When Florida Power & Light (FPL) prepared to upgrade one of its nuclear power plants, it called in Stratham-based Radiation Safety and Control Services to assess disposal costs for radioactive materials. What the NH company discovered saved FPL over $27 million.
As part of the upgrade, FPL needed to dispose of old equipment, much of which it assumed would have to be treated as radioactive waste. Radiation Safety and Control Services established a process and monitored and measured radioactive levels for all equipment being disposed of to determine what was actually radioactive and what could be recycled or resold.
“We had staff doing this project for over two years. We would do detailed measurements of these large components and ended up clearing 99 percent of all of the large steel,” says Eric Darois, a principal and executive director of Radiation Safety.
Darois, along with Fred P. Straccia and James P. Tarzia, co-founded Radiation Safety and Control Services 25 years ago to service industries with radioactive materials. The company, which employs about 70 people and generates between $12 million and $15 million in annual revenue, specializes in operations and decommissioning services for nuclear power plants as well as industrial, medical and government radiological facilities. It also provides consulting services, training, instrument services (including design, installation, calibration and repair), emergency planning and specialized radiological characterization and measurements.
“We’re one of the largest [detection equipment] calibration companies in the country—a little over 10,000 calibrations a year,” Darois says.
The consulting division works on a variety of projects for clients, from making sure companies are in compliance with rules and regulations to determining levels of radiation exposure if there’s a leak to developing methods of disposal for radioactive materials. While most of its projects are in the United States, it has worked in South Korea, Mexico, Canada, Europe and the Middle East.
And it’s not just nuclear power plants that tap into the expertise at Radiation Safety and Control Services. Its clients include hospitals, architects, engineering firms, manufacturers, universities and oil and gas companies.
The firm is launching a new division this year to provide temporary workers for nuclear power plants. Darois explains when nuclear power plants need to refuel a reactor, the plant will shut down for three to six weeks and will often do corrective and maintenance work during that time. “They bring in temporary workers to augment plant staff to do that additional work. We’re starting a new endeavor to supply radiation safety temporary workers to help monitor work activities to make sure workers are safe,” Darois says. “We’re working now to get contracts in place for the fall.”
It launched another smaller division this year, ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) Physics, to service medical facilities with x-ray equipment in the Northeast. ALARA inspects equipment to ensure it is working correctly and keeping radiation exposure for patients and staff to a minimum. “It rounds out our portfolio of radiation safety services,” Darois says.
For more information, visit www.radsafety.com.
Current Issue - May 2024