43 research outputs found
Photograph of Andrew Inglis Clark's wife Grace
Photograph of Andrew Inglis Clark's wife Grac
Performance of novel VUV-sensitive Silicon Photo-Multipliers for nEXO
Liquid xenon time projection chambers are promising detectors to search for
neutrinoless double beta decay (0), due to their response
uniformity, monolithic sensitive volume, scalability to large target masses,
and suitability for extremely low background operations. The nEXO collaboration
has designed a tonne-scale time projection chamber that aims to search for
0 of \ce{^{136}Xe} with projected half-life sensitivity of
~yr. To reach this sensitivity, the design goal for nEXO is
1\% energy resolution at the decay -value (~keV).
Reaching this resolution requires the efficient collection of both the
ionization and scintillation produced in the detector. The nEXO design employs
Silicon Photo-Multipliers (SiPMs) to detect the vacuum ultra-violet, 175 nm
scintillation light of liquid xenon. This paper reports on the characterization
of the newest vacuum ultra-violet sensitive Fondazione Bruno Kessler VUVHD3
SiPMs specifically designed for nEXO, as well as new measurements on new test
samples of previously characterised Hamamatsu VUV4 Multi Pixel Photon Counters
(MPPCs). Various SiPM and MPPC parameters, such as dark noise, gain, direct
crosstalk, correlated avalanches and photon detection efficiency were measured
as a function of the applied over voltage and wavelength at liquid xenon
temperature (163~K). The results from this study are used to provide updated
estimates of the achievable energy resolution at the decay -value for the
nEXO design
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Removal of gadolinium nitrate from heavy water
Work was conducted to develop a cost-effective process to purify 181 55-gallon drums containing spent heavy water moderator (D2O) contaminated with high concentrations of gadolinium nitrate, a chemical used as a neutron poison during former nuclear reactor operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS). These drums also contain low level radioactive contamination, including tritium, which complicates treatment options. Presently, the drums of degraded moderator are being stored on site. It was suggested that a process utilizing biological mechanisms could potentially lower the total cost of heavy water purification by allowing the use of smaller equipment with less product loss and a reduction in the quantity of secondary waste materials produced by the current baseline process (ion exchange)
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Chlorine demand of Savannah River water
Savannah River water used for cooling SRS reactors was tested for chlorine demand and the rate of decay for both free and total residual chlorine on seven quarterly dates between 1986 and 1988. Test conditions included chlorine dosages of 1, 3, and 5 mg/l and a variety of contact times ranging from less than 1 minute to one day. Statistically significant differences were detected in the chlorine demand for the seven dates; however, there was no discernible seasonality to the variation. The chlorine demand, amount of combined residual chlorine formed and the persistence of total residual chlorine following a dose of 5 mg/l was significantly greater on one of the seven sampling dates (February, 1988) compared to all of the other dates. These differences could not be attributed to water temperature, pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration, or the amount of rainfall prior to or during the collection of the cooling water. Except as noted above, dissipation of chlorine was similar among the sampling dates. Most reactions of available chlorine with other constituents in the cooking water occurred in the first minute of contact, although measurable total chlorine residuals generally persisted for 24 hours after the dose had been administered. The results of this study indicate that, with occasional exceptions, a chlorine dose of between 3 and 5 mg/l will provide a free chlorine residual of 1 mg/l in Savannah River water. 14 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs
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D-Area Drip Irrigation-Phytoremediation Project: SRTC Final Report
Groundwater in D-Area at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and by-products resulting from discharges of this organic solvent during past operations. Several potential clean-up strategies are being or have been investigated, including a novel drip irrigation-phytoremediation process that is the focus of the treatability study described in this report. The contaminated groundwater in D-Area occurs primarily at depths of 30 to 50 feet below ground surface, well below the depths that are typically penetrated by plant roots. The system investigated in this study involved pumping water from the contaminated aquifer and discharging the water into overlying test plots below the surface using drip irrigation. The test plots contained pines, cottonwoods, or no vegetation (controls). The primary objective was to determine the overall effectiveness of the process for TCE removal and to elucidate the biotic and abiotic pathways for its removal
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Drip Irrigation Aided Phytoremediation for Removal of TCE from Groundwater
Groundwater in D-Area at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and by-products resulting from discharges of this organic solvent during past disposal practices. This contaminated groundwater occurs primarily at depths of 9 meters to 15 meters below ground surface, well below the depths that are typically penetrated by plant roots. The process investigated in this study involved pumping water from the contaminated aquifer and discharging the water into overlying test plots two inches below the surface using drip irrigation. The field treatability study was conducted from 8/31/00 to 4/18/02 using six 0.08 hectare test plots, two each containing pines, cottonwoods, and no vegetation (controls). The primary objective was to determine the overall effectiveness of the process for TCE removal and to determine the principal biotic and abiotic pathways for its removal. Results demonstrated that the process provides a viable method to remove TCE-contaminated groundwater. The data clearly showed that the presence of trees reduced volatilization of TCE from the drip irrigation system to the atmosphere. Influent groundwater TCE concentrations averaging 89 mg/L were reduced to non-detectable levels (less than 5 mg/L) within the upper two feet of soil (rhizosphere)
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Effects of K-Reactor pre-operational cold flow testing on total suspended solids in Pen Branch
Total suspended solids (TSS) levels were monitored by SRL Environmental Sciences personnel at two locations in the Pen Branch Creek system in conjunction with K Reactor cold flow (pump) testing required as part of the reactor restart effort. The TSS data were compared with flow and rainfall data collected simultaneously in an effort to obtain insight on the suspension and movement for particulate material in the Pen Branch system in response to natural and operational causes. Pump testing clearly caused higher TSS levels at the two sampling locations. The artificially elevated TSS levels were more pronounced at a sampling location near the reactor than at a sampling location farther downstream. Although the environmental data provided by this study were obtained and used exclusively for process control and research purposes, rather than for formal regulatory compliance (i.e. NPDES monitoring), the TSS levels determined by the comprehensive testing were compared with NPDES limits required at various SRS outfalls. TSS values in Pen Branch were seldom in excess of these limits. Because of the relatively few times that TSS values at the two sampling locations exceeded typical'' NPDES limits, and the fact that occasional relatively high TSS values could clearly be solely attributed to rainfall, it was concluded that no major adverse environmental impacts were caused to the Pen Branch system as a result of the K-Reactor pre-operational pump testing
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A Simple, Inexpensive in Situ Method for Assessing Acute Toxicity of Effluents to Fish
Test chambers for conducting in situ fish bioassays were constructed from 8L polyethylene bottles. Yearling fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and young-of-the-year bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) demonstrated greater than 50 percent survival in the chambers after 65 days of exposure in a reservoir, river, and creek. Fathead minnow survival was substantially greater than that of bluegills. The chambers provide a simple, inexpensive, sensitive technique to screen effluents for toxicity
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Selecting an Algicide for Use with Aluminum Alloys
This paper discusses the testing and results of five relatively noncorrosive commercially available compounds compared with one another and with sodium hypochlorite for their potential applicability as algicides in water systems containing aluminum alloys
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Microbiological analyses of samples from the H-Area injection well test site
Microbial populations in well water from monitoring wells at the test site were one to three orders of magnitude higher than well water from the Cretaceous aquifer (used as dilution water for the tests) or from a control well adjacent to the test site facility. Coupons samples placed in monitoring and control wells demonstrated progressive adhesion by microbes to materials used in well construction. Samples of material scraped from test well components during abandonment of the test site project revealed the presence of a variety of attached microbes including iron bacteria. Although the injection wells at the actual remediation facility for the F- and H-Area seepage basins remediation project are expected to be subjected to somewhat different conditions (e.g. considerably lower iron concentrations) than was the case at the test site, the potential for microbiologically mediated clogging and fouling within the process should be considered. A sampling program that includes microbiological testing is highly recommended