A laser-based solution to industrial decontamination problems Available to Purchase

The ability of lasers to deposit significant amounts of energy on surfaces located at large distances from the laser can be exploited to solve very difficult industrial problems. The Ames Laboratory has been working in partnership with Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies (LMIT) to apply laser technologies to the decontamination of radioactively contaminated surfaces located in hostile environments. Many such applications exist within former USDOE and nuclear industry facilities. As opposed to laser coating removal systems, which are designed to “strip” relatively soft coatings from a substrate without damage to the substrate, the system being developed by Ames - LMIT is designed to remove contaminants that are embedded within the metal surface itself. The system generates irradiance levels sufficient to remove microns of metal from a surface and an off-gas system that prevents the redeposition of materials removed from the surface. Process control is assisted by monitoring the laser-generated plasma produced during laser surface ablation. Results achieved using this apparatus for various metal types will be presented along with a discussion of other potential industrial applications.