ions Soil Cleanup Operat ns handling of debris was necessary, personnel wore anticontamination clothing and gloves to protect againstcuts. Whenpersonnel were required to walk through mud brought up from the crypt, they wore rubber boots. The radiation safety procedures at the Aomon Crypt were closely monitored to assure that personnel were being adequately protected. DOE-ERSP was responsible forall soil sampling and analysis. Prior to operations, they conducted studies to determine the radiological condition of the surface and subsurface soil. One of these studies was the in situ characterization of the soil surface using the IMP van. The other was laboratory chemical analysis in conjunction with the deep drilling exploration previously mentioned. When excavation began, DOE-ERSP was faced with the unusual requirement to sample soil underwater. A bottom sampling device, nicknamed the ‘‘bomb,”’ was borrowed from Mid-Pacific Research Laboratory (MPRL). This bomb (shownin Figures 7-36 and 7-37) was very efficient and simple to operate. The soil sampling portion of the device consisted of two spring-loaded steel half-cylinders with an automatic tripping mechanism. The bomb was lowered by a rope which was knotted at 12-inch intervals to gauge the depth at which the samples were taken. When the trip mechanism touched the bottom, the weight of the device released the spring, causing the two half cylinders to close in on FIGURE 7-36. BOTTOM SAMPLING DEVICE.