Application of a structured light source to waste surface mapping in waste storage silos at Fernald, Ohio

One of the highest priority remedial activities within the DOE complex is the remediation of the K-25 Silos at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP), Fernald, Ohio. The K-25 Silos are above ground and bermed, domed, steel reinforced concrete structures that were built in the early 1950s to store uranium raffinate residues from uranium. Two of the four silos, Nos. 1 and 2, contain a waste material that is rich in Radium 226 and, hence, generates unacceptable amounts of radon gas during the decay process. Silo No. 3 contains primarily dry metal oxide wastes. Silo No. 4 is empty and is being used as a cold test site for demonstrating newly developed technologies. Test results are to be integrated with storage tank remediation activities throughout the DOE complex. In this presentation, we describe the application of a Structured Light Source to obtain waste surface contour data prior to bentonite deposition as a baseline measurement, then subsequently obtain bentonite surface contour data after deposition. Therefore, the thickness of bentonite at any point along the waste surface will be determined by the difference of surface contour data. Development, demonstration, and in-field deployment of this technology was co- sponsored by the DOE Officemore » of Technology Development and the DOE Environmental Restoration (ER) through the FEMP. The lead coordinator of the project was WEMCO with the proof-of-principle developed by Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as the software developer and system integrator. 3 refs., 2 figs.« less