Inherent radioactivity

The inherent radioactive characteristics of the spent nuclear fuel condition determine many of the key processes to be studied. Owing to its energy content, spent fuel relaxes by transferring alpha, beta, and gamma radiation to water when contacting it. This originates what is known as radiolysis reactions. The key processes occurring at the spent fuel water interface are depicted in Fig. 8. 

It is important to distinguish between radiation and radioactive contamination. Radiation is energy emitted by atoms that are unstable. Radiation travels through space to some extent—some kinds of radiation can only travel a few millimeters, whereas other types can travel for many meters. Radioactive contamination is the presence of radiation-emitting substances (radioactive materials or RAM) in a place where it is not desired. A patient may be contaminated with radioactive materials, but that patient will not be inherently radioactive and can be decontaminated. Radioactive materials, by comparison, are inherently radioactive—it is a physical property of that material in the same manner as mass or size—and they remain radioactive until they decay to stability. 

Inherent radioactivity is a property of elements containing radioisotopes, such as K, and of all radioelements, for example U, Ra, Th and others. If the daughter nuclides are also radioactive, they can be measured instead of the mother nuclides, provided that radioactive equilibrium is established. 

Complicating the development of ISEs for higher actinide ions is their inherent radioactivity. They also have chemistry tiiat often differs from that of the uranyl cation. Actinides from americium to lawrencium display solution-phase chemical features that resemble those of the trivalent lanthanides. Conversely, in certain oxidation states, the early actinides (thorium through neptunium) often mimic transition metals. Also, as mentioned above, many of the actinides can exist in a large number of oxidation states. For instance, in the case of plutonium, four oxidation states can exist simultaneously in aqueous solution. Finally, as true for the lanthanides, complex salts with hydroxide, halogens, perchlorates, sulfates, carbonates, and phosphates are well known for most of the actinides. 

The simplest model of time-dependent behavior of a neutron population in a reactor consists of the point kinetics differential equations, where the space-dependence of neutrons is disregarded. The safety of reactors is greatly enhanced inherently by the existence of delayed neutrons, which come from radioactive decay rather than fission. The differential equations for the neutron population, n, and delayed neutron emitters, are... 

HAZARD The inherent property of a substance capable of causing harm (e.g. toxicity, radioactivity, flammability, explosivity, reactivity, instability). In a broader context anything that can cause harm, e.g. electricity, oxygen-deficiency, machinery, extreme temperature. 

HAZARD The inherent property of a substance capable of causing harm (e.g. toxicity, radioactivity, flammability, explosivity). 

Since the counting of radioactive disintegration events is subject to statistical considerations, the dates obtained with this method are inherently subject to some degree of uncertainty. 

Errors Inherent to the Radiocarbon Dating Method. The decay of radiocarbon is radioactive, involving discrete nuclear disintegrations taking place at random dates derived from the measurement of radiocarbon levels are therefore subject to statistical errors intrinsic to the measurement, which cannot be ignored. It is because of these errors that radiocarbon dates are expressed as a time range, in the form... 

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