Monitoring equipment used to assess exposure to radiation. Large, reinforced-concrete, underground containers with two steel inner liners to contain liquid wastes. The space between the liners has instruments to detect leaks from the inner liner. See also single-shell tanks. Rock chips cut by a bit in the process of well drilling and removed from the hole in the drilling mud in rotary drilling or by the bailer in cable-tool drilling.
Drill cuttings collected at closely spaced intervals provide a record of the strata penetrated.
A carefully formulated heavy suspension, usually in water but sometimes in oil, used in rotary drilling. It commonly consists of bentonitic clays, chemical additives, and weighting materials such as barite. The mud is used to lubricate and cool the bit, to carry the cuttings up from the bottom, and to prevent blowouts and cave-ins. A modification to storage drums to vent gases that build up over time due to chemical reactions. Systems usually include a high efficiency particulate air filter to prevent release of radioactive particles.