Science Inventory

You are here:

EPA Home » Science Inventory » Search Results

Refine Your Search

Search Again

or try advanced search

Search Within

Search Criteria:

Records with

  • Keyword = 'water security' AND 'radiological'.
Records 1 to 25 of 126

2023
Filtration of radioactive fallout particles in sand filter beds
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : Dec 07, 2023]
Radioactive fallout could have debilitating effects on drinking water and wastewater systems. At least some drinking water system operators have plans to mitigate the effects of a contaminated water source, but most, if not all, wastewater operators have no such plans.  Both...
General filtration bed design for water contaminated with radioactive cesium
(SUMMARY) [Published : Feb 21, 2023]
The timely decontamination of high-density urban areas is critical in the face of a terror event involving radioactive cesium (Cs), which has a 30- year half-life with an energetic 662 keV gamma ray released during decay. This technical brief is intended for local, state and fede...
Pressure Washing Surfaces Contaminated with Fixed or Loose Radioactive Material: Best Practices for Urban Surfaces
(SUMMARY) [Published : Feb 23, 2023]
This brief provides operating information based on reviewed field experience [1] and laboratory experiments [2-5]. While it discusses general safety, this technical brief does not discuss the safe operation of pressurized sprayer equipment to avoid physical hazards which are typi...
Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool (RRLT)
(DATA/SOFTWARE) [Published : Feb 01, 2023]
The RRLT database includes detailed information on the equipment’s everyday function, its effectiveness on different surfaces and forms of radioactive contaminants, the scale for which the equipment may be applied, the skill required of the operator, utility requirements, legal a...
Strategies to minimize sediment contamination and transport in distribution systems
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Jul 31, 2023]
Drinking water storage tanks serve several important functions, which include but are not limited to providing an adequate water supply in the case of firefighting emergencies, power outages, water main breaks, or other system failures. The water level elevation in storage tanks ...
2022
Logistics Simulation of a Remediation Effort for a Hypothetical Radiological Contamination Scenario
(JOURNAL) [Published : Dec 01, 2022]
To mitigate the effects following a large-scale nuclear or radiological material release in an urban environment and to expedite recovery, the Integrated Wash-Aid Treatment Emergency Reuse System (IWATERS) was developed. IWATERS consists of three operations: washing contaminated ...
Modeling radionuclide transport in urban overland flow: A case study
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jan 26, 2022]
This paper presents the process used to develop an overland flow model of radionuclide transport following an aerosol deposition from a hypothetical radiological dispersal device explosion. The process included the integration of digital elevation, building, and land cover inform...
2021
Decision tool to support objectives, strategies, and tactics in a radiological mitigation and recovery event
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : Nov 05, 2021]
 In all, this presentation will familiarize the audience on the decision support tool’s overall versatility and breadth to which it can support objectives, strategies, and tactics not only for nuclear and radiological releases, but also chemical and biological threat a...
Decontamination of urban surfaces contaminated with radioactive materials and consequent onsite recycling of the waste water
(JOURNAL) [Published : Feb 04, 2021]
Enhancing rapid remediation strategies is paramount for recovery after a large-scale nuclear contamination event in an urban environment. Some current strategies recommend use of readily available equipment, materials, and facilities to expedite recovery. For example, applying pr...
Evaluation of Street Sweeper Spray Systems for Effective Decontamination of Fixed and Loose Radioactive Contamination
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : Nov 05, 2021]
To this end, this study partnered with a world-wide supplier of street sweepers to mimic the operation of their sweeper at the laboratory scale in order to study its capabilities and evaluate its efficacy against contaminated dust and dissolved forms of radioactive contamination....
Experiments Supporting the Design and Operation of Ad Hoc Sand/Clay Beds to Filter Contaminated Waters during Recovery - 21206
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : Apr 12, 2021]
presentation - Radioactive contaminants may be removed from contaminated waters using beds of sand and clay as part of recovery operations after a radiological contamination event. Fluid flow through mixtures of sand, silt, clay, and/or gravel have been studied extensively; howev...
Experiments Supporting the Design and Operation of Ad Hoc Sand/Clay Beds to Filter Contaminated Waters during Recovery – 21206
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2021]
In this work, we measured the flow rate of sand/clay columns as a function of saturation time, composition, and the presence of filter material at the bottom of the column.
External Dose to Recovery Teams Following a Wide-Area Nuclear or Radiological Release Event
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jun 01, 2021]
The primary objective of this study was to quantify the dose incurred to workers performing a remediation recovery effort for roadways and buildings following a wide-area release event.
Persistence of Surrogate Radionuclides on Wastewater Collection System Infrastructure
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Mar 31, 2021]
EPA Report; Results for cesium and cobalt showed that metal adhesion to conditioned infrastructure materials was undetectable. Strontium was detected on concrete coupons at levels above the method detection limit. However, further analyses of the concrete suggested that stront...
Progress on a Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool for Expedited Recovery Following a Wide Area Release – 21175
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2021]
Conference Proceedings; The purpose of the RRLT is to increase the resilience of urban communities by expediting recovery operations .
Selecting Readily Available Equipment for Wide Area Response and Recovery. RRLT: an intelligent tool for radiological incidents
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : May 19, 2021]
Through an intelligent software wizard, the RRLT helps the user understand what types of equipment might be available to accomplish general and specific recovery mission activities based on environmental and operational constraints. The purpose of the RRLT is to increase the resi...
2020
Radiological Recovery Logistics Tool – 20161
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2020]
The study reported in this paper has both factored fundamental concepts and connections out of this identification process and created a Knowledge Base detailing support goals, response scenarios, and efficacy information on dozens of equipment types. In short, RRLT will dynamica...
The Effects of Contaminant Aging on Decontamination Efficacy for Rapid Remediation of Concrete Surfaces – 20412
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2020]
In this work, we evaluated the decontamination efficacy of two decontamination methods on concrete samples contaminated with soluble cesium-137 (Cs-137) and silica particles with 0.5-μm and 2-μm diameters.
The Effects of Contaminant Aging on decontamination of concrete surfaces - 20412
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : Mar 12, 2020]
In this work, we evaluated the decontamination efficiency of two decontamination methods on concrete samples contaminated with soluble cesium-137 (Cs-137) and silica particles with 0.5-μm and 2-μm diameters. Concrete samples were aged between 1 and 59 days, with half of the...
Wash Penalty Factors: Insight into the Effects of Water Wash Down of Building Materials for RN Decontamination – 20153
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 12, 2020]
The decontamination efficacy and the depth profile for residual contamination were measured to determine the conditions under which applying a wash solution has benefit compared to physically removing the surface material. To aid in these analyses, we introduced a “wash penalty f...
Wash Penalty Factors: Insight into the effects of water wash down of building materials for RN decontamination - Presentation
(PRESENTATION) [Presented : Mar 12, 2020]
This Presentation we will discuss ,the decontamination efficacy and the depth profile for residual contamination as it was measured to determine the conditions for which applying a wash solution has benefit compared to physically removing the surface material. To aid in these an...
Water-On-Wheels (WOW) Mobile Emergency Water Treatment System Cart - User Manual
(PUBLISHED REPORT) [Published : Jun 30, 2020]
Treatment Train: •Up to 10 gallons per minute •Pre-filtration to reduce turbidity and improve disinfection •Two media filtration/adsorption tanks for targeted chemical or radiological contaminant removal (e.g. Granular Activated Carbon or Ion Exchange) •UV LED for additional ...
2019
A case study of cesium sorption onto concrete materials and evaluation of wash agents: Implications for wide area recovery
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jun 01, 2019]
The sorption and desorption properties of radionuclides onto common building materials such as concrete are critical factors in the improvement of techniques for mitigating a release of nuclear or radiological material to the urban environment. A potential option for the early p...
Compressing the Recovery Timeline for an Urban Contamination Event -19539
(PAPER IN NON-EPA PROCEEDINGS) [Published : Mar 07, 2019]
The study was devised to connect emergency management and homeland security offices at the city, state, and federal agencies and discuss the availability and potential response capabilities of equipment reserves. This project focused on connecting with relevant emergency manageme...
Evaluating Solid Sorbents for Recycling Wash Waters Containing Strontium and Calcium
(JOURNAL) [Published : Jan 01, 2019]
A radiological release from a radiological dispersal device (RDD) or an improvised nuclear device (IND) has the potential to contaminate a vast area both near the dispersal epicenter and via atmospheric deposition of small particles containing the more volatile contaminants. Rapi...