Contaminated debris

There is also a significant hazard posed by injection of toxins through contact with contaminated debris. Appropriate protection to avoid any potential laceration or puncture of the skin is essential. 

Radiation from a dirty bomb can emanate from a blast site in a contaminated plume of smoke or in contaminated debris. Radiation cannot be detected without special instruments, and radiation exposures can occur even without direct contact. Therefore, leaving a damaged building does not eliminate the risk of exposure. An effective tool to minimize or eliminate the potential for hazardous substance exposure is to move away from the site of the attack and into a building that provides protection from airborne contaminants. 

Phase 1 Contaminated Debris and Newly Identified Wastes, F037 and F038 Petroleum Phase 11 Set Treatment Standards (BDAT) for TC Wastes and Establish Universal Treatment Standards... 

Normrock Industries, Inc., has developed the Amphibex amphibious excavator. The system can be used to remove contaminated debris and sediment from river beds and lakes. Amphibex... 

Among the factors that affect the cost are soil moisture content, boiling point or vapor pressure of contaminants, debris content of the waste, and other soil characteristics (D10350U,... 

There are two general methods used to process the contaminated debris ... 

The contaminated waste processor handles materials, such as surface-contaminated debris, that are lighter and less reactive than those processed in the deactivation furnace. Contaminated waste processors are thin-walled, stationary ovens that heat contaminated materials to about 600°C for 3 to 4 hours. The purpose of this process is not to destroy contaminated debris but to lower contaminant levels to meet Army safety standards. AEC currently is helping to develop standardized time and temperature processing requirements to meet these safety standards. 

A recent U.S. Army study (performed by Battelle) identified, described, and evaluated technologies to facilitate remediation of oversize ex-plosives-contaminated debris. During composting of explosives-contaminated soil at military installations, such debris interferes with the operation of the flail-type windrow equipment used to turn and aerate the composting soil. The study examined size reduction and return of the crushed debris to the compost pile and removal of the contaminants from the debris followed by disposal of the cleaned debris. If the debris is to be returned to the compost pile, the particle size must be less than V2-inch diameter. For removal, the explosives contaminants level must be reduced to below 30 mg/kg. 

The identification, quantification, and characterization of the contaminants present at a site form the logical and necessary basis to study the applicability of a treatment technology. Characteristics influencing selection of remedial options for explosives-contaminated debris include ... 

Quantity of Debris Requiring Remediation The quantity of explosives-contaminated debris is in the range of 2,000 to 25,000 tons. The debris is assumed to be 20% of the total weight of the soil being composted. 

The technology evaluation for treatment of explosives-contaminated debris assumes that the concentration of energetic material in the soil with debris is below the AEC reactivity threshold and does not exhibit RCRA ignitability or reactivity characteristics. 

Although high-temperature thermal treatment has proven effective, the cost for process implementation historically has been high. As a result, this study focused on evaluation of low-temperature treatment technologies for the explosives-contaminate debris. 

Much contaminated debris is incompatible with flail-type windrow aeration equipment used for composting due to its large size. Physical size reduction is an effective option for preparing the debris for compatibility with the windrow equipment. Crushing is a standard method to reduce the particle size of rock materials. The size-reduced debris would be returned to the composting system to reduce the explosives concentrations to the remedial action objective levels. The crushing process will use mechanical size reduction equipment to crush the large debris. 

BatteUe personnel contacted manufacturers and vendors of these types of crushers to determine the applicability of the equipment types to the specific requirements for the explosives-contaminated debris. Toothed-roll crushers would be unable to achieve the required size reduction. This type of equipment was not recommended by the manufacturers and/or vendors. 

Researchers at Roy F. Weston performed treatability studies of washing explosives-contaminated debris with water and surfactants. Due to the low water solubility of the explosives, washing with water alone did not remove the contaminants to the 30 mg/kg level. However, washing with a surfactant was able to decrease concentrations to below the 30 mg/kg level. 

Evaluation of Processes for Remediating Explosives-Contaminated Debris,... 

Extraction using the femoral vein is a much more versatile approach, hi reality, extraction via the femoral vein may be used as a primary approach and is the procedure of choice for extraction of broken or cut leads that are free-floating in the venous system, heart, or pulmonary artery. It is also the technique of choice in situations of grossly contaminated venous entry sites where there is risk of pushing contaminated debris into the central circulation by the superior approach. There are a variety of techniques for extracting leads by the femoral vein approach (Table 6.6). 

Problems that Contaminated Debris Pose for Concrete... 

Sodium silicate was most effective in reducing the set time of portland cement mixed with highly contaminated debris, followed by silica fume and calcium chloride. Calcium nitrite was ineffective at reducing the set time for highly contaminated wastes. 

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