GeolSoc & IES ECN workshop

1. Information management and
characterisation to assist land
remediation
Dr Helen Beddow
Land Condition Early Careers Network
Handling Big Data
Geological Society, Burlington House

2. CONTENT
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1 2 3INTRODUCTION:
CONSIDERATIONS IN
TERMS OF WASTE
MANAGEMENT
RADIOLOGICAL IN-SITU
CHARACTERISATION
TECHNOLOGIES
DATA MANAGEMENT
CASE STUDY

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➢ Expensive process
➢ Understand as far as possible what needs to
be done and how you are going to get there
➢ Understand the end point, e.g.
declassification, delicensing, residential use,
commercial use
➢How will you know when you have reached
the end point?
➢How are you going to manage the waste?
➢Rapid characterisation
➢Laboratory analysis is costly and time consuming
➢ In-situ characterisation
➢Real-time data to aid in-field decision making
➢Segregation at the point of generation to minimise waste
➢Waste hierarchy - what is best for the environment
➢Recycle, reuse, recover, dispose
➢Disposal of waste / transport of materials off-site
➢Information management
RADIOLOGICAL LAND REMEDIATION PROJECTS1

4. Groundhog TM
SURFACE RADIATION MAPPING
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➢ Sodium iodide detector
➢ Advanced radiation spectrometer
➢ GPS receiver
➢ Spectrum recorded every second
➢ High density of measurements
➢ GIS - radiation contour maps
➢ Summation of spectra
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Window sampler drilling
DEPTH PROFILING
GroundhogTM
Gamma signal superimposed of stratigraphy
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6. Gamma Excavation Monitor (GEM)
SEGREGATION AT SOURCE
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➢ Rapid screening technology for excavator buckets
➢ Shielded sodium iodide detector
➢Spectral or gross gamma
➢ Metal bucket detected by optical sensors
➢ Dose-rate meter to indicate high activity
➢ Operated remotely using an Android tablet
➢ Calibrated using MCNP
➢ Coloured light indicates the waste category
➢ Typically a 10 second count time
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7. High Resolution Assay Monitor
HIGH RESOLUTION GAMMA SPECTROMETRY
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➢ High Resolution Gamma Spectrometry
➢ Housed in a cabin on a trailer with turntable
➢ Programmed to model the waste package
➢ Produces a unique calibration
➢ Provides real-time data including:
➢Fingerprint application
➢Transport calculations
➢Waste acceptance criteria calculations
➢Waste category
➢Nuclear material calculations
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Waste Management problems
➢ Where is the waste package?
➢ What is in the waste package?
➢ Where is the waste to go?
➢ What vehicle is the package to be loaded onto?
➢ What skip is the package in?
➢ What paperwork goes with the package?
➢ Does the package meet the waste acceptance criteria
➢ Is the information correct?
Waste Management Solution
➢ Barcode labels
➢ Database and software
➢ Barcode reader tablets
➢ Tracking solution
➢ Assay data automatically loaded into database
➢ Documentation automatically produced
➢ No transcription errors
➢ QA system
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM3

9. 555 bags consigned off-site per day
WASTE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
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11. Thank you Merci
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