Corrosion Monitoring in Hanford Nuclear Waste Storage Tanks, Design and Data From the 241-AN-102 Multi-Probe Corrosion Monitoring System

In 2007, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., contracted ARES Corporation to design and assist with fabrication and installation of a Multi-Probe Corrosion Monitoring System (MPCMS) for double-shell tank 241-AN-102 on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington State.  Developmental design work performed by ARES Corporation included laboratory testing in simulated tank 241-AN-102 waste to evaluate the metal performance for installation on the probe as secondary metal reference electrodes.  The probe design includes coupon arrays as well as a wired probe which facilitates measurement of tank potential as well as corrosion rate using electrical resistance (ER) sensors.  This paper presents the MPCMS design, field data obtained following installation of the MPCMS in tank 241-AN-102, and a comparison between laboratory potential data obtained using simulated waste and tank potential data obtained following field installation.