Successfully customized Samplers: Visit at Andra Centre de Stockage de l’Aube

In 2021 we received a special request for the French atomic waste storage center Andra centre de stockage de l’Aube. on the premises of the storage center, the radioactivity of the particles in the air is monitored with customized samplers that sample high volumes of air on filter papers as well as on iodine cartridges.

Andra asked our partner Megatec to deliver two High Volume samplers DH77 and three Low Volume Samplers with a special configuration. The High Volume Samplers were quite easy to adjust to their needs. Some special software configuration and a few mechanical add ons made a standard DH77 their perfect fit.

The Low Volume Samplers were more difficult: they should have a flow of 50lpm, a cartridge for a fibre filter and two iodine cartridges, a sensor to check the position of the cartridge, and additional heatings to keep the relative humidity of the air through the cartridges below 30%, as the cartridges do not like humid air.

After the technical details were clear, we started developing the solution. We delivered the systems late in 2021 and the installation took place in early 2022.

In March 2023, after one year of use, the first yearly maintenance was due. Our partners Mégatec and M2AM were on site and Andreas and I joined them to give some training, discuss any questions and solve the last few software bugs of the customized samplers.

Here are some pictures of the visit. The big concrete blocks in the back are where the waste is stored. It is very interesting to see how this process is managed to ensure the safety of humans and nature. We would like to thank the people from Andra for the warm welcome and the explanations about their work, as well as M2AM and Megatec for their services!

People at work

Andreas’ room mate for the night. Late night improvements to the customized software.

Fabrice, Jean-Clair et moi 🙂

Regula Muther

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