Re: Help with Size-Reducing Gloveboxes

[Brian Rees <brees@lanl.gov>]

Have you contacted the Hanford ALARA center?  It's actually a useful
product of a DOE facility.

(Obviously) My own opinion 


At 09:48 AM 12/21/98 -0600, you wrote:
>RADSAFERs,
>
>Maybe some of you can provide us some creative suggestions.
>
>We here at Rocky Flats are in the process of D&Ding a major Pu facility.
>The current work involves size-reducing highly contaminated Pu gloveboxes.
>The Rad Con approach we have taken so far, is to build a HEPA-filtered tent
>around the boxes in a room, apply a fixative inside the box, set up
>localized vent suction near any cuts, and send workers into the tent in
>"bubble suits" and supplied air to cut up the box.
>
>While this approach has proven successful in getting a lot of gloveboxes
>removed in a short time, we have had a few problems.  Most notably, we have
>had several incidents of very high Pu DAC values in the tent (800K, 1.6 M,
>etc.)
>
>We are looking for creative suggestions for "engineering controls" to do
>this work in the future so that we can get people out of supplied air, and
>get workers out of potentially hazardous (high-DAC) environments.  Any
>suggestions y'all could offer to "bag the work, not the worker" would be
>appreciated.  
>
>Thanks for your help.
>
>Bates Estabrooks
>Rocky Flats
>303-966-3769
>Page: 303-212-6469
>Fax: 303-966-6783
>bates.estabrooks@rfets.gov
>
>
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