Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN); Section A; April 12, 1997 OAK RIDGE – Nuclear winter? A test project on the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge reservation will freeze the ground in an effort to stem the spread of radioactive contamination. Arctic Foundations Inc., a company based in Alaska, has a $1 million contract to conduct the demonstration over the next couple of years. Preliminary work will begin later this month. The project will create a barrier of …

Frozen Soil Could Stop Spread of OR Waste Read More »

Anchorage Daily News (AK); Business; October 23, 1996  The U.S. Department of Energy is testing a technique to corral a leaking nuclear waste pond using technology pioneered in Erwin Long’s back yard in the 1950’s. In a cool solution to a hot problem, the government this year chose Long’s company, Arctic Foundations Inc., to freeze the ground around a leaky pond of radioactive soil and sludge.  At Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, where the …

Agency Wants Site Put On Ice: Alaskan Called To Chill Radioactive Waste Pond Read More »

Passively refrigerated piles and gravel pads were selected as the foundation system for the new hospital in Kotzebue, Alaska Ashrae Journal; September 1993 Passive refrigeration using two-phase thermosyphons is being used to provide a stable foundation for the new $40 million hospital currently under construction at Kotzebue, Alaska. This project is reportedly the largest (in area) designed to date on a site underlain by highly variable and unbonded saline permafrost. The 80,000 ft2(7430 m2) hospital …

Using Passive Refrigeration To Stabilize Foundations In Cold Climates Read More »

Keeping it cold at Kotzebue – Veco/Nana, J.V. install passive refrigeration piles to keep the new Kotzebue hospital on frozen-solid ground  Pacific Builder & Engineer (Alaska Edition); April 5, 1993 Anchorage-based Veco Inc., in a joint venture with Nana Regional Corp. of Kotzebue, has completed what may be the largest building-foundation job in the Unites States using passive-refrigeration piles. The $4.1 million project, for the U.S. Public Health Service, is phase one of a $40 million new …

Piles Preserve Permafrost Read More »

The Anchorage Times (AK); February 22, 1990 While many Alaskans count the number of days until the big thaw, engineer Erwin “Erv” Long works to keep the ground frozen. Hidden below the surface, permafrost forms a firm but fragile foundation for life in much of Alaska. Long’s projects include repair of the permafrost blanket and advance planning to prevent scars on the surface. Long is a professional civil engineer who holds four United States and six …

Cool Hand Erv Read More »

Alaska Construction & Oil; February 1979 Always looking for a better way to do things, Erwin Long invented a self-refrigerating pile system (now used widely in Alaska), and then modified it for a variety of applications. Last year Long began fabricating and assembling the units in Anchorage instead of contracting all the work to Outside firms. Now he is developing compact, portable machines for drilling, installing and charging the units in remote areas where conventional …

Tough Alaska Conditions Prove New Pile Design’s Versatility Read More »