Proprietary technology, ORION ScanPlotSM, deployed to detect gamma radiation in Port Hope area of Southern Ontario, Canada
Amec Foster Wheeler announces today that it is using state-of-the art radiation survey equipment to support the clean-up of approximately 1.2 million cubic metres of historic low-level radioactive waste from various sites in Southern Ontario, Canada.
The company is deploying its advanced ORION ScanPlotSM overland radiation survey system to collect radiological data under a CAD$1.57m contract awarded by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL).
The use of ORION ScanPlotSM allows us to produce data of Final Status Survey Quality, which is accepted by regulators.
Depending upon its configuration and the detection criteria, the ScanPlotSM technology can examine up to 20 acres of open land per day, making it the most cost-effective way of doing this work.
ScanPlotSM combines highly sensitive gamma radiation detectors with survey-grade GPS receivers. The radiological data is processed by an on-board computer to produce spatial mapping used to indicate the locations of historic low-level radioactive waste.
In Port Hope, Amec Foster Wheeler personnel are surveying approximately 175 roads and other public rights of way. ScanPlotSM technology is being deployed on a road trailer towed behind an all-terrain utility vehicle and in push-cart and backpack versions, enabling technicians to obtain data on all types of terrain.
The work is part of the Port Hope Area Initiative, the Canadian federal government’s undertaking for the safe, long-term management of historic low-level radioactive waste – primarily soil contaminated with residue ore from former radium and uranium refining activities.