PNNL

Abstract

The Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer (RASA) is an automated aerosol collection and analysis system designed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the 1990’s and is deployed in several locations around the world as part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) required under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The utility of such an automated system is the reduction of human intervention and the production of perfectly uniform results. However, maintainability and down time issues threaten this utility, even for systems with over 90% data availability. Engineering upgrades to the RASA are currently being pursued to address these issues, as well as Fukushima lessons learned. Current work includes a new automation control unit, and other potential improvements such as alternative detector cooling and sampling options are under review. This paper presents the current state of upgrades and improvements under investigation