Studsvik has developed a comprehensive suite of Waste Characterisation tools and services, tailored to customer needs and regulatory requirements.

Our experts use industry best practice as well as our novel techniques to ensure the data produced is reliable and robust, providing a quality representation of the spread of contamination for decommissioning planning.

Studsvik has experience of all aspects of Waste Characterisation including intrusive sampling operations, fingerprint derivation and in-situ measurements. Studsvik has employed a number of innovative techniques for physical sample retrieval from a range of materials such as reactor bioshields, concrete, metals, sludges, Fuel Element Debris and ion exchange resins.

Studsvik’s in-situ characterization ranges from Health Physics monitoring equipment for alpha and beta contamination along with simple dose rate measurements, to High Resolution Gamma Spectrometry (HRGS). Studsvik operate a Canberra In-Situ Object Counting Software (ISOCS) HRGS system. ISOCS consists of a Hyper-Pure Germanium detector, including an adjustable collimator assembly, mounted on a portable trolley. ISOCS has inbuilt geometry calibrations for around a dozen common geometries e.g. boxes, drums, walls, rooms pipes etc. that allow real time assay results to be obtained.

Studsvik also have experts in Data Quality Objectives (DQO) sampling and in the use of Visual Sampling Plan (VSP) software for determining the number, and location, of intrusive samples to ensure efficient, representative and compliant sampling.

In addition to Studsvik’s sampling and in-situ measurement techniques we also operate numerous mathematical modelling codes including MicroShield, RANKERN and MCNP.  Where appropriate these mathematical codes can be used in conjunction with our in-situ measurement techniques to efficiently characterize waste.