Meson Hall Schedule & CMMS Program

Science Division sciencediv at triumf.ca
Wed Jul 4 08:36:28 PDT 2012


Dear colleagues,

As we are approaching the start-up phase for BL1A operation, we wanted 
to inform you about the current situation, in particular in relation to 
shutdown activities or new installation activities. These were very 
challenging activities and tasks; the accelerator, science, and 
engineering divisions managed to finish all scheduled activities on 
time, and we are very pleased to inform you that we will start up BL1A 
operation, as scheduled on July 11th, 2012. Hence operation of M11, M13, 
M15, and (from Friday July 13th, 2012 on) M9B will be available for the 
scheduled experiments.

I would like to express my sincere thank you to the dedicated groups 
involved in all the shutdown and installation activities, particularly 
for staying on schedule.

However, we would like to also advise you that we are experiencing a 
severe shortage of liquid helium for the near and upcoming future.We 
were informed on June 28th by our liquid helium supplier that there is a 
severe helium shortage due to both an expected planned shutdown and an 
unscheduled shutdown at two major helium supply facilities. This 
shortage is expected to last through to the end of July with the 
possibility of the shortage continuing beyond this time. We have been 
informed that it could take up to 90 days for production levels to 
return to normal. The supplier has invoked "force majeure" on their 
customer’s helium supply contract. As a result helium for TRIUMF from 
our supply contract will be rationed at 900 litres per month. This is 
far below our average demand of around 3000 litres per month for the 
currently scheduled beam time on M15, M9B as well as the betaNMR/betaQMR 
facility.

We are assessing the situation with all urgency and are trying to 
identify if more liquid helium can be acquired from other sources and if 
so for what cost. Please be advised that in case we are unable to secure 
more than the rationed amount a substantial impact on the science 
program with major rescheduling of beam time may result. We are trying 
to come to a definite conclusion as soon as possible and will keep you 
informed. We would like to thank you for your understanding and patience.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you,
Jens Dilling

-- 
Miss Nicole (Niki) Martin
Administrative Assistant, Science Division

TRIUMF
Accelerating Science for Canada | Un accélérateur de la démarche scientifique canadienne
4004 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC  V6T 2A3
Canada
Tel:  604-222-7438
Email:nmartin at triumf.ca
Experimental Program webpage:http://www.triumf.ca/experimental-program



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