These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Results of a cleanup and treatment test at the Nevada test site: evaluation of vacuum removal of Pu-contaminated soil.
    Author: Shinn JH, Essington EH, Miller FL, O'Farrell TP, Orcutt JA, Romney EM, Shugart JW, Sorom ER.
    Journal: Health Phys; 1989 Nov; 57(5):771-9. PubMed ID: 2592211.
    Abstract:
    We have conducted experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of removing contaminated soils from the Nevada Test Site with a large truck-mounted vacuum cleaner. Our results show that this method is effective, relatively easy, and safe for equipment operators. With four passes of the truck-mounted vacuum, 92% of the 241Am (and the accompanying 239 + 240Pu) was removed and resuspension rates were reduced by more than 99%. The ecological impact was, however, serious in terms of soil erosion and destruction of small animal habitats. Compared to standard earth-moving techniques, vacuuming permits a significant reduction in the volume of soil collected to achieve the desired level of decontamination, and the volume reduction could result in cost savings for packaging, shipment, and burial. This cost savings would only be realized for projects involving decontamination of the top 5 cm of soil.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]