In situ construction of containment vault under a radioactive or hazardous waste site
OwnerErnest E. Carter, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is disclosed for constructing, verifying, and maintaining underground vaults that isolate and contain radioactive burial sites. The method employs a buoyant lift technique to isolate a block of soil containing the contaminates from the surrounding soil. An impermeable synthetic liner is embedded in the vault to enhance the integrity of the system. The integrity of the vault is monitored by a system of sensors placed both inside and outside of the sealed vault. The method eliminates the need to excavate or drill in the contaminated areas.
Claims16
A method for constructing a containment structure, comprising:
- (a) forming an impermeable basin containment structure in situ around a site to be contained;
- and
- (b) sealing an impermeable containment cap to said impermeable basin containment structure so as to form a substantially air-tight vault around said site.
A method for constructing a containment structure comprising:
- (a) forming an impermeable basin containment structure in situ around a site to be contained;
- (b) installing pipes within the containment structure;
- (c) sealing an impermeable containment cap to said impermeable basin containment structure so as to form a substantially air-tight vault around said site;
- and
- d) passing electronic logging tools through the pipes to evaluate the integrity of the containment structure.
A method for constructing a containment structure comprising:
- (a) forming an impermeable basin containment structure in situ around a site to be contained;
- (b) installing acoustic transducers inside and outside the containment structure;
- (c) sealing an impermeable containment cap to said impermeable basin containment structure so as to form a substantially air-tight vault around said site;
- and
- d) locating any leak in the containment structure by monitoring the relative attenuation of acoustic energy of various frequencies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.