% of the DOE standard. SRS bases this hypothetical dose on the low probability scenario that, during 2023, a fisherman consumed 24 kg (53 lbs) of bass caught exclusively from the mouth of Lower Three Runs. Release of Material Containing Residual Radioactivity SRS did not release any real property (land or buildings) in 2023. SRS unconditionally released a total of 13,324 items of personal property (such as tools) from radiological areas in 2023. Most of these items did not leave the Site. However, all of these items required no additional radiological controls post-survey as they met DOE Order 458.1 release criteria. Radiation Dose to Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota SRS conducts screening evaluations of plant and animal doses for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. For 2023, all SRS aquatic system locations passed the initial (Level 1) screenings and no further assessments were required at those locations. For the land-based systems evaluation, SRS performed initial screenings using concentration data from the five onsite radiological soil sampling locations. Typically, SRS collects and analyzes only one soil sample per year from each location. For 2023, all land-based locations passed their initial (Level 1) pathway screenings.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Measuring changes in environmental radiological background from construction of an advanced nuclear reactor testing facility

We present a method to survey and track changes in the environmental radiological background during the construction and operation of advanced nuclear reactor facilities. We discuss the results of two surveys of the environmental gamma-radiation background at NEXT Lab, an advanced nuclear reactor research facility on the campus of Abilene Christian University, prior to the introduction of radioactive material. In both surveys, the observed radiation dosage rates are low, with the highest rates at 15% of the average total radiation dosage rate for the United States. We observe ≈20% changes in the radiological background of the property in locations where the environment was changed by construction and ≈20% variations within the facilities correlated with variations in building materials.

Environment↗
DOE OSTI2021

Confirmation of Radiological Non-Impact Status for TA-08-0032, TA-11-0024 and -0036

Environmental Protection and Compliance, Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES) has evaluated radiological process knowledge and surveys and found that the structures and associated building materials in Technical Area 8 Building 32 and Technical Area 11 Buildings 24 and 36 (TA-08-0032, TA-11-00024, and TA-11-0036, respectively) are candidates for unrestricted use and public release. This finding is consistent with the requirements of DOE Order 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment and LANL Procedure FSD-004, Environmental Radiation Protection.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Confirmation of Radiological Non-Impact Status for TA-16-380

Environmental Protection and Compliance, Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES) has evaluated radiological process knowledge and surveys and found that the structure and associated building materials in Technical Area 16 Building 380 (TA-16-380) are candidates for unrestricted use and public release. This finding is consistent with the requirements of DOE Order 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment and LANL Procedure FSD-004, Environmental Radiation Protection.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Confirmation of Radiological Non-Impact Status for TA-22 Magazines

Environmental Protection and Compliance, Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES) has evaluated radiological process knowledge and surveys and found that the structures and associated building materials in magazines and process building at Technical Area 22 (TA-22) are candidates for unrestricted use and public release. TA-22 magazines included in this analysis are: buildings TA-0011, -0012, -0014, -0015, -0016, -0017, -0019, -0021, -0022, -0023, -0024, -0035, and -0069 and building TA-22-0025, which is an a process building. This finding is consistent with the requirements of DOE Order 458.1 Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment and LANL Procedure FSD-004 Environmental Radiation Protection.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Confirmation of Radiological Non-Impact Status for TA-37 Magazines

Environmental Protection and Compliance, Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES) has evaluated radiological process knowledge and surveys and found that the structures and associated building materials in magazines at Technical Area 37 (TA-37) are candidates for unrestricted use and public release. TA-37 magazines included in this analysis are: buildings TA- 0006, -0008, -0009, -0019, and -0020. This finding is consistent with the requirements of DOE Order 458.1 Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment and LANL Procedure FSD-004 Environmental Radiation Protection.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Radon Survey of Los Alamos National Laboratory Buildings and Los Alamos County Residential Buildings

A radon survey of office spaces was of interest to LANL for several reasons. First, exposure to natural radon in LANL office spaces has been considered to be outside the regulatory reach of the federal regulations and the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) orders, and thus has not been studied as extensively as occupational exposure to other radionuclides and is not subject to the same rigorous radiological controls. Second, a general survey of radon concentrations in LANL workspaces was of interest to management to ensure safe environments for workers and is in keeping with the intent of OSHA requirements. Though radon in LANL offices would not be derived from enhanced radioactive sources, radon exposure in general office spaces has the potential to significantly impact worker risk. The purpose of the 2009 radon survey was to measure and document indoor radon levels across a broad spectrum of office-type workspaces and neighboring homes. The measured concentrations were compared against those measured across the United States and across the world. The results were also compared against a wide variety of radiation protection thresholds such as (1) the action levels of 148 Bq m -3 (the U.S. EPA action level for public housing), (2) ≈1,200 Bq m -3 OSHA threshold for office spaces, (3) effective dose threshold of 1 mSv threshold for defining a radiological worker, (4) 50 mSv occupational effective dose limit, and (5) 0.1 mSv and 1 mSv limits for public exposures from the air pathway and all pathways, respectively.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dosimeter Area Monitoring Program (DAMP) Technical Basis Document

This document provides a technical basis for establishing a Dosimetry-based Area Monitoring Program (DAMP) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). A DAMP is part of a comprehensive routine monitoring program and provides information about radiation levels inside and outside of Radiologically-Controlled Areas (RCAs). The routine, hand-held radiation survey program driven by the Health Physics Discipline Action Plan (HP-DAP) helps to ensure radiological conditions within RCAs are well-characterized and routinely monitored; however, such surveys are a snapshot in time, whereas area monitoring dosimeters (AMDs) continuously monitor radiation doses in the areas where they are installed. Together, data from the hand-held radiation surveys and the DAMP provides a comprehensive picture of radiation environment at LLNL. A DAMP helps to verify the effectiveness of established engineered and administrative controls while documenting that radiation doses in RCAs are below that which requires individual monitoring. This document establishes the basis for determining which model of dosimeter to use, the exchange frequency, the occupancy factor, monitoring locations, and a method for evaluating AMD results.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2022

International Radiological/Nuclear Training for Emergency Response - Major Public Events Virtual Workshop: Radiation Detection and Emergency Response Equipment (Day 2) [Slides]

The objective of this presentation is to familiarize participants with the different types of radiation detection systems and their practical applications for radiological emergency response. The specific goals are for participants to: (1) Understand the Three Step Process for Radiological Response of (i) Search and/or Survey, (ii) Radioisotope Identification, and (iii) Source Recovery, (2) Recognize the types of radiation detection equipment and their applications, and (3) View examples of common radiation detection instrumentation with operational videos.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
NASA NTRS1994

A teleoperated system for remote site characterization

The detection and characterization of buried objects and materials is an important step in the restoration of burial sites containing chemical and radioactive waste materials at Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Defense (DOD) facilities. By performing these tasks with remotely controlled sensors, it is possible to obtain improved data quality and consistency as well as enhanced safety for on-site workers. Therefore, the DOE Office of Technology Development and the US Army Environmental Center have jointly supported the development of the Remote Characterization System (RCS). One of the main components of the RCS is a small remotely driven survey vehicle that can transport various combinations of geophysical and radiological sensors. Currently implemented sensors include ground-penetrating radar, magnetometers, an electromagnetic induction sensor, and a sodium iodide radiation detector. The survey vehicle was constructed predominantly of non-metallic materials to minimize its effect on the operation of its geophysical sensors. The system operator controls the vehicle from a remote, truck-mounted, base station. Video images are transmitted to the base station by a radio link to give the operator necessary visual information. Vehicle control commands, tracking information, and sensor data are transmitted between the survey vehicle and the base station by means of a radio ethernet link. Precise vehicle tracking coordinates are provided by a differential Global Positioning System (GPS).

Sandness, Gerald A.↗
DOE OSTI2023

MARSAME Radiological Release Report for Metal Items from Technical Area 53, Set 26

Environmental Protection and Compliance, Environmental Stewardship Group (EPC-ES) has evaluated the survey results for metal items from the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) at Technical Area 53 (TA-53) and found that the metal items described in Table 1 of this report (identified by Radiation Protection [RP] Tracking Numbers) meet the criteria for unrestricted release under Department of Energy (DOE) Order 458.1 Chg 4, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment (DOE 2020) and can be recycled. This conclusion is based on the known history of the metal items and radiation survey data. None of the items in this report are located within radiological areas. Therefore, the items are considered unencumbered and are not subject to the moratorium suspension on metal recycling from DOE facilities. Additionally, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has determined that there is no practical opportunity for internal DOE reuse of this metal. Process knowledge indicates that these metal items were unlikely to ever be in direct contact with the beam and thus are unlikely to have become activated. Surface contamination measurements (both total and removable) showed either no detectable radioactivity or activity levels within the range of background. All measurements for volumetric contamination were indistinguishable from background based on calculated decision limits. Additionally, all gamma isotopic surveys conducted for defense-in depth showed no identifiable gamma radiation from beam activation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

MARSAME Radiological Release Report for Metal Items from TA 53, Set 20

EPC-ES has evaluated the survey results for metal items from the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) and found that the metal items described in Table 1 of this report (identified by RP Tracking Numbers) meet the criteria for unrestricted release under DOE Order 458.1 Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment (DOE 2020) and can be recycled. This conclusion is based on the known history of the metal items and on radiation survey data (see the completed RP-Form-031 LANSCE Metals Clearance Log for each item). None of the items in this report are located within radiological areas. Therefore, the items are considered unencumbered and are not subject to the moratorium suspension on metal recycling from Department of Energy facilities. Additionally, LANL has determined that there is no practical opportunity for internal DOE reuse or recycling of this metal. Process knowledge indicates that these metal items were unlikely to ever be in direct contact with the beam and thus are unlikely to have become activated. Surface contamination measurements (both total and removable) showed either no detectable radioactivity or activity levels within the range of background. All measurements for volumetric contamination were indistinguishable from background based on calculated decision limits. Additionally, all gamma isotopic surveys conducted for defense-in-depth showed no identifiable gamma radiation from beam activation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗