Optimisation of waste management from the remediation of uranium contaminated soils

• New design for measurement of beta emission of uranium in field. • Optimisation of the management of radioactive waste in the remediation of contaminated soils. • Reduction of economic and environmental costs of soil remediation. Soil remediation at nuclear sites is necessary to protect ecosystems and public health. The design of remediation includes an appropriate measurement strategy to reduce economic and environmental costs. Field measurements of soils containing natural U are challenging due to the low energy and intensity of 238 U daughter gamma emissions. Due to self-absorption at the source, the detection of the 234m Pa beta emission requires the establishment of an adequate thickness, making it difficult to measure in the field. This paper describes the design of an automated measurement system for the in situ measurement soils contaminated with uranium. The system allows the radiological classification of soils according to their level of compliance with the criterion of unrestricted release of the site. Its use has the advantage of providing results faster and at a lower cost than laboratory sampling. The result is a real optimisation of radioactive waste management.