ORTEC INTRODUCES AURAS-3000 FREE-RELEASE WASTE ASSAY COUNTER

Oak Ridge, TN – The ORTEC Products Group of AMETEK Advanced Measurement Technology has introduced the AURAS-3000 free-release waste assay counter for handling bulk quantities of low-level radioactive waste prior to disposal.

“The fully automated AURAS-3000 system is particularly well suited for nuclear plant decommissioning projects, where having the ability to free release waste greatly reduces waste disposal costs,” notes Tim Twomey, Product Manager for ORTEC Products Group. “The AURAS-3000 can handle bulk quantities of waste up to 3 cubic meters and weighing up to 3000 kilograms.”

“The innovative AURAS-3000 system provides full quantitative assay of all detectable gamma emitters with non-gamma emitter estimates by correlated scaling factors.  It also offers individual and averages activity and MDA reporting and achieves free-release detection limits within moderately short count times,“ adds Twomey.

The AURAS-3000 incorporates four ORTEC Interchangeable Detector Modules (IDM’s) that each feature a large-area high-purity Germanium (HPGe) detector measuring 85mm in diameter, cooled by a Stirling-cycle Cooler and incorporating advanced digital signal processing electronics. The size of the HPGe detectors contributes directly to the low MDA achievable with the AURAS-3000.

ORTEC ISOPLUS Version 4.1 software provides data analysis under  a simple automated user interface written in National Instruments Labview . The analysis allows multiple estimates of container activity content to be computed, compared and averaged.  The system also incorporates extensive safety features to ensure its safe operation.