Emergencies radioactivity

Inlet Air Filters. Air used for cooling a reactor will emerge radioactive. The activity is due partially to gasieous atoms naturally occur-ring in air, such as argon, and partially to dust in the air. Not much can be done to reduce the activity from the first, but the latter can be reduced considerably by suitable filtering. ... 

Cerium is a component of misch metal, which is extensively used in the manufacture of pyrophoric alloys for cigarette lighters. While cerium is not radioactive, the impure commercial grade may contain traces of thorium, which is radioactive. The oxide is an important constituent of incandescent gas mantles and is emerging as a hydrocarbon catalyst in self cleaning ovens. In this application it can be incorporated into oven walls to prevent the collection of cooking residues. 

Safety. A large inventory of radioactive fission products is present in any reactor fuel where the reactor has been operated for times on the order of months. In steady state, radioactive decay heat amounts to about 5% of fission heat, and continues after a reactor is shut down. If cooling is not provided, decay heat can melt fuel rods, causing release of the contents. Protection against a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), eg, a primary coolant pipe break, is required. Power reactors have an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) that comes into play upon initiation of a LOCA. 

The fourth level of defense-in-depth is activated if all of the previous levels fail and radioactivity is released from the power-generating system. This level consists of containment systems and accident management processes that prevent the dissernination of radioactivity to the atmosphere even if it is released from the nuclear systems. The fifth level is the provision for emergency planning outside the plant boundary in the highly unlikely event that all of the first four levels of defense were to fad. 

The NRC also imposes special security requirements for spent fuel shipments and transport of highly enriched uranium or plutonium materials that can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. These security measures include route evaluation, escort personnel and vehicles, communications capabiHties, and emergency plans. State governments are notified in advance of any planned shipment within their state of spent fuel, or any other radioactive materials requiring shipment in accident-proof. Type B containers. 

Air Transport. Relatively small quantities of chemicals are transported by air, although availability of such service for the movement of samples, emergency shipments, and radioactive chemicals with a short half-life is important. Both economic and safety considerations impede the development of air carriage as a significant means of transporting a substantial volume of chemicals. 

Apply to all work activities with radioactive materials, including transport. The main provisions relevant to transport are those relating to driver training and the need, under some circumstances, to prepare contingency plans for emergencies and enforced stoppages. 

Emergency Action If it appears that the public will be affected by a radioactive release, people may evacuate from the expected area, remain indoors, or use iodineblocking prophylaxis. 

When these boxes are used to control highly toxic and radioactive materials, provision for emergency power is necessary to ensure continuous exhaust ventilation. In some locations, seismic safety considerations may also be necessary. 

The experiment conducted by Rutherford and his co-workers involved bombarding gold foil with alpha particles, which are doubly charged helium atoms. The apparatus used in their experiment is shown in Figure 14-9. The alpha particles are produced by the radioactive decay of radium, and a narrow beam of these particles emerges from a deep hole in a block of lead. The beam of particles is directed at a thin metal foil, approximately 10,000 atoms thick. The alpha particles are delected by the light they produce when they collide with scintilltaion screens, which are zinc sulfide-covered plates much like the front of the picture tube in a television set. The screen... 

The early work of Sutin and Dodson (85) on neutron-irradiated ferrocene exemplifies the results and problems of recoil chemistry. After dissolving their samples in hexane and extracting with aqueous solutions they isolated, after further purification, radioactive FeCp2 and a species which emerged as ionic iron(III). Adsorbed on the walls of the glass vessels remained another species soluble in acetone which accounted for up to 50-60% of the radioactive iron. This species has not yet been identified. The FeCp2 activity accounted for some 10-12% of the Fe, which increased on standing several weeks at room temperature or 2-3 days at 110° C, as is shown in Table III. 

We have so far concentrated on those reactions which can lead to recognizable product species. In most cases, however, an appreciable fraction of the radioactive atoms are in chemical forms which are not identified until they ultimately emerge as metal ions in aqueous acid solution. Although the term... 

Quantity of radioactive material requiring need for an emergency plan for responding to a release—241 Am, 242Am, and 243Am Release fraction Quantity 0.001% 2 Ci NRC 2001 h 10CFR30.72, Schedule C... 

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