Operators at the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory are evaluating and replacing the old equipment that led to two small fires in the synchrotron’s main tunnel earlier this semester. The fires occurred in two small power supplies that provide energy for the synchrotron’s vacuum pumps. The damage done was minimal and localized, but it called attention to the aging machinery still used in parts of the synchrotron. The fires also brought up safety concerns about the accessibility of the tunnel in the event of an emergency.

Ground control to Major Tom: The synchrotron in Wilson Laboratory recently had two fires sparked by old equipment. Laboratory operators are evaluating and replacing some of the old equipment.David Rice, technical director of the laboratory, said, “These [power supplies] have been running for over 30 years now and essentially they’re reaching the end of their life.” He also stressed the contained nature of the two fires. “It [was] almost all smoke ... the heat was very localized. We were running within six hours after the fire department left in both cases.”

“After the first such fire … we initiated a program to replace all of [the power supplies],” Rice said. Following the second fire, “we accelerated that program and have already replaced some of the ones that were in more severe service,” he added. “The two fires were in two different types of power supplies,” Rice said. “Next week we are replacing more than half of the type that caused the first fire.”

He also stressed that the replacement process will take time. “The replacement is really limited by how quickly vendors can supply us with new supplies. … Just as fast as they’re doing that, we are replacing [the power supplies],” Rice said. He noted that replacing the power supplies is a “huge cost” for the laboratory.

“These incidents really made us and the fire department appreciate the complexity of … a possible fire in a localized tunnel,” Rice said. The depth of the synchrotron, 40 feet below alumni fields, makes radio communication between the tunnel and the surface difficult. “I’m meeting with people from Environmental Health and Safety and Information Technology next week to understand how we can improve communication for emergency responders when they come to the tunnel.”

Rice also highlighted the safety procedures already in place at the synchrotron facility. “We have very strict policies about how employees react to a fire alarm in different places,” Rice said.

Rice envisioned improvements to the facility arising from the two fires. “There’s a lot of work going on that these incidents draw attention to which is going to be very positive in the future,” he said.

While parts of the synchrotron still use old machinery, Sol Gruner, director of the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, stressed that much of the synchrotron technology is quite current. “Part of [the synchrotron] was built in the late sixties. Another big chunk was added in the seventies, [but] there have been upgrades and modifications continuously,” Gruner said. Rice echoed Gruner saying, “We are continually undergoing upgrades to equipment and structure,” but he also added “we are reviewing some of our old wiring right now and planning on replacing it.”

The Wilson Laboratory is also working on developing a cutting edge X-ray system, the Energy Recovery Linac, that would replace the synchrotron’s current technology. “We hope to … rebuild the entire facility. ... We’d like to make a more capable x-ray machine,” Gruner said. “That’s a huge undertaking … [and] very expensive. ... [The upgrade] depends very much on what the government will fund, what the community would like to see.”