Wachs Services and the NASA Glenn Plum Brook Station Decommissioning Story
In early August 2003, ‘Wachs Technical Services” removed three components known as Horizontal Beam Tubes. These tubes were metal pipes that ran through the side of the reactor vessel wall adjacent to the reactor’s core box and were used in experiments when the reactor was operational. Because these tubes contained a significant portion of the radiation remaining in the reactor vessel, NASA made their removal the first order of business during segmentation.

The Wachs crew removed the tubes in the manner they had practiced — remotely — operating specially articulated tooling, while looking into camera monitors to minimize exposure. The crew used a special air-activated table device to guide the tubes out of the side of the reactor and into one of the quadrants (Quadrant D) of the reactor Facility. Then the worker used a specially designed, remotely operated band saw to cut through the tubes, after which an overhead crane lifted the cut pieces out of the quadrant and into a stainless steel liner. The crew used a remote device to insert a stainless steel plug into the hole in the reactor wall and made use of a special Cask Transfer System (involving the large capacity crane, cart mounted on trolley-like tracks) to move the external ends of the Horizontal Beam Tubes into a dedicated area of Quadrant A. There they underwent further size reduction and temporary storage in the liner. The crew moved the “hotter” ends — the ones that had been inside the reactor tank in a specialized storage cask.
 
 

On-Site Services & Specialized Equipment Design... A Winning Combination
The Wachs Companies “Special Products Group” can custom tailor machinery to fit your requirements. Whether it’s specialized tooling, modifications to standard “Wachs” machinery, or a custom one-off machine for a specific application.

We work hand in hand with you to build exactly what is required for your application. Our engineers have extensive experience in designing custom machinery for use in hazardous environments to minimize human intervention and increase safety.

Combined with “Wachs Technical Services” field machining and welding expertise, the Wachs Companies are well positioned to offer on-site project management, design engineers and certified technicians to handle your project needs.
 
 
Case Studies

The following Case Studies highlight several Decommissioning, On-Site Welding and Field Machining projects performed by Wachs Technical Services.  Please click the links for more information.

Decommisioning Projects

 
Field Machining
 
Welding