DOE-EM said the technology was quickly put in place by ICP personnel following a demonstration at Idaho’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, where the equipment was used to validate the thickness of a 100-gallon transuranic waste drum that was held in storage for more than four years.
How it works: The technology, which includes a robotic arm with an affixed scanner and software, provides real-time data on the integrity of each waste drum. The equipment scans more than 95 percent of the impact area of the drum bottom followed by the lower one-third of the drum.
Just as gel is used for ultrasound scanners, water is used to displace the air during ultrasonic testing, providing a more effective scan. During the first full day using the equipment, personnel scanned 24 drums. More than 4,000 waste drums being stored at the INL Site are to be scanned using the equipment.
Watch a video of the robotic equipment take an ultrasonic scan of a waste drum here.
The need: The need for the inspection system stems from two 2022 incidents where super-compacted waste packaged in 100-gallon drums developed pinholes and leaked while in transit to WIPP. Both shipments were returned to the INL Site for removal of contents and decontamination of the shipping casks.
Engineering studies indicated that drums more than five years old have the potential to develop pinholes and breach during transport. As a conservative measure, the DOE’s site cleanup contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC), halted shipments of waste drums older than four years, resulting in the thousands of drums remaining in storage as costly overpacks are manufactured.
Other cost savings: The ultrasonic scanning equipment is one of a number of ways IEC is saving money and improving performance at the INL Site, DOE-EM said, adding that those savings are reinvested into additional site cleanup work.
According to DOE-EM, IEC, which is in the third year of its 10-year cleanup contract, has realized $8 million in savings through fuel purchasing and on-site materials testing, along with $19 million saved through efficiencies within its U.S. Navy decontamination and demolition effort.
In addition, by retraining its workers for new projects rather than hiring externally, the company was able to complete the deactivation and demolition of 11.9 acres of buried waste retrieval enclosures two months ahead of schedule at the site’s Accelerated Retrieval Project.
Likewise, legacy buildings—such as a liquid waste treatment building or a spent nuclear fuel storage facility—have been modified for other projects, often at cost savings in the tens of millions of dollars, DOE-EM said.
“We purposely designed this contract to be aggressive with an end state in mind,” said Mark Brown, DOE-EM program manager with ICP. “Completing this important work safely, efficiently, and ahead of schedule creates tangible cost savings, which are applied to accelerate other work or applied to additional work scope.”
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