Nuclear weapons production

Nuclear wastes are classified according to the level of radioactivity. Low level wastes (LLW) from reactors arise primarily from the cooling water, either because of leakage from fuel or activation of impurities by neutron absorption. Most LLW will be disposed of in near-surface faciHties at various locations around the United States. Mixed wastes are those having both a ha2ardous and a radioactive component. Transuranic (TRU) waste containing plutonium comes from chemical processes related to nuclear weapons production. These are to be placed in underground salt deposits in New Mexico (see... 

Transuranic Waste. Transuranic wastes (TRU) contain significant amounts (>3,700 Bq/g (100 nCi/g)) of plutonium. These wastes have accumulated from nuclear weapons production at sites such as Rocky Flats, Colorado. Experimental test of TRU disposal is planned for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The geologic medium is rock salt, which has the abiUty to flow under pressure around waste containers, thus sealing them from water. Studies center on the stabiUty of stmctures and effects of small amounts of water within the repository. 

When the NRC, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, took over the responsibiUties of the AEC in 1974, many of the AEC s research and development functions, particularly many covering new technology development and nuclear weapons production, were assumed by the U.S. Department of Energy. However, the NRC has maintained some research and developmental capabiUties which are handled by the NRC s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. 

Elemental mercury is used industrially in electric lamps and switches, gauges and controls (e.g. thermometers, barometers, thermostats), battery production, nuclear weapons production, and the specialty chemical industry, including the production of caustic soda. Because elemental mercury has a high affinity for gold and silver, it has been, and continues to be, used in precious metal extraction from ore. Elemental mercury has been used for over one hundred years in mercury-silver amalgam preparations to repair dental caries. Mercury continues to be used in folk remedies and in certain cultural practices, with unknown public health implications. 

Crowley, K. D. Ahearne, J. F. 2002. Managing the environmental legacy of U.S. Nuclear - Weapons Production. American Scientist, 90, 514-523. 

DOE (Department of Energy), U.S., Environmental Management Program. 1997. Linking legacies - Connecting the Cold War Nuclear Weapons Production Processes to Their Environmental Consequences. DOE/EM-0319, 230 pp. 

The nuclear fuel chain generates plutonium and other material useful for nuclear weapons production and thus increases the risk of such material being diverted to belligerent states or to terrorist organisations for use in actions of nuclear blackmail or war. 

This chapter focuses on the interactions of radionuclides with geomedia in near-surface low-temperature environments. Due to the limitations on the chapter length, this review will not describe the mineralogy or economic geology of uranium deposits the use of radionuclides as environmental tracers in studies of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere, the nature of the nuclear fuel cycle or processes involved in nuclear weapons production. Likewise, radioactive contamination associated with the use of atomic weapons during World War 11, the contamination of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere related to nuclear weapons testing, and concerns... 

Cleanup and Environmental Restoration at Nuclear Weapons Production Sites (Four CD-ROM Set) Progressive Management, 2002. 

The study of gas transport in membranes has been actively pursued for over 100 years. This extensive research resulted in the development of good theories on single gas transport in polymers and other membranes. The practical use of membranes to separate gas mixtures is, however, much more recent. One well-known application has been the separation of uranium isotopes for nuclear weapon production. With few exceptions, no new, large scale applications were introduced until the late 1970 s when polymer membranes were developed of sufficient permeability and selectivity to enable their economical industrial use. Since this development is so recent, gas separations by membranes are still less well-known and their use less widespread than other membrane applications such as reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and microfiltration. In excellent reviews on gas transport in polymers as recent as 1983, no mention was made of the important developments of the last few years. For this reason, this chapter will concentrate on the more recent aspects of gas separation by membranes. Naturally, many of the examples cited will be from our own experience, but the general underlying principles are applicable to many membrane based gas separating systems. 

The discovery of technetium in 1937 by the Italian scientists Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segre was an important affirmation of the configuration of the Periodic Table. The table had predicted the existence of an element with 43 protons in its nucleus, but no such element had ever been found. (In fact, technetium does not occur naturally on Earth, as all of its known isotopes are radioactive and decay to other elements on a timescale that is relatively small when compared with the age of the earth.) Perrier and Segre were able to observe technetium from molybdenum that had been bombarded with deuterons. They named the element technetium, from the Greek word technetos, meaning artificial. Technetium is produced in relatively large quantities during nuclear fission, so there is currently an ample supply of the element from nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons production. 

DOE/EM 1997. U.S. Department of Energy/Offlce of Environmental Management Report No. 0319. Linking Legacies Connecting Cold War Nuclear Weapons Production Processes to their Environmental Consequences. Washington, DC DOE/EM. 

Pu-239 is produced by fission and is a byproduct of nuclear weapons production and nuclear power operations. 

First workers used strong acid to dissolve the fuel rods. Then they treated the mixture with chemicals to precipitate the plutonium so that it would settle out. The process was very expensive and at the time made plutonium about the most expensive material on earth. This processing also left behind over 100 million gallons of exceedingly hazardous mixed wastes of acids and radioactive fission products. Part of our legacy of nuclear weapons production is dealing with these high-level wastes. 

Nuclear weapons production and testing facilities (Hanford, WA, Savannah River, GA, Rocky Flats, CO, and The Nevada Test Site, in the United States, and Mayak in the former Soviet Union), also released small amounts. The releases occurred in accidents with nuclear weapons, the reentry of satellites that used Pu-238, and by the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. 

People who live near nuclear weapons production or testing site.s may have increa.sed expo.sure to plutonium, primarily through particles in the air, but possibly from water as well. 

The U.K. nuclear safety authorities oversee fewer nuclear reactors than their American counterparts (35 versus 103). However, the U.K. Nil also oversees large fuel cycle facilities, nuclear weapons production facilities, nuclear submarine refueling facilities, and certain non-nuclear health and safety activities of its licensees (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Conmiission, 1999). Despite its broader mandate, the U.K. nuclear safety authorities manage to operate with substantially fewer regulators per reactor than in the U.S. This ratio is about 5.6 to 6.7 in the U.K., versus triple this level (17.2) in the U.S. (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Conunission, 1999). 

HLW generally refers to materials requiring permanent isolation from the environment. It frequently arises as a by-product of nuclear power generation (reprocessing streams or spent fuel) or from the isolation of fissile radionuclides from irradiated materials to be used in nuclear weapons production. When nuclear fuel from reactor operations (civilian or defense) is chemically processed, the radioactive wastes include highly concentrated liquid solutions of nuclear fission products. Typically, these waste streams are solidified either in a glass (vitrification) or in another matrix. Both the liquid solutions and the vitrified solids are considered HLW. If the nuclear fuel is not processed, it too, is considered as HLW and must be dispositioned. The path most often proposed is direct, deep geologic isolation. 

The biological environment may be disrupted in many ways as a result of weapons technologies. Nuclear weapons production, testing, use, and disposal may release ionizing radiation shells hardened with depleted uranium also release ionizing radiation. Conventional and chemical weapons may release toxic substances... 

Impacts are not limited to human health, as the physical environment is also affected by nuclear weapons production. From 1945 to 1990, the United States produced approximately 70,000 nuclear weapons other nations produced many additional nuclear weapons. Production of nuclear weapons has led to major environmental contamination. For example, the area around Chelyabinsk in Russia has been heavily contaminated with radioactive materials from the nuclear-weapons production facility in that area. The level of ambient radiation in and near the Techa... 

---