Noninvasive Mercury Detection on Surfaces

Nuclear energy and weapons production historically have been a source of large-scale environmental contamination throughout the world. As a result, nuclear facilities have been found with mercury contamination on the surfaces of buildings and structures. The contaminated surfaces require careful removal as to not further spread mercury to soil and ground water, putting the health of all living beings at risk. The challenge lies in developing a technology that can noninvasively, efficiently, and inexpensively identify the surfaces containing mercury, allowing for careful removal and disposal. A mercury detection system that can easily maneuver over surfaces and sample along its path while reporting real-time analysis and contaminant location, will allow for strategic removal of contamination for proper disposal. This will minimize the rest of the demo’d building materials requiring higher priced disposal as mercury contaminated. The detection system will be comprised of heated sampling heads in a variety of sizes that can be used to navigate along a surface while circumventing any obstructions and capturing mercury vapors to be analyzed in real-time. A deployment arm and portable mercury analyzer will allow for the maneuverability required for a complete survey. The data points captured from the laser mapping and mercury analyzer will later be combined with to create a 3D representation of all contaminated surfaces. Phase I will require first determining the temperature at which different surface materials need to be heated for sufficient mercury vapor sampling and the length of time in which each material requires to reach the desired temperature. Next, it is necessary to determine the optimal sample head designs needed for sampling both large (square foot) sections of surfaces as well as hard to reach surfaces. Finally, it will be important to determine the speed in which the sample head can be moved along a surface while sampling. Phase II of this project will include the construction of the sampler heads and deployment arm for easy maneuverability and safe handling. Next, a ruggedized and easily transportable mercury analyzer housing will be constructed. Finally, phase II will focus on the integration of contamination data points with laser mapping technology to ensure a 3D mapping of all mercury on surfaces. The development of a technology that allows for real-time, in-situ detection and mapping of mercury on structure surfaces allows for strategic demolition and removal, greatly reducing project timelines and disposal costs and resulting in a significant overall cost savings. As there is not currently a noninvasive technology that can both map and detect mercury contaminated surfaces on a large-scale structure, it is anticipated that more than one agency will be interested in contracting this innovation for cleanup of labs, Superfund, industrial sites, and nuclear facilities across the country.