A portable system for decanting and packaging radioactive sludge

Several spent fuel storage basins are maintained to support operation of the N Reactor for the U.S. Department of Energy. These basins have systems to filter and demineralize the basin cooling water, but they have not facilities to remove accumulated radioactive sludge on the bottom of the pool. The sludge becomes stirred up during fuel handling operations, thus obscuring vision and increasing the operator radiation exposure in the basin. The portable sludge removal system (SRS) was built to remove accumulated sludge, and decant, solidify, and package it in a form suitable for disposal. Because of the flexible design of the SRS, other applications that have been identified include particulate separation from neutralized waste acid and cleanup of outfall structures and solar evaporation ponds