General Description
Hydrofracking releases trapped radiation, including Radon, from underground formations into mobile water flow, including groundwater, or industry generated wastewater, sludge, or brine. Hydrofracking Radon Portable Water Monitor System, Radon-7, provides quick detection on site of Radon contamination generated by the hydrofracking process in groundwater, wastewater, sludge, and brine:
Also detects Alpha emitters and Thorium in water samples
Portable instrumentation provides quick response for: Roadside / Chemical Spill; Industrial Accident; Improper Dumping of Industrial Waste.
End Users: Oil and Gas Industry, First Responders, state and federal health agencies, citizen groups, municipal utilities.
Technical Description
The Hydrofracking Radon Portable Water Monitor System operates with a continuous water flow through the lower section of the sample head. Some of the suspended Radon gas escapes from the water due to its vapor pressure. If desired, the amount of, Radon escaping can be increased by heating, agitating, bubbling, etc. The resulting radon gas is detected by the alpha scintillation in the upper chamber. The count rate from the alpha scintillator detector is displayed on the alarming AC-DC Ratemeter. Alarm levels are user specified. The Hydrofracking Radon Portable Water Monitor System Includes:
Sample Head, FLO-9
Alpha Scintillator, PAS-8
Alarming Ratemeter, LAM-10
Evaluation Criteria
THROUGHPUT:
Between 2 and 15 minutes for detection
Continuous operation with no defined runs
System is continuous and provides real time analysis with no defined tests/samples
The system or device is currently fully automated
Device or system is intended for multiple detection assays
0-1 solutions, buffer, eluents, and/or reagents
0 components
No set-up of the system is required for set-up
Automatic detection
LOGISTICS:
An afternoon of training and some technical skills required
Approximately the size of a toaster
Between 1 and 5 kg
This system is not capable of transmitting data
System or device uses batteries
4-8 hours battery life
OPERATIONS:
Can be used from 4°C to 37°C
Performance is not influenced by relative humidity
Greater than 10 years expected life
Results can be viewed in real-time
The system is not capable of autonomy
The system does not employ any software
The system hardware is open and available for modification
DETECTION:
Greater than 250 µL
Fair specificity. System has a consistent level of false alarms (5-10%)
Only dose rate
Down to background level radiation for dose rate
System is used for surveying
Tier Selection
The in-depth, 99 question survey used to evaluate all detectors was weighted and scored by subject matter experts. The question weighting was specific to each of the four scenarios. Once all the detectors were scored, they were placed into tiers based on how they compared to other detectors of the same type (bio, chem or rad) and scenario (field, mobile, diagnostic, and analytical).
Field Use
Mobile
Diagnostic
Analytical
Tier Key:
Top Tier
Second Tier
Third Tier
Fourth Tier
Bottom Tier
Scoring Analysis
System scores are compared across the four scenarios and ranked from highest to lowest.
Impact Chart
The Impact Chart is a spider graph representing specific categories and designed to give the reader a visual depiction of how a particular system is expected to operate across the four different scenarios. The score for each of the seven categories is presented as the percentage of the total possible score. Higher category scores extend the spokes of a graphic toward the outer edge of the chart. The area graphed for each of the four scenarios relates to how well the system performed in that scenario. Graphics for each of the four scenarios are super-imposed for ease of comparison.
Top Tier
Second Tier
Third Tier
Fourth Tier
Bottom Tier
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