Deployment of Smart 3D Subsurface Contaminant Characterization at the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor

The Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor (BGRR) Historical Site Assessment (BNL 1999) identified contamination inside the Below Grade Ducts (BGD) resulting from the deposition of fission and activation products from the pile on the inner carbon steel liner during reactor operations. Due to partial flooding of the BGD since shutdown, some of this contamination may have leaked out of the ducts into the surrounding soils. The baseline remediation plan for cleanup of contaminated soils beneath the BGD involves complete removal of the ducts, followed by surveying the underlying and surrounding soils, then removing soil that has been contaminated above cleanup goals. Alternatively, if soil contamination around and beneath the BGD is either non-existent/minimal (below cleanup goals) or is very localized and can be ''surgically removed'' at a reasonable cost, the BGD can be decontaminated and left in place. The focus of this Department of Energy Accelerated Site Technology Deployment (DOE ASTD) project was to determine the extent (location, type, and level) of soil contamination surrounding the BGD and to present this data to the stakeholders as part of the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) process. A suite of innovative characterization tools was used to complete the characterization of the soil surrounding the BGD in a cost-effective and timely fashion and in a manner acceptable to the stakeholders. The tools consisted of a tracer gas leak detection system that was used to define the gaseous leak paths out of the BGD and guide soil characterization studies, a small-footprint Geoprobe to reach areas surrounding the BGD that were difficult to access, two novel, field-deployed, radiological analysis systems (ISOCS and BetaScint) and a three-dimensional (3D) visualization system to facilitate data analysis/interpretation. All of the technologies performed as well or better than expected and the characterization could not have been completed in the same time or at the same cost without implementing this approach