[ RadSafe ] NY Times - Fukushima Keeps Fighting Radioactive Tide 5 Years After Disaster

[Dan McCarn]

Dear Group:

The article mentions that an "ice wall" is being constructed around the
facility. Due in part to the accuracy of modern directional drilling
techniques, such a wall can be accurately and effectively constructed, even
on 1 meter drill centers. The term used in the industry is "Freeze Wall".

Concerning freeze walls, the technology has been used for 100 years and
recent developments has extended their usefulness. Soil & rock are poor
conductors of heat, so once frozen, the ground tends to remain frozen.
Shell Oil proposed this technology and tested large Freeze Walls
successfully in the Piceance Basin, NW Colorado.Freeze walls are also used
in uranium mining operations in Canada at McArthur Rivers.

Freeze solutions injected into cased wells can be brines or even anhydrous
ammonia. NaCl brine can reach -21C. a CaCl2 brine can reach -50C. Anhydrous
ammonia can reach -77C. Shell Oil chose anhydrous ammonia for their freeze
wall test.

Because of the proximity to the ocean, sea water intrusion cannot be
discounted. However, sea water freezes at -2C, so a freeze wall chilled by
either CaCL2 or anhydrous ammonia would easily serve.

 The closed freeze wall forms a very tight hydrologic barrier so that the
interior can be pumped and treated.

Dan ii

Dan W McCarn, Geologist
108 Sherwood Blvd
Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
+1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwmccarn

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 11:24 AM, Brennan, Mike (DOH) <
Mike.Brennan at doh.wa.gov> wrote:

> For decades it has been widely known that the best way to encourage
> wildlife populations, on land or at sea, to expand is to provide
> sanctuaries.  If you give animals someplace to live and breed without being
> killed by people the populations recover, then expand to outside the
> sanctuary.  I hope there are studies going on throughout the evactuation
> zone and the area closed to fishing to document the changes in wildlife, in
> terms of population, not in search of some defect that can be pointed at as
> proof of "radiation-BAD!"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of ROY HERREN
> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 3:51 AM
> To: radsafe <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] NY Times - Fukushima Keeps Fighting Radioactive
> Tide 5 Years After Disaster
>
> Ironically the closed fishing grounds will become a haven for fish and
> will undoubtedly have a greater diversity and population of fish than
> nearby open areas.  By closing the area they have in essence created a fish
> sanctuary.  One can only wonder what the nuclear skeptics will think about
> the soon to be larger (allowed to grow larger rather than being caught)
> fish that will eventually populate this closed area.
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