Mobile Plasma Arc Gasification to Treat Radioactive Fukushima Suits

Image Credit: Shutterstock/ Bob Orsillo 20 August 2012 Reno, Nevada based mobile plasma arc gasification technology developer, Vision Plasma Systems (PINKSHEETS: VLNX) has reached an agreement with Cell Runner Inc. of Japan for the sale of two of its Arc Master I Units for use in the treatment of contaminated waste hazmat suits at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. Vision Plasma said that the initial units will be used to remediate over 5000 suits used daily by cleanup crews working in the Facility, at a cost of $5.8 million per unit. Cell Runner of Japan is an intermediary technology provider to many commercial businesses and government agencies. Pending review of this initial performance of the ArcMaster I units' remediation capabilities, the developer said that it was optimistic that it win orders for as many 23 more units on current Cell Runner proposals. According to Vision Plasma the Arc Master I mobile unit has the ability to be deployed on site to safely dispose of the rubberised contaminated overalls, eliminating the need for costly transportation and the risk of any hazardous radiation exposure to the environment. The company explained that contaminated hazmat suits used by the workers in and around the disaster area have been stockpiled for over a year, unable to be incinerated or disposed of by any traditional process. Mobile plasma arc gasification According to its developer the system is the first of its kind, was designed to deploy a clean remediation solution to various global corporations, military, government, and municipal customers. The unit is claimed to be capable of converting up to 5 tons per day of hazardous wastes and other matter into syngas, net electricity, and recyclable metal ingot, without any air emissions or ash from the gasification process. Built inside two ISO 40' metal containers, the company said that the Arc Master I can be transported by truck, rail, ship, or plane worldwide to provide a fast and mobile solution to the remediation of all forms of waste. Furthermore the system is also said to be entirely self-powering, creating its own energy from the waste that it processes, and creating up to 240 kW of usable electricity. Vision Plasma said that it has provided technical support and advice on how to remediate the massive tsunami debris as well as how the Arc Master I can reduce the affected volumes of radiated debris from the Fukushima reactor site, as the radiated debris would be vitrified for removal so that long term containment can be accomplished. Twenty year clean up The environmental cleanup effort is believed to be the largest in modern history, and according to the suplpier the Arc Master I's mobility will be key to the environmentally proper remediation of all the debris types including accumulated ash from improper incineration. Additionally the company added that the Arc Master I's ability to produce excess electrical energy in these distributed areas will be an invaluable resource as well. The cleanup in Japan is expected to take two or more decades and cost in excess of $90 billion over the next 20 years. Read More Radioactive Waste Facility for Fukushima Daiichi Plant A temporary facility is under construction to store radioactive waste (sludge) generated in the processing of radiation-tainted water, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc. (TEPCO). $1.3 Billion Nuclear Contract at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant San Francisco based engineering and construction company, URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) has led a partnership that has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage and operate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. Nuclear Waste Storage: Lessons from Japan The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was stacked high with more uranium than it was originally designed to hold and had repeatedly missed mandatory safety checks over the past decade according to a Reuters special report. Free Magazine Subscription Free Email Newsletter