S.A.Robotics

Client	Pacific Gas and Electric
Facility	DOE Trojan Nuclear Plant
Location	Portland, OR

S.A.Robotics provided the equipment, personnel, and support to remotely clean and survey over 30,000 feet of process piping (1” to 24” inside diameter) embedded in concrete as part of the decommissioning program at Trojan Nuclear Plant. The system utilizes an aggressive media blasting structure capable of maneuvering long and complex runs of various size piping. The system is a closed system that contains the media/contamination.

Additionally, the media has the capability of reuse for continuous blasting and is proven to clean highly contaminated piping down to free release levels. The project also includes a data logger operation, data analysis, and progress reporting compliant to MARSSIM. Specialty detectors have been developed to maneuver the complex configuration found in embedded piping and supplies an integrated background detection method to provide accurate data in real time.

Project Goals:

• Decontaminate and survey contaminated embedded piping to support final site release criteria.
• Develop contamination limits for embedded piping which allow bulk of piping to remain in place while satisfying site release criteria.
• Integrate project plan into master decommissioning schedule to allow parallel completion of various decommissioning project activities.

Project Scope:

In general, methodologies were developed to perform a number of cleaning passes to achieve “no loose contamination” criterion. After initial cleaning was completed, the initial survey was performed to determine the location of any hotspots. All hotspots were remediated with additional passes, then resurveys to ensure desired levels. Individual areas with elevated levels of contamination were evaluated and addressed. In cases where elevated areas existed, pipe grouting was employed (which was approved by the NRC). Grouting encapsulated and shielded any remaining contamination and prevented the re-use or recycling of the pipe.