Year
2014
Abstract
In response to Japanese efforts to decontaminate the former operating floor of Fukushima Unit 3, Pentek developed a series of breakthrough decontamination technologies, some of which have direct application to future accident response, emergency planning and waste management practice. This paper describes new methods to collect and package contaminated materials into robust waste containers while remotely managing the complete waste cycle. In particular, waste materials may be automatically collected and deposited into final waste packages as large as several m3, and as small as 208 liter drums using integrated HEPA filtered vacuum flows as the collection and transport media. Internal controls provide for unimpeded filling, monitoring and final closure of the waste containers without human intervention. Waste container handling is also by remote means. In the case of the standard 208 liter drum, the HEPA filtration mechanism is self-disposing into its own dedicated 208- liter drum once determined to be of no further value. The means and methods developed during this project have broad applicability to post-accident planning and preparations for future low probability, high consequence events that may loom ahead.