Advantages of sampling via TruPro® versus core boring

Advantages of TruPro®

  • Rate of sampling, 90 inches in 90 minutes or 17 working days v 55 working days ;
  • Cheap and timely quantitative analysis of radionuclides of interest using portable infield instrumentation and radioanalyses;
  • Minimal sample turnaround time, approx. 10 to 20 minutes;
  • Highly strategic, directional and focused sampling regime to areas of concern maximizing manpower and financial resources;
  • No secondary wastes just sample; no airborne particulate and no water/oil used
  • No subsampling of cores;
  • Keeps operator dose As Low As Reasonably Achievable;
  • Complete Containment of drill cuttings and fugitive tritium;
  • Representative sample and quality from bulk materials where the baseline method cannot retrieve high quality representative samples;
  • Varying masses of sample;
  • Reduced chances of cross contamination of samples;
  • Increased safety due to less hand on exposure to physical hazards and waste contaminants and;
  • Sampling incrementally to depths of up to 6 meters.
  • Smaller holes (1/2” v 3”) means less potential for fracturing concrete or encountering re-bar or tendons
  • Increased safety due to less exposure to physical hazards (less weight and no requirement for bolting drill to surfaces)
  • Reduced project cost and better defensible actionable data
  • Reduced dose due to less time in radiation fields as shown below

 ALARA Considerations Implemented by Utilizing TruPro® Patented Concrete Profiling Technology

Under Vessel Area 5 sample locations Average Dose Rate: 300 mR/hour

TruPro® Concrete Profiling
12 minutes/location x 5 locations = 1 hour in area
0.3 rem/individual x 2 = 0.6 rem total

CORING
2 hours/core x 5 cores = 10 hours in area
3 rem/individual x 3 = 9 rem total
An RWP is required for this work
Work would be denied (wait until vessel/source term removal)

TruPro® Site Example

01

Concrete sampling using TruPro® technology

Lighter weight – no bolting required – magnetic available.

Typically uses hollow ½” drill bit

More narrow bit is more likely to miss re-bar/tendons

Does not need water to cool. System is air-cooled

Vac system collects dust into baggies in increments

02

Duration for Sampling using TruPro®

25 minutes per sample location

12 sample locations per day

17 work days to collect 185 sample locations

Plus 5 days for analysis time

03

Work Crews for Sampling via TruPro®

1 NMNTI Drill Operator at location

1 NMNTI Support Individual (sample Chain of Custody)

1 Radiation Protection Technician

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