Aerosol sampling from stacks and ducts at the Rocky Flats Plant

While the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) in Golden, CO is being decommissioned; there is air flow through the ventilation systems in the buildings. Although the air is HEPA filtered, under the requirements of both the U.S. EPA and the U.S. DOE, several of the stacks and ducts must be continuously monitored for radionuclide aerosol particles, where plutonium is the principal radionuclide of concern. The air sampling effort for compliance with EPA requirements is focussed on the acquisition of representative aerosol samples, which are collected on filters and subsequently analyzed in a laboratory. The goal of the DOE sampling is to acquire representative samples that can be analyzed with near-real-time monitors for alarming purposes, where the alarms are used to warn workers that may be affected by elevated concentrations of radionuclides. The air sampling at RFP is based on single point representative sampling with a shrouded probe. For stacks and ducts that are under the cognizance of EPA, the approach is embodied in a set of Alternate Reference Methodologies that EPA has approved for use at DOE facilities. Shrouded probes were designed based on numerical predictions of performance and the efficacy of the probes was verified by wind tunnel tests. Aerosol transport lines were designed using a code, DEPOSITION that provides optimization of aerosol penetration. Adequacy of a location for single point sampling was based on numerical criteria for mixing of both contaminant mass and fluid momentum as manifested by the uniformity of the velocity profile and the profiles of tracer gas and aerosol particles. Scale models were constructed of key ducts and these were tested in the laboratory to determine the proper locations. For ducts and stacks that fall under DOE, but not EPA requirements, similar methodology was used; however, the single point sampling location is based on alarming considerations