36
Low-Cost
Strippable Fixatives--Gumbs
Associates, Inc.,
Dr.
Ronald W. Gumbs, Principal Investigator, gumbs@att.net
Dr.
Ronald W. Gumbs, Business Official, gumbs@att.net
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83670
Amount:
$100,000
This
project addresses the need to control airborne radiological contamination by
developing a novel fixative and assessing its ability to both affix
contamination and contain dispersible alpha contamination, completely and
permanently and at low cost. The
specific goal will be the development of a series of strippable coatings, based
on high-molecular-weight polystyrene/acrylic graft copolymers, whose cost is
estimated at one-tenth the cost of existing strippable coatings. The
fixatives will meet the waste acceptance criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant. In Phase I, strippable
coatings with strong mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, will be
prepared and evaluated as removable fixatives, permitting the use of thin films
with fast drying times. They will be evaluated on contaminated horizontal and
vertical surfaces using finely dispersed pigments and stable isotopes of cesium
and strontium to simulate contaminants.