The gate, which measures the radioactive concentrations of waste generated from decontamination work as the waste being loaded onto vehicles, is portable, allowing it to be both easily transported and installed.
When measuring concentrations of radioactivity in waste generated from decontamination after it has been placed in flexible containers known as “flecons,” workers face the risk of radioactivity exposure. In 2013, the two companies thus developed Truck Scan for the quick and accurate measurement of the radioactivity of multiple flecons already loaded onto vehicles.
The portable system was developed after the Japan’s Ministry of the Environment issued a guidance requiring all flecons to have their radiation measured in temporary storage places before being transported to interim storage facilities.
With four integrated detectors per vehicle (normally a 10-ton truck with eight flecons), the measurement with the new system takes 30 seconds less than the previous version. Additional mechanisms to automatically adjust the height of the detectors make it easier for them to cope with different sizes of vehicles flexibly and accurately.
The technology, which has been adopted by the Environment Ministry as a project demonstrating decontamination and volume reduction, is currently having its effectiveness verified at Tomioka Town in Fukushima Prefecture.
