Radiation Portal Monitors for Characterization of Radioactive Waste Containment

Radiation portal monitors are large volume radiation detectors typically positioned along roadways, railways, and pedestrian portals. They are typically used for the detection of radioactive material where no such material is expected. Applications include monitoring vehicles and personnel exiting nuclear facilities, at the entrance to steel and scrap metal facilities, and at ports of entry, such as international borders and ports.

The Port Hope Project involves the cleanup of approximately 1.2 million cubic metres of historic low-level radioactive waste from various sites in Port Hope. The waste is a consequence of past practices involving the refining of radium and uranium by a former federal Crown corporation, Eldorado Nuclear Limited, and its private-sector predecessors. It involves the construction of a new Long-Term Waste Management Facility at the site of an existing, closed low-level radioactive waste management facility located in Ontario, Canada.

Each truck passes through a radiation portal monitor coupled with a scale when travelling between the waste location and waste storage facility. The radiation portal monitors have been calibrated to provide an estimate of the total radioactivity being deposited into the new waste facility.. This paper describes the methodology developed for such a project.