Radioactivity: Internal Conversion
Radioactivity: Internal Conversion
Introduction:
Radioactivity is the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei. The nucleus emits particles, ß
particles, or electromagnetic rays during this process.
Alpha ( ) Decay:
Alpha decay occurs when the nucleus spontaneously ejects an particle. An particle is really 2
protons and 2 neutrons, or an He nucleus. So when an atom undergoes decay, its atomic number
decreases by 2 and its atomic mass decreases by 4. particles do not penetrate much material, for
they can be stopped by paper. An example of decay is the following:
Pu239 U235 + particle (He-4 nucleus)
There is a difference in mass between the original nucleus and the sum of the mass of the particle
and resulting nucleus. This lost mass is converted into energy using the formula E = mc 2; the energy
would equal the kinetic energy of the particle and the recoil energy of the resulting nucleus.
particles are usually mono-energetic, but they can have different energies, as in the case of 226 Ra.
This isotope of radium has a small percentage of particles that don't have their full energy; instead the
nucleus is left excited and emits gamma rays. Some of these rays will transfer energy to an orbital
electron in the process internal conversion.
Beta(ß)- Decay:
There are two types of ß decay; ß+ and ß- decay. An excess of neutrons in an atom's nucleus will make
it unstable, and a neutron is converted into a proton to change this ratio. During this process, a ß particle
is released, and it has the same mass and charge as an electron. The resulting atom and the ß particle
have a total mass which is less than the mass of the original atom, and one would think that the ß
particles should have the energy equivalent to the mass lost (E = mc 2). But ß particles aren't mono-
energetic, and have a broad energy spectrum from zero to the maximum energy predicted. So the ß
particle is accompanied by virtually massless and chargeless particles called neutrinos, whose kinetic
energy makes up for the energy difference still remaining. As a result of ß - decay, the atomic number of
the atom increases by 1.
ß+ Decay:
When there is an excess of protons in the nucleus, and it is not energetically possible to emit an
particle, ß+ decay occurs. This is where the nucleus becomes stable by converting a proton into a
neutron. During ß+ decay, a positron (a particle with the same mass as an electron but with positive
charge), and a neutrino are released. Positrons interact with electrons, causing both to be completely
destroyed. Two gamma ray photons with the same energy as the mass of the positron and electron are
released.
Electron Capture:
Sometimes it is not energetically feasible to convert a proton into a neutron by emitting a positron
(ß+ decay). In these cases, electron capture, or K capture occurs. This is where the nucleus captures an
electron from an inner orbital, usually K orbital, and converts a proton into a neutron with it. The
difference in mass is converted into a gamma ray and a neutrino.
Internal Conversion:
In the process internal conversion, a gamma ray is emitted from the nucleus and strikes an orbital
electron. The electron absorbs the energy and is then ejected from the atom.
Gamma Radiation:
Gamma ray emission usually occurs with and ß emission. Gamma rays have no charge or mass, so
their emission doesn't change the chemical composition of the atom. Instead, it results in a loss of
radiant energy. Gamma ray emission occurs because the nucleus is often unstable after and ß decay.
There are cases where pure gamma emission occurs, and this is where an isotope exists in two forms
(nuclear isomers). They have the same atomic and mass numbers, but have different nuclear-energy
content. So gamma emission occurs when the isomer goes from a higher to a lower energy form. The
isotope protactinium-234 exists in two different energy states, and it emits gamma rays when undergoing
transition to the lower-energy state.
Half Life:
A sample of a radioactive substance will decay into various particles. The rate of decay is measured by
how long it takes for half the sample to decay. The decay of an individual atom is totally random, but for
a large sample size, we can get a good prediction of the half life.
Decay Chains:
A radioactive decay series is the chain of decays that occur starting with a radioactive isotope. An
example of this is the uranium-radium series:
Radium-226 goes through five more decays and four more ß decays to yield the non-radioactive
isotope 206Pb, or lead. This series is also called the 4n+2 series, because the mass numbers of each of
the isotopes in the series can be represented by 4n+2, where n is an integer. The thorium series is a 4n
series; it starts at thorium-232 and the end result is 208>Pb. The actinium series, or 4n+3 series, begins
with uranium-235 and ends at Pb-207.
Units of Radioactivity:
Roentgen (R) - Defined as the amount of ionizing radiation which produces 2.08 x 10 9 ion pairs in
1cm3 of air.
RAD (Radiation Absorbed Dose) - A rad is the amount of radiation that puts 10 J of energy in 1kg of
absorbing material.
RBE (Relative Biological Effectiveness) - The biological risk a, B, and Y radiation differ; The RBE
factor compares the number of rads of x-radiation or y radiation that produce the same biological
damage as a rad of the radiation used.
REM (Roentgen Equivalent in Man) - Product of amount of rad and the RBE factor.
Basic Fusion
Introduction:
When you hear the word fusion, you might think of a vague source of energy that
seems to work only in sci-fi novels. Well, scientists are actually researching this, known
as controlled thermonuclear fusion, as a possible source of energy for the future.
However, the fusion that people sometimes forget is the kind which goes on every day,
and is an important part of our lives. This fusion, in nuclear physics, is the joining of two
atomic nuclei. It occurs in stars all over the universe, including our Sun, and is what
provides the warmth and light we receive.
In starts with masses similar or less than the Sun, the proton-proton reaction is the
primary energy producer. However, another cycle dominates over this reaction in the
hotter, more massive stars.
Current estimates say the Sun produces 98-99% of its energy through the proton-proton
reaction and 1% from the CNO cycle. However, the CNO cycle would be the major
energy producer if our Sun was 10-20% more massive.
Binding Energy
The key concept behind the release of energy in fusion (and fission) reactions
is binding energy. Binding energy is the energy that is lost when a nucleus is created
from protons and neutrons. If you added up the total mass of the nucleons (protons and
neutrons) that compose an atom, you would notice that this sum is less than the actual
mass of the atom. This missing mass, called the mass defect, is a measure of the
atom's binding energy. It is released during the formation of a nucleus from the
composing nucleons. This energy would have to be put back into the nucleus in order to
decompose it into its individual nucleons. The greater the binding energy per nucleon in
the atom, the greater the atom's stability. To calculate the binding energy of a nucleus,
all you have to do is sum the mass of the individual nucleons, and then subtract the
mass of the atom itself. The mass leftover is then converted into its energy equivalent.
The relation between mass and energy is shown in Einstein's famous equation E = mc2.
However, we will just multiply the mass by a conversion factor to have the units of
energy in millions of electron volts (MeV), a standard unit of energy in nuclear physics.
Therefore, the equation for binding energy that you can use later is:
Remember how I said that the greater the binding energy per nucleon of an atom, the
greater it's stability? Well, above is a graph of the relative binding energy per nucleon
vs. mass number (total number of nucleons composing an atom). Notice that the nuclei
of the light elements are generally less stable than the heavier nuclei up to those with a
mass number around 56. The nuclei of the heaviest elements are less stable than the
nuclei that have a mass number of around 56. From this, you can see that the nuclei
around iron are the most stable. This information implies two methods towards the
converting of mass into useful amounts of energy: fusion and fission.
Fusing two nuclei of very small mass, such as hydrogen, will create a more massive
nucleus and release a small amount of mass which appears as energy. Meanwhile,
fissioning elements of great mass, like uranium, will create two lower-mass and more
stable nuclei while losing mass in the form of kinetic and/or radiant energy. The
calculation to find the energy released in these reactions is similar to calculating, and
related to, binding energy. If the reactants (the things that went into the reaction) are
bound more weakly than the products (the stuff that comes out of the reaction), then the
reaction releases energy. Just sum the masses of the reactants and subtract the sum of
the masses of the products. As an example, lets take a look at a step in the proton-
proton reaction:
The fusion of the deuteron (2H) and another proton (a hydrogen nucleus) resulted in the
formation of 3He and a gamma ray. If you summed the masses 2H (2.0140 amu) and the proton
(1.007825 amu), and subtracted the isotopic mass of 3He (3.01603 amu), you would end up
with 0.005795 amu of missing mass. This is equivalent to 5.398MeV of released energy (not
including any kinetic energy the reactants had), in this case taking the form of a gamma ray and
any additional kinetic energy of the products.
Nucleosynthesis
Introduction:
As the main sequence fusion cycles (proton-proton and CNO) transform more and
more hydrogen to helium, one of the most likely possibilities of fusion would involve
two 4He nuclei fusing to create a nucleus with an atomic mass of 8. However, there are
no stable isotopes of any element with an atomic mass of 8. 8Be in particular has a
lifetime of only 10-17 seconds! At the temperatures in which the proton-proton and CNO
cycle occurs, 8Be will break apart before it is involved in any further fusion reactions.
This has become known as the beryllium bottleneck, because it is 8Be's instability that
prevents the heavier elements from being formed relatively immediately as helium is
created.
Red Giant:
Betelgeuse
Original image
courtesy ofNASA.
Planetary Nebulas
One scenario is that the star
will continue to make energy
by using hydrogen and helium
outside of the core; its surface
will rise and fall and the star
will become a variable star.
After it gets out of control, the
layers of gas will pull away,
forming a shell of gas known
as a planetary nebula.
Scenario 2:
White dwarf
The other scenario is that the star will continue to
shine through the fusion of helium nuclei, in the triple
alpha process. The star is now a white dwarf, and
further contraction is prevented by the repulsion of
electrons in the core.
Supernova
Very heavy stars will continue to fuse heavy
elements in order to produce more energy. However,
once iron is formed, it cannot be fused to make more
energy since it has such a high binding energy and
is therefore very stable. The core will collapse under
gravity and huge amounts of gas on the surface of
the star will explode out. This star is now called a
supernova.
Neutron Star
After a supernova explosion, the iron core of the
star may be extremely heavy, and the force of
gravity may be extremely large. It then becomes
a neutron star, where the repulsion between
neutrons stops the contraction caused by gravity.
Neutron stars consist of matter that is 100 million
times denser than white dwarf matter.
Pulsars
A neutron star may spin rapidly after a supernova explosion, and it may emit two beams of
radio waves, light, and X-rays. These beams radiate in a circle because the star is spinning, and
it appears that the star is pulsing on and off. Thus, it is given the name Pulsar.
Black Holes
Neutron-neutron repulsion can only counteract the force of gravity if the core of the dead star
weighs less than three times the weight of the sun. In an extremely heavy core, no force can
stop the matter from being squeezed into a smaller and smaller space. Nothing can escape
these black holes; not even light.
Introduction:
Growing energy requirements around the world will place a strain on our current
energy sources. Affordable and plentiful energy is essential towards maintaining healthy
industrial societies, as well as raising the standard of living within developing countries.
Fusion energy could provide the energy to meet these requirements, having potential
benefits including:
Fusion is the Sun's energy source, joining light atomic nuclei to form heavier atoms like
helium. Here on Earth, future fusion plants will imitate the Sun, fusing deuterium and
tritium atoms at temperatures over 100 million degrees K, releasing energy for a variety
of uses, including electricity. The fuel for this fusion is found in water, and can therefore
provide energy for the world for billions of years. Progress in fusion research indicates
fusion to be a pratical energy source some time in the 21st century.
1. Temperature. Simply put, the hotter the plasma, the more fusion occurs. This is
because the nuclei will have enough energy to overcome their electromagnetic
repulsion and fuse. Actually, it is possible to go too fast, causing the nuclei to zoom by
each other, not staying together long enough to fuse. For the Deuterium-Tritium fusion
reaction described below to work, the temperature must reach around at least 100
million K.
2. Density. The more dense the plasma, the higher the probability of collision.
3. Containment. The plasma must also be confined in order for fusion to take place. No
material can contain this hot plasma; it would either damage the material or the material
would cool the plasma down, so an alternative is needed. The Sun uses its huge
gravitational force to squeeze the particles together. However, here on Earth, using
gravity is not feasible. Instead, this confinement process is achieved through one of two
methods: magnetic confinement or inertial confinement (more on these two later).
4. Confinement Time. The longer the "energy confinement time", the more likely the
plasma will sustain the high temperature and cause the fusion reactions to become self-
sustaining. This confinement time is simply how long it takes the energy of a confined
plasma to "leak out".
What is it?
The most common type of fusion reaction discussed for fusion energy in the near future
is the fusion of two hydrogen isotopes: deuterium ( 2H) and tritium (3H). It is the easiest
fusion reaction to achieve on Earth, and will most likely be the type of reaction found in
first generation fusion reactors. The actual reaction involves a deutrerium nucleus fusing
with a tritium nucleus to form an alpha particle ( 4He nucleus) and a neutron. The
products contain around 17.6 million electron volts (MeV) of released kinetic energy
through the loss of mass in the fusion process.
The D-T reaction is the easiest because the extra neutrons on the nuclei of the
deuterium and tritium increase their size and thus the probability of a fusion reaction.
They also each have the smallest possible positive charge (since hydrogen has only
one proton), making it relatively easy to have the two nuclei overcome their repulsion
and fuse together.
Another problem is acquiring some of the fuel. Deuterium can be found on Earth,
although in a very small quantity (.015% of natural hydrogen is deuterium). However,
this small amount is more than enough to suppy energy for thousands of years at our
current energy demands. One gallon of sea water has the energy content of 300 gallons
of gasoline. Tritium, on the other hand, is radioactive, with a half-life of 12.3 years;
therefore tritium does not last long enough to acquire in significant amounts naturally.
Fortunately, both problems are solved by using the neutron in another reaction like this:
6Li + n 4He + T
The lithium absorbs the neutron and generates a tritium while releasing a bit more
energy in the process. There is plenty of lithium available in nature.
However, the neutron problem is not totally eliminated through the above solution. Not
all neutrons will fuse with the lithium, and instead fuse with other parts of the reactor,
possibly inducing radioactivity. Neutron multipliers may be used in a reactor to
compensate for this neutron loss, or reactions that yield more neutrons might be
implimented, such as 7Li + n 4He + T + n. As for limiting the amount of high-level
nuclear waste, careful selection of the materials used are expected to minimize the
handling and disposal of such radioactive material. For example, the development of
advanced, low-activation materials (like vanadium-based materials), or through the use
of neutron-free reactions, could be implimented in future reactors.
Magnetic
generation of commercial power plants.
Confinement Fusion
The Basics
Magnetic confinement fusion is one of the two current methods being researched for
the containment of the plasma. Within these machines, magnetic fields are used to
contain the charged particles that compose the hot plasma and keep it away from the
chamber walls. This method is used for containing the plasma for a relatively long time
at a low density.
Magnetic confinement rests upon the property that charged particles, like those in a
plasma, will travel along the lines of a magnetic field. By arranging magnetic fields in
just the right way, scientists have been able to "trap" the plasma within the fields. While
the plasma is held, it can be heated through a combination of microwaves, particle
beams, and the heating generated from currents flowing through the plasma. The
plasma density in a magnetically confined reactor is roughly 10 15 particles/cm3, which is
thousands of times less dense than that of air at room temperature. Currently there are
two types of magnetic confinement systems: the mirror
(open) and the toroidal (closed). The primary toroidal
method we will be looking at is thetokamak, although
there are other toroidal confinement techniques, including
reversed-field pinch, sellarator, and others undergoing
research.
The Mirror
Older designs of magnetic confinement machines involved designs similar to what is
known as the magnetic mirror. These are considered to be of the open type. The
original idea was based on the fact that an electric current generates a magnetic field,
and that the currents flowing in the plasma will essentially "pinch" the plasma,
containing it within its own magnetic field. Magnetic fields are much stronger than
gravitational forces, so there was hope that strong fields would contain the plasma.
However, the magnetic force is two-dimensional, and acts only perpendicularly to the
direction of the current. Thus, the plasma contained with these devices were cylindrical.
To lessen the loss of plasma at the two ends, two coils placed a distance apart produce
a stronger magnetic field near themselves, with the
weaker field in the center. The coils essentially create a
"bottleneck" to the plasma at each end, preventing the
plasma from escaping. The plasma is reflected at the
ends by the stronger fields.
The Tokamak
The initial heating of the tokamak can occur in multiple ways and combinations.
1. Ohmic Heating - The plasma can be heated to temperatures up to 20-30 million K
through the current passing through the plasma. It is called ohmic or resistive heating;
the heat generated depends on the resistance between the plasma and current.
However, as temperature rises, resistance drops, making this form of heating less and
less effective. Other methods are neccessary in addition in order to heat the plasma to
required temperatures.
2. Neutral-Beam Injector - High energy, neutral atoms are shot into the plasma, and
are immediately ionized. These ions then get trapped by the magnetic fields, and
transfer some of their energy to the surrounding plasma particles through collisions,
thus raising the overall temperature.
3. Magnetic Compression - The plasma can be heated through a rapid compression,
which is possible by increasing the magnetic field. In the tokamak, this compression
occurs by moving the plasma to an area of a higher magnetic field.
4. Radiofrequency Heating - High-frequency waves are launched into the plasma
through the use of oscillators. If the waves have the right wavelength, their energy can
be transferred into certain particles, which then transfer the energy through collisions
with others.
Both the mirror design and the tokamak attempt to meet the Lawson criterion through a
low density plasma with relatively long containment times. Now let us see what inertial
confinement does.
The fuel pellet, or target, is compressed and heated with what are called energy drivers.
These high-powered sources of energy are usually either high-powered laser or ion
beams, which bombard the target from all sides symmetrically. The outer layer of the
pellet vaporizes and moves away from the pellet like a rocket. This projection creates
shock waves which go on to compress and heat the core. The compressed fuel then
burns, releasing much energy, and expands. This is partially offset by the shock waves,
which tend to continue compressing the material. This behavior is known as inertia. The
result is an inertal confinement fusion reaction.
Direct and Indirect Drive Fusion Ignition
There are two types of targets: a direct-drive inertial fusion
energy target, and an indirect one. The direct-drive targets are
just the spherical pellets containing the fuel (most likely a mix of
dueterium and tritium) which will be pounded directly by a laser or
ion beam. The indirect-drive targets have the fuel pellet placed
inside a hohlraum, which is a small and thin cylindrical container
composed of a high atomic number material, like gold or lead. The
container will convert the driver beams into x-rays, which
Image courtesy of subsequently compresses the fuel.
theLawrence Livermore
National Laboratory.
The image to the right is a reperesentation of indirect-drive using
a hohlraum. The blue objects in the image are beams entering the
hohlraum. The dime is there to show the relative size of the
hohlraum used.
The benefits of this scheme is that the size and complexity of the primary compression
laser system is reduced, and the amount of energy released to energy absorbed could
also increase.
Fissile Isotopes:
Fissile isotopes are isotopes of an element that can be split through fission. Only certain
isotopes of certain elements are fissile. For example, one isotope of uranium, 235U, is fissile,
while another isotope, 238U, is not. Other examples of fissile elements are 239Pu and 232Th. An
important factor affecting whether or not an atom will fission is the speed at which the
bombarding neutron is moving. If the neutron is highly energetic (and thus moving very quickly),
it can cause fission in some elements that a slower neutron would not. For example, thorium
232 requires a very fast neutron to induce fission. However, uranium 235 needs slower
neutrons. If a neutron is too fast, it will pass right through a 235U atom without affecting it at all.
Let's discuss those reactions. In each of the above reactions, 1 neutron splits the atom.
When the atom is split, 1 additional neutron is released. This is how a chain reaction
works. If more235U is present, those 2 neutrons can cause 2 more atoms to split. Each
of those atoms releases 1 more neutron bringing the total neutrons to 4. Those 4
neutrons can strike 4 more 235U atoms, releasing even more neutrons. The chain
reaction will continue until all the 235U fuel is spent. This is roughly what happens in an
atomic bomb. It is called a runaway nuclear reaction.
In this animation, one can see how the fissioning of each 235U atom (red) releases more
neutrons (green) that go on to fission more 235U atoms, thus producing a chain reaction.
You might have been wondering, "Where does the energy come from?". The mass
seems to be the same on both sides of the reaction:
Introduction:
Currently, about half of all nuclear power plants are located in the US. There are many
different kinds of nuclear power plants, and we will discuss a few important designs in
this text. A nuclear power plant harnesses the energy inside atoms themselves and
converts this to electricity. This electricity is used by all of us. By now, you should have
an idea of the fission process and how it works. A nuclear power plant uses controlled
nuclear fission. In this section, we will explore how a nuclear power plant operates and
the manner in which nuclear reactions are controlled.
Uranium Preparation:
Earlier we talked about nuclear fission with 235U. In reality, this will not be the only
isotope of uranium present in a nuclear reactor. In naturally occurring uranium deposits,
less than one percent of the uranium is 235U. The majority of the uranium is 238U. 238U
is not a fissile isotope of uranium. When 238U is struck by a loose neutron, it absorbs
the neutron into its nucleus and does not fission. Thus, by absorbing loose
neutrons, 238U can prevent a nuclear chain reaction from occurring. This would be a
bad thing because if a chain reaction doesn't occur, the nuclear reactions can't sustain
themselves, the reactor shuts down, and millions of people are without electrical power.
In order for a chain reaction to occur, the pure uranium ore must be refined to raise the
concentration of 235U. This is called enrichment and is primarily accomplished through a
technique called gaseous diffusion. In this process, the uranium ore is combined with
fluorine to create a chemical compound called uranium hexafluoride. The uranium
hexafluoride is heated and vaporizes. The heated gas is then pushed through a series
of filters. Because some of the uranium hexafluoride contains 238U and some
contains 235U, there is a slight difference in the weights of the individual molecules. The
molecules of uranium hexafluoride containing 235U are slightly lighter and thus pass
more easily through the filters. This creates a quantity of uranium hexafluoride with a
higher proportion of 235U. This is collected, the uranium is
stripped from it, and the result is an enriched supply of fuel. Fuel Assembly
Usually, nuclear power plants use uranium fuel that is about Containing a
4% 235U. Number of Fuel
Rods
The fuel assemblies are collections of fuel rods. These rods are each about 3.5 meters
(11.48 feet) long. They are each about a centimeter in diameter. These are grouped into
large bundles of a couple hundred rods called fuel assemblies, which are then placed in
the reactor core. Inside each fuel rod are hundreds of pellets of uranium fuel stacked
end to end.
Also in the core are control rods. These rods have pellets inside that are made of very
efficient neutron capturers. An example of such a material is cadmium. These control
rods are connected to machines that can raise or lower them in the core. When they are
fully lowered into the core, fission can not occur because they absorb free neutrons.
However, when they are pulled out of the reactor, fission can start again anytime a stray
neutron strikes a235U atom, thus releasing more neutrons, and starting a chain reaction.
Another component of the reactor is the moderator. The moderator serves to slow down
the high speed neutrons "flying" all around the reactor core. If a neutron is moving too
fast, and thus is at a high-energy state, it passes right through the 235U nucleus. It must
be slowed down to be captured by the nucleus and to induce fission. The most common
moderator is water, but sometimes it can be another material.
The job of the coolant is to absorb the heat from the reaction. The most common
coolant used in nuclear power plants today is water. In actuality, in many reactor
designs the coolant and the moderator are one and the same. The coolant water is
heated by the nuclear reactions going on inside the core. However, this heated water
does not boil because it is kept at an extremely intense pressure, thus raising its boiling
point above the normal 100° Celsius.
After the hot water has passed through the turbine, some of its energy is changed into
electricity. However, the water is still very hot. It must be cooled somehow. Many
nuclear power plants used steam towers to cool this water with air. These are generally
the buildings that people associate with nuclear power plants. At reactors that do not
have towers, the clean water is purified and dumped into the nearest body of water, and
cool water is pumped in to replace it.
PWR Power Plant Schematic
Original Image Used with Permission of the Uranium Institute
Another type of reactor is the Heavy Water Reactor (HWR). A HWR uses heavy water
as a moderator instead of normal water. Heavy water is water with deuterium, which is
an isotope of hydrogen with 1 neutron. Deuterium is heavier than normal hydrogen,
which has no neutrons. HWR's come in two types, pressurized and boiling, just like
normal "light water" reactors. The advantage of a HWR is that un-enriched uranium fuel
can be used. This is because the heavy water is a much more efficient moderator than
light water. Thus, more stray neutrons can be slowed down enough to cause fission
in 235U. This more efficient moderator makes up for the greater abundance of the
neutron-capturing 238U.
Introduction:
One of the greatest problems with nuclear energy is the waste produced. The waste is
generally radioactive, and thus toxic. There are also a few different kinds of waste,
depending on how it was produced. Nuclear waste is produced in many different ways.
There are wastes produced in the reactor core, wastes created as a result of radioactive
contamination, and wastes produced as a bi-product of uranium mining, refining, and
enrichment. The vast majority (99%) of radiation in nuclear waste is given off from spent
fuel rods. However, fuel rods make up a relatively small percentage of the volume of
waste. The largest volume of nuclear waste is composed of the leftovers from the
mining process. This waste, however, doesn't give off much radiation. Some of the
nuclear waste is extremely long-lived, meaning that it lasts a long time without its
toxicity decreasing all that much, and some of it is very short-lived. Some types of
nuclear waste are considered high-level and some are considered low level. The
difference is in the amount of radioactive nuclei in relation to the mass of the waste. If
there are a large amount of radioactive nuclei relative to the amount of waste, it is
considered high level nuclear waste.
Fission Bi-Products:
When a 235U atom splits, it can produce a number of different products. Many of these
are radioactive elements. For example, the following reaction produces 90Sr, which has
a half-life of about 29 years.
1 neutron + 235U 2 neutrons + 90Sr + 144Xe
Although its half-life is 29 years, a quantity of 90Sr is not considered safe for 290 years.
After 290 years, 10 half-lives would have passed. So, if we started out with half a ton
(1000 lbs.) of90Sr, after 290 years there would be 1000 x (1/2) left. This is about a
10
pound. The rest of the 90Sr would have undergone ß decay, producing 90Y. 90Y is also
-
radioactive, but is has a very short half-life of about 2.67 days. The 90Y undergoes
ß decay, forming 90Zr, which is a stable, non-radioactive isotope. 90Sr is particularly
-
dangerous because it shares many of the same chemical properties as calcium (Ca),
and, if ingested, can take calcium's place in your bones. Then, when 90Sr decays, the
radiation released in your body can cause cancer.
This is just one example of a radioactive isotope that is produced from fission. There are
hundreds of other fission products, many of which are radioactive. Their half-lives,
however, vary greatly from less than a second to many, many years.
The fission products, or fragments, usually remain within the fuel rods of the reactor.
When most of the 235U in a fuel rod is spent, the rod must be removed. The radioactive
fragments are what make the spent rods toxic. The fission products can be long-lived or
short-lived.
Transuranics:
In previous texts we talked about how the 238U in a fuel rod is not fissile and is a
neutron absorber. We made the point that because it absorbs neutrons, it stops the
chain reaction in a nuclear power plant from running away (and producing a nuclear
bomb effect). This is a good thing. However, think about what it means when we say
"238U is a neutron absorber". The following reaction expresses that statement:
has a short half-life of about 2 days. This sequence of decays can be expressed like
this:
can produce an isotope with a higher atomic number than the original atom. More than
one neutron can be captured. So, for instance, a neutron can be captured again
by 239U. This produces 240U, which decays into 240Np. If240Np captures another
neutron, it becomes 241Np, which then decays into 241Pu and then into 241Am, which
has a half-life of about 400 years. This sequence of decays and neutron additions can
be expressed in the following reactions:
This is only one example of how higher-atomic number transuranic elements can be
produced. There are many other pathways involving ß decay and neutron
-
The transuranic neutron addition products usually remain in the fuel rods, where the
original 238U from which they were produced was located. This adds to the rods'
toxicity, and makes it harder for them to be disposed. In general, transuranic wastes are
long-lived. However, this depends on the isotope produced. The biggest transuranic
waste produced is 239Pu. This is an extremely toxic and extremely long-lived
compound. 239Pu is fissile. In fact, when a nuclear reactor's fuel rods are almost spent,
as much as 30% of the reactor output can come from the fissioning of 239Pu. Thus, the
plutonium transuranic "waste" produced in a nuclear reactor can actually be used as
fuel. We will discuss more on this later.
Contaminated Stuff:
A major portion of nuclear waste is comprised of spent fuel rods. These contain the
fission products and transuranic wastes we mentioned above. However, a lot of other
waste is produced in the reactor besides the fuel rods. This occurs as a result of
radioactive contamination.
A nuclear reactor is extremely hot. This means that the particles inside the reactor are
very energetic and are flying around at incredible speeds. Occasionally, an atom that is
in a fuel rod can get knocked out. These atoms that get knocked out can be many
different types, ranging from fission products to uranium to transuranic elements. Most
are radioactive. Atoms that escape the fuel rod careen all over the inside of the reactor
core. Eventually these atoms can strike something solid. This is a lot like a bullet hitting
a wall. If the wall is small, it might pass through. However, if the wall is big enough, the
bullet will smash into the wall and "stick" there. So it is with a nuclear reactor.
Occasionally an atom can smash into a structural component of the reactor, implanting
itself into it. Because many of the nuclides (fancy term for atomic nucleus) careening
about the core of a fission reactor are radioactive, when they smash into a structure and
"stick", they make that structure appear to be radioactive. This is because there are
many radioactive nuclides embedded in it, which give off radiation. Thus, many of the
structural components of a reactor become radioactive over time, as they absorb
radioactive nuclei into themselves. Also, many of the pipes and other components of a
reactor become radioactive. These must be replaced eventually because over time the
extreme radiation inside the reactor weakens them. The biggest problem, however,
arises when a nuclear reactor is turned off for good, or "decommissioned". Disposal of
the reactor core is a huge problem because it is extremely radioactive.
Introduction:
The major problem of nuclear waste is what to do with it. In fact, one of the biggest
(and perhaps the single biggest) expenses of the nuclear power industry could
eventually be the storage of nuclear waste.
Currently there are several ways in which
Fuel Rod Storage Pool
nuclear waste is stored. Most of these
methods are temporary. In most cases a
viable long-term solution for waste storage
has yet to be found. This is because the time
period for storage is so incredibly long, on the
order of thousands of years.
When the spent fuel rods are removed from the reactor core, they are extremely hot and
must be cooled down. Most nuclear power plants have a temporary storage pool next to
the reactor. The spent rods are placed in the pool, where they can cool down. The pool
is not filled with ordinary water but with boric acid, which helps to absorb some of the
radiation given off by the radioactive nuclei inside the spent rods. The spent fuel rods
are supposed to stay in the pool for only about 6 months, but, because there is no
permanent storage site, they often stay there for years. Many power plants have had to
enlarge their pools to make room for more rods. As pools fill, there are major problems.
If the rods are placed too close together, the remaining nuclear fuel could go critical,
starting a nuclear chain reaction. Thus, the rods must be monitored and it is very
important that the pools do not become too crowded. Also, as an additional safety
measure, neutron-absorbing materials similar to those used in control rods are placed
amongst the fuel rods. Permanent disposal of the spent fuel is becoming more
important as the pools become more and more crowded.
Used with Permission of NSP
Image Courtesy Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Process
In the US a permanent storage site has been selected at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
Yucca Mountain is in an extremely dry area of Nevada. This minimizes the possibility of
water seeping through the rock and corroding the casks. Additionally, if the casks do get
corroded, there is not much water flow to carry the nuclear wastes away. The casks will
be buried about 1500 feet underground, further preventing the waste from escaping. It is
also far from the nearest population center in Las Vegas. While Yucca Mountain is near
of a fault line, the fault is believed to be inactive. There are several volcanoes in the
vicinity, but scientists believe that they have been dormant for almost a million years
and think it unlikely that they will erupt in the next 10,000 years. Naturally, the people in
Nevada are opposed to the creation of a nuclear waste repository. They express the
common reaction, NIMBY (Not In My Backyard!!). This is because that although most
evidence indicates that Yucca Mountain is a suitable place for storage, no one can
guarantee that waste will not leak. However, quite a bit of research has already
conducted around the Yucca site. Also, work on tunneling into the mountain has been
started. The Yucca Mountain Deep Geological Repository is projected to be ready by
the year 2010.
Image Courtesy Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Process
Introduction:
There are many new waste disposal technologies which could prove to be somewhat of
a solution to the problem of nuclear waste.
In a reactor being developed by Argonne National Laboratory in the US, almost 100% of
the transuranic nuclear wastes produced through neutron capture can be caused to
fission. Generally, the fission products created have shorter half-lives and are not as
dangerous. This reactor, dubbed EBR-II, uses liquid sodium as a coolant, which means
that the internal reactor temperature is much, much hotter than that of a normal PWR
reactor, which uses water as a coolant.
Another advantage of EBR-II is that its fuel is not weapons grade quality. When the
transuranic wastes are separated from the other wastes in the spent fuel rods, the
resultant mix of isotopes can not be used in a bomb. Thus, the mix can be used as fuel
for EBR-II without a chance of it getting stolen by a terrorist group for use in an
explosive device.
Breeder reactors "breed" fuel. That is, they are designed to create 239Pu from 238U
through neutron capture. This "waste" can then be used as fuel.
Nuclear Weapons
Introduction:
Since 1945, when the first nuclear bomb was exploded by the Manhattan Project team
in the US, nuclear weapons have proliferated across the globe. Currently, the US has
about 7,000 warheads and the nations of the former Soviet Union have approximately
6,000. There are enough nuclear weapons in the world to destroy all civilization as we
know it. They are perhaps the most powerful forces that man has ever wielded. Other
countries that possess known nuclear capabilities are the United Kingdom, France, the
People's Republic of China, Pakistan, and India. When first developed, nuclear
weapons were completely strategic weapons. That is, they were not designed to destroy
enemy weaponry; they were designed to destroy entire cities. However, there are now
small, tactical nuclear weapons in addition to the others. Besides how powerful a
nuclear weapon is, there are other differences between them. They can be either a
fusion or a fission device, and they can be dropped from an airplane, fired from an
artillery gun, or attached to various types of rockets.
A thermonuclear fusion bomb is generally a lot more powerful than a fission bomb.
Interestingly, the harmful fall-out from a fusion bomb is generated mostly from the
products of the primary (fission) reaction. These are the fission products and the
transuranic products, just like in the fall-out of a standard fission bomb.
Aftermath:
If all the nuclear weapons in the world were used, then all of humanity would most like
be destroyed. This is for several reasons. Firstly, most major cities would be destroyed
by incoming warheads. However, this would leave some areas untouched. Thes e areas
would most likely be reached by radioactive fall-out blown by the wind. These would be
the immediate repurcussions.
Later, the world would go into what is called "Nuclear Winter". Global temperatures
would drop significantly, as well as the amount of sunlight received by the earth. This is
very similar to what is believed happened to the dinosaurs. It is believed th at a large
asteroid collided with the earth, and stirred up a lot of dust into the atmosphere. This
blotted out the sun, and plants died. With very few plants to eat, the dinosaurs (and
many other animals) went extinct. Nuclear winter would be a lot like this. The only
difference is that there the dust would be raised up by impacting nuclear warheads and
their explosions. Additionally, the dust would be radioactive. The combination of
radioactivity, lack of food, and lowering temperatures cause a Nuclear Holocaust, with
the chances of humans surviving it very low.
In general a nuclear meltdown would occurr if the reactor loses its coolant. This is what
occured in the two disasters that we will discuss. Without coolant, the core's
temperature would rise, resulting in the meltdown scenario we explained above.
You may be wondering, "Why can't they just drop the control rods in the reactor if it
starts to get out of control?". The answer is that they can. The problem is that, even if
the control rods are completely dropped in and the nuclear chain reaction stops, the
reactor is still extremely hot and will not cool down unless coolant is put back in. The
residual heat and the heat produced from the decay of the fission products are enough
to drive the core's temperature up even if the nuclear chain reaction stops.
The accident at TMI (Three Mile Island) began at about four in the morning with the
failure of one of the valves that controlled coolant flow into the reactor. Because of this,
the amount of cool water entering the reactor decreased, and the core temperature
rose. When this happened, automatic computerized systems engaged, and the reactor
was automatically SCRAMmed. The nuclear chain reaction then stopped. This only
slowed the rate at which the core temperature was increasing, however. The
temperature was still rising because of residual heat in the reactor and energy released
from the decaying fission products in the fuel rods.
Because the pumps removing water from the core were still active, and a valve that
controlled the cool water entering the core failed, water was leaving the core, but not
coming in. This reduced the amount of coolant in the core. There wasn't enough coolant
in the core, so the Emergency Core Cooling System automatically turned on. This
should have provided enough extra coolant to make up for the stuck valve, except that
the reactor operator, thinking that enough coolant was already in the core, shut it off too
early.
There still wasn't enough coolant, so the core's temperature kept increasing. A valve at
the top of the core automatically opened to vent some of the steam in the core. This
should have helped matters by removing the hot steam, but the valve didn't close
properly. Because it didn't close, steam continued to vent from the reactor, further
reducing the coolant level. The reactor operators should have known the valve didn't
close, but the indicator in the control room was covered by a maintenance tag attached
to a nearby switch. Because the operators didn't know that the valve had failed to close,
they assumed that the situation was under control, as the core temperature had stopped
rising with the first venting of steam from the core. They also thought that the coolant
had been replaced in the core, because they didn't know that the pump outlets were
closed. A few minutes later the core temperature began to rise again, and the
Emergency Core Cooling System automatically switched on. Once again, an operator
de-activated it, thinking the situation was under control. In reality, it was not.
Soon, because of the coolant lost through the open valve at the top of the reactor, the
core temperature began to rise again. At this point the fuel rods started to collapse from
the intense heat inside the core. The operators knew something was wrong, but didn't
understand what it was. This was about 5 minutes after the initial valve failure. It took
almost 2 hours for someone to figure out that the valve releasing steam at the top of
reactor hadn't closed properly. During those 2 hours, precious coolant continued to be
released from the reactor a meltdown was underway. At approximately 6AM, an
operator discovered the valve at the top of the core was open and closed it.
During the day hydrogen gas began to accumulate inside the reactor and caused an
explosion later in the afternoon. This explosion did not damage the containment
systems, however. Two days later, the core was still not under operator control. A group
of nuclear experts were asked to help evaluate the situation. They figured out that a lot
of hydrogen gas had accumulated at the top of the core. This gas could have exploded,
like the explosion on the first day of the accident, or it could have displaced the
remaining coolant in the reactor, causing a complete nuclear reactor meltdown. No one
really knew what to do about the hydrogen build-up. A hydrogen recombiner was used
to remove some of the hydrogen, but it was not very effective. However, hydrogen also
dissolves in water, which is what the coolant was composed of. Thus, over time the
hydrogen that had collected at the top of the core completely dissolved in the coolant.
Two weeks later the reactor was brought to a cold shutdown and the accident was over.
No one was directly injured as a result of the accident. However, some radioactive gas
and water were vented to the environment around the reactor. At one point, radioactive
water was released into the Susquehanna river, which is a source of drinking water for
nearby communities. No one is really sure what effects these radioactive releases might
have had on people living near the power plant.
Chernobyl:
About 80 miles (130 km) north of Kiev, in what is now the Ukraine, is located the
Chernobyl nuclear power plant. At this plant the worst reactor disaster to ever occur
took place on April 26, 1986. It happened largely because normal reactor operations
were suspended; an experiment was to take place in the reactor. As a result, normal
safety guidelines were disregarded, and the accident occurred. However, as with most
accidents of this type, it was a result of many small mistakes adding up to create a
catastrophe. In the following paragraphs, we will outline just how the event transpired:
Early in the day, before the test, the power output of the reactor was dropped in
preparation for the upcoming test. Unexpectedly, the reactor's power output dropped
way too much, almost to zero. Because of this drop, some control rods were removed to
bring the power back up. (As you recall from the fission power text, the more control
rods there are in a reactor, the more free neutrons are absorbed and the less fissioning
that goes on. So, more control rods means less energy and power output.) The reactor's
power output raised up, and all appeared to be normal.
More preparation for the test began later when two pumps were switched on in the
cooling system. They increased water flow out of the reactor, and thus removed heat
more quickly. They also caused the water level to lower in a component of the reactor
called the steam separator. Because of the low level of water in the steam separator,
the operator increased the amount of feed water coming into it, in the hopes that the
water level would rise. Also, more control rods were taken out of the reactor to raise
internal reactor temperature and pressure, also in the hopes that it would cause the
water level in the steam separator to rise. The water level in the steam separator began
to rise, so the operator adjusted again the flow of feed water by lowering it. This
decreased the amount of heat being removed from the reactor core.
Because many control rods had been removed and the amount of heat being taken
from the core by the coolant had been reduced, it began to get very hot. Also, there was
relatively low pressure in the core because the amount of incoming water had been
decreased. Because of the heat and the low pressure, coolant inside the core began to
boil to form steam.
The actual test began with the closing of the turbine feed valves. This should have
caused an increase in pressure in the cooling system, which in turn would have caused
a decrease in steam in the core. This should have lowered the reactivity in the core.
Thus, the normal next step when closing the turbine feed valves was to retract more
control rods, increasing reactivity in the core. This is what the operator at Chernobyl did.
The only problem was that in this case there was no increase in pressure in the cooling
system because of the earlier feed water reduction. This meant that there was already a
normal amount of steam in the core, even with the turbine feed valves closed. Thus, by
retracting more control rods to make up for a reduction in steam that didn't happen, the
operator caused too much steam to be produced in the core.
With the surplus of steam, the reactor's power output increased. Soon, even more
steam was being produced. The operator realized there was a problem and
SCRAMmed the reactor, completely disabling all fission reactions. However, it was too
late. The temperature and pressure inside the reactor had already risen dramatically,
and the fuel rods had begun to shatter.
After the fuel rods shattered, two explosions occurred as a result of liquid uranium
reacting with steam and from fuel vapor expansion (caused by the intense heat). The
reactor containment was broken, and the top of the reactor lifted off. With the
containment broken, outside air began to enter the reactor. In this particular Soviet
reactor, graphite was used as a moderator instead of water. (water was the coolant) As
air entered the core, it reacted with the graphite. Graphite is essentially just carbon, so
oxygen from the air chemically combined with the carbon to form CO (carbon
monoxide). Carbon monoxide is flammable and soon caught fire. The fire emitted
extremely radioactive smoke into the area surrounding the reactor. Additionally, the
explosion ejected a portion of the reactor fuel into the surrounding atmosphere and
countryside. This fuel contained both fission products and transuranic wastes.
During the days following the accident, hundreds of people worked to quell the reactor
fire and the escape of radioactive materials. Liquid nitrogen was pumped into the
reactor core to cool it down. Helicopters dumped neutron-absorbing materials into the
exposed core to prevent it from going critical. Sand and other fire-fighting materials
were also dropped into the core to help stop the graphite fire. All in all, over
5000(metric) tons of material were dropped into the core. After the fires were brought
under control, construction of what is called "the sarcophagus" began. The word
"sarcophagus" is usually used to describe the elaborate coffins the ancient Egyptians
used to entomb their dead. In this case, the sarcophagus is a structure erected from
about 300,000 metric tons of concrete that surrounds the reactor. It was designed to
contain the radioactive waste inside. It has served its purpose well, but, now, ten years
after the accident, several flaws have been found in it. Holes have begun to appear in
the roof, allowing rainwater to accumulate inside. This water can corrode the structure,
further weakening it. Also, birds and other animals have been seen making homes in
the sarcophagus. If they should ingest radioactive material, they could spread it around
the countryside. Additionally, with time the sarcophagus has become worn down. It is
conceivable that an intense event like an earthquake, tornado, or plane crash directly on
the sarcophagus could lead to its collapse. This would be catastrophic, as radioactive
dust would once again rain down on the surrounding areas. Scientists and engineers
are working on ways to repair or replace the structure.
One of the great tragedies of the accident was that the Soviet government tried to cover
it up. Clouds of fallout were traveling towards major population centers such as Minsk,
and no one was warned. No one outside the Soviet Union knew about the accident until
two days later, when scientists in Sweden detected massive amount of radiation being
blown from the east.
The effects of the disaster at Chernobyl were very widespread. The World Health
Organization (WHO) found that the radiation release from the Chernobyl accident was
200 times that of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs combined. The fallout was
also far-reaching. For a time, radiation levels in a Scotland were 10,000 times the norm.
30 lives were directly lost during the accident or within a few months after it. Many of
these lives were those of the workers trying to put out the graphite fire and were lost
from radiation poisoning. The radiation released has also had long-term effects on the
cancer incidence rate of the surrounding population. According to the Ukrainian
Radiological Institute over 2500 deaths resulted from the Chernobyl incident. The WHO
has found a significant increase in cancer in the surrounding area. For example, in 1986
(the year of the accident), 2 cases of childhood thyroid cancer occurred in the Gomel
administrative district of the Ukraine (this is the region around the plant). In 1993 there
were 42 cases, which is 21 times the rate in 1986. The rate of thyroid cancer is
particularly high after the Chernobyl accident because much of the radiation was
emitted in the form iodine-131, which collects in the thyroid gland, especially in young
children. Other cancer incidence rates didn't seem to be affected. For example,
leukemia was no more prevalent after the accident than before.
What caused the accident? This is a very hard question to answer. The obvious one is
operator error. The operator was not very familiar with the reactor and hadn't been
trained enough. Additionally, when the accident occurred, normal safety rules were not
being followed because they were running a test. For example, regulations required that
at least 15 control rods always remain in the reactor. When the explosion occurred, less
than 10 were present. This happened because many of the rods were removed to raise
power output. This was one of the direct causes of the accident. Also, the reactor itself
was not designed well and was prone to abrupt and massive power surges.
Instructions
This java applet simulates a nuclear reaction in which 235U is the fissile isotope. The
chain reaction can be controlled by moving the "neutron absorbers" slider up and down.
This slider dynamically changes the number of neutron absorbers present as the applet
is running, just like an operator at a nuclear power plant lowers and raises the control
rods. When a neutron hits the fissile 235U, an average of 2.5 neutrons are released;
sometimes 2, sometimes 3. You can also specify the inital amount of 235U; but you
must hit the RESET button for this change to take effect.
Enable Sound - Actives sound which occurrs everytime a U235 atom fissions (the
simulation may not produce the sound 100% of time due to large amount of atoms).
This option may slow down the speed of the applet.
NOTE: When the applet is paused (STOP or RESET has been hit), moving the slider up
and down does not have its desired effect. You can move it while the reaction is
running. In addition, you must hit RESET for the change in initial 235U amount to take
effect.
Radioactivity is the process whereby unstable atomic nuclei release energetic subatomic particles. The
wordradioactivity is also used to refer to the subatomic particles themselves. This phenomenon is observed in the
heavy elements, like uranium, and unstable isotopes, like carbon-14.
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Radioactivity was first discovered in 1896 by the French scientist Henri Becquerel, after which the SI unit for
radiation, the Becquerel, is named. Becquerel discovered that uranium salts were able to blacken a photographic
plate placed in the dark, even through a paper barrier. Subsequent experiments distinguished three distinct types of
radiation -- alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays. These are positively charged, negatively charged, and
neutral, respectively. In the United States, human exposure to radioactivity is measured in rads, where one rad
represents 0.01 joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of tissue.
Radioactivity is a random process, meaning that it is physically impossible to predict whether or not a given
atomic nucleus will decay and emit radiation at any given moment. Rather, radioactivity is quantified using half-life,
which is the period of time it takes for half of the given nuclei to decay. Half-life applies to a sample of any size,
from a microscopic quantity to all the atoms of that type in the universe. Half-life varies widely, from a couple
seconds (Astatine-218) to billions of years (Uranium-238).
In small doses, radioactivity is a useful process that can be harnessed by man. For example, nuclear reactors
exploit radioactivity to generate heat. Phosphorescent materials sometimes include small quantities of radioactive
atoms. During pharmaceutical testing, drugs are sometimes laced with radioactive atoms so that they can be more
easily traced as they move throughout the body.
One hundred years ago, a group of scientists unknowingly ushered in the Atomic Age.
Driven by curiosity, these men and women explored the nature and functioning of
atoms. Their work initiated paths of research which changed our understanding of the
building blocks of matter; their discoveries prepared the way for development of new
methods and tools used to explore our origins, the functioning of our bodies both in
sickness and in health, and much more. How did our conceptions of atomic properties
change? How has that change affected our lives and our knowledge of the world?
Elements are the building blocks of matter. The smallest particle of an element that
still retains the identity of that element is the atom. All atoms of a given element are
identical to one another, but differ from the atoms of other elements. Ancient Greeks
first predicted the existence of the atom around 500 BC. They named the predicted
particle 'atomos,' meaning "indivisible."
Becquerel, a French physicist, was the son and grandson of physicists. Becquerel was
familiar with the work of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen on December 22 1895,
"photographed" his wife's hand, revealing the unmistakable image of her skeleton,
complete with wedding ring. Roentgen's wife had placed her hand in the path of X-
rays which Roentgen created by beaming an electron ray energy source onto a cathode
tube. Roentgen's discovery of these "mysterious" rays capable of producing an image
on a photographic plate excited scientists of his day, including Becquerel. Becquerel
chose to study the related phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence. In March
of 1896, quite by accident, he made a remarkable discovery.
Becquerel found that, while the phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence had
many similarities to each other and to X-rays, they also had important differences.
While fluorescence and X-rays stopped when the initiating energy source was halted,
phosphorescence continued to emit rays some time after the initiating energy source
was removed. However, in all three cases, the energy was derived initially from an
outside source.
In March of 1896, during a time of overcast weather, Becquerel found he couldn't use
the sun as an initiating energy source for his experiments. He put his wrapped
photographic plates away in a darkened drawer, along with some crystals containing
uranium. Much to his Becquerel's surprise, the plates were exposed during storage by
invisible emanations from the uranium. The emanations did not require the presence
of an initiating energy source--the crystals emitted rays on their own! Although
Becquerel did not pursue his discovery of radioactivity, others did and, in so doing,
changed the face of both modern medicine and modern science.
Working in the Becquerel lab, Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre, began what
became a life long study of radioactivity. It took fresh and open minds, along with
much dedicated work, for these scientists to establish the properties of radioactive
matter. Marie Curie wrote, "The subject seemed to us very attractive and all the more
so because the question was entirely new and nothing yet had been written upon it."
Becquerel had already noted that uranium emanations could turn air into a conductor
of electricity. Using sensitive instruments invented by Pierre Curie and his brother,
Pierre and Marie Curie measured the ability of emanations from various elements to
induce conductivity. On February 17, 1898, the Curies tested an ore of uranium,
pitchblende, for its ability to turn air into a conductor of electricity. The Curies found
that the pitchblende produced a current 300 times stronger than that produced by pure
uranium. They tested and recalibrated their instruments, and yet they still found the
same puzzling results. The Curies reasoned that a very active unknown substance in
addition to the uranium must exist within the pitchblende. In the title of a paper
describing this hypothesized element (which they named polonium after Marie's
native Poland), they introduced the new term: "radio-active."
After much grueling work, the Curies were able to extract enough polonium and
another radioactive element, radium, to establish the chemical properties of these
elements. Marie Curie, with her husband and continuing after his death, established
the first quantitative standards by which the rate of radioactive emission of charged
particles from elements could be measured and compared. In addition, she found that
there was a decrease in the rate of radioactive emissions over time and that this
decrease could be calculated and predicted. But perhaps Marie Curie's greatest and
most unique achievement was her realization that radiation is an atomic property of
matter rather than a separate independent emanation.
Despite the giant step forward which science had now taken in it's understanding of
radioactivity, scientists still understood little of the structure of the atom. This
understanding awaited the work of Ernest Rutherford.
In a long and distinguished career, Rutherford laid the groundwork for the
determination of atomic structure. In addition to defining the planetary model of the
atom, he showed that radioactive elements undergo a process of decay over time. And,
in experiments which involved what newspapers of his day called "splitting the atom,"
Rutherford was the first to artificially transmute one element into another--unleashing
the incredible power of the atom which would eventually be harnessed for both
beneficial and destructive purposes.
Taken together, the work of Becquerel, the Curies, Rutherford and others, made
modern medical and scientific research more than a dream. They made it a reality
with many applications. A look at the use of isotopes reveals just some of the ways in
which the pioneering work of these scientists has been utilized.
The dating of radioactive carbon has helped to define the history of life on this planet.
Any living organism takes in both radioactive and non-radioactive carbon, either
through the process of photosynthesis or by eating plants or eating animals that have
eaten plants. When the animal dies, however, uptake of carbon stops. As a result,
radioactive carbon atoms are not replaced as they decay, and the amount of this
material decreases over time. The rate of decrease is predictable and can be described
with accuracy, vastly increasing our ability to date the biological events of our planet.
Radiation is a two edged sword: its usefulness in both medicine and anthropological
and archaeological studies is undisputed, yet the same materials can be used for
destruction. Human curiosity drove inquiring scientists to harness the power of the
atom. Now humankind must accept the responsibility for the appropriate and
beneficial uses of this very powerful tool.
Radioactivity
in Nature
Our world is radioactive and has been since it was created. Over 60 radionuclides (radioactive
elements) can be found in nature, and they can be placed in three general categories:
Radionuclides are found naturally in air, water and soil. They are even found in us, being that we
are products of our environment. Every day, we ingest and inhale radionuclides in our air and
food and the water. Natural radioactivity is common in the rocks and soil that makes up our
planet, in water and oceans, and in our building materials and homes. There is nowhere on Earth
that you can not find Natural Radioactivity.
Radioactive elements are often called radioactive isotopes or radionuclides or just nuclides. There
are over 1,500 different radioactive nuclides. Often, radionuclides are symbolized based on the
element and on the atomic weight, as in the case of radioactive hydrogen or tritium with an
atomic weight of 3 is shown as H-3 or 3H. As another example, Uranium with the atomic weight
of 235 would be shortened to U-235 or 235U.
Much of the information and many of tables found on this page are adapted from information
found in Environmental Radioactivity from Natural, Industrial and Military Sources by Merrill
Eisenbud and Tom Gesell, Academic Press, Inc. 4th Edition. Some tables are adapted from the
National Council on Radiation Protection reports 94 and 95. References are listed at the bottom
of this page. Several of the tables below were produced by calculations based on available data.
Note: Many of the units used in science are broken down into smaller units or expressed as
multiples, using standard metric prefixes. As examples, a kilobecquerel (kBq) is 1000 becquerels,
a millirad (mrad) is 10-3 rad, a microrem (µrem) is 10-6 rem, a nanogram is 10-9 grams, and a
picocurie is a 10-12 curies. These are examples of units used frequently throughout this short
paper. To find definitions of terms or units you're not familiar with, look on our glossary page.
Common abbreviations used on this page are: m - meter, m3 - cubic meter, g - gram, kg -
kilogram, Bq - becquerel, Sv - sievert, Gy - gray, Ci - curie, ppm - parts per million, yr -
year, hr - hour, L - liter
In the United States, the annual estimated average effective dose equivalent from radiation is 360
mrem per adult. This is broken down as:
Annual estimated average effective dose equivalent received by a member of the population of the
United States.
(µSv) (mrem)
Cosmogenic Radioactivity 10 1
Shown in the table above, 82% of the total average annual effective dose is from natural sources
of radiation, and of that, most is from radon. Of the other 18%, the majority is from medical
diagnosis and treatments, with <1% from nuclear power and fallout.
You can also calculate your own background radiation from this EPA website.
United States Geological Survey map of estimated total gamma exposure for the U.S. (78 k)
Primordial radionuclides
Primordial radionuclides are left over from when the world and the universe were created. They
are typically long lived, with half-lives often on the order of hundreds of millions of years.
Radionuclides that exist for more than 30 half-lives are not measurable. The progeny or decay
products of the long lived radionuclides are also in this heading. Here is some basic information
on some common primordial radionuclides:
Primordial nuclides
235
Uranium 235 U 7.04 x 108 yr 0.72% of all natural uranium
222
Noble Gas; annual average air concentrations range in the US
Radon 222 Rn 3.82 days
from 0.016 pCi/L (0.6 Bq/m3) to 0.75 pCi/L (28 Bq/m3)
40
Potassium 40 K 1.28 x 109 yr soil - 1-30 pCi/g (0.037-1.1 Bq/g)
Some nuclides like 232Th have several members of its decay chain. You can roughly follow the
chain starting with 232Th
232
Th --> 228Ra --> 228Ac --> 228Th --> 224Ra -->
220Rn --> 216Po --> 212Pb --> 212Bi --> 212Po --> 208Pb (stable)
You can see how the decay process works with this interesting Decay Science Trek from
University of Colorado.
United States Geological Survey Digital maps of estimated potassium, equivalent uranium-238,
equivalent thorium-232 concentrations for the conterminous U.S.
Cosmogenic
Cosmic radiation permeates all of space, the source being primarily outside of our solar system.
The radiation is in many forms, from high speed heavy particles to high energy photons and
muons. The upper atmosphere interacts with many of the cosmic radiations, and produces
radioactive nuclides. They can have long half-lives, but the majority have shorter half-lives than
the primordial nuclides. Here is a table with some common cosmogenic nuclides:
Cosmogenic Nuclides
7
Beryllium 7 Be 53.28 days Cosmic-ray interactions with N and O 0.27 pCi/kg (0.01
Bq/kg)
Human Produced
Humans have used radioactivity for one hundred years, and through its use, added to the natural
inventories. The amounts are small compared to the natural amounts discussed above, and due to
the shorter half-lives of many of the nuclides, have seen a marked decrease since the halting of
above ground testing of nuclear weapons. Here are a few human produced or enhanced nuclides:
3
Produced from weapons testing and fission reactors;
Tritium H 12.3 yr
reprocessing facilities, nuclear weapons manufacturing
90
Fission product produced from weapons testing and fission
Strontium 90 Sr 28.78 yr
reactors
99
Technetium 99 Tc 2.11 x 105 yr Decay product of 99Mo, used in medical diagnosis
How much natural radioactivity is found in a volume of soil that is 1 square mile, by 1 foot deep?
The following table is calculated for this volume (total volume is 7.894 x 105 m3) and the listed
activities. It should be noted that activity levels vary greatly depending on soil type, mineral
make-up and density (~1.58 g/cm3 used in this calculation). This table represents calculations
using typical numbers.
Activity used
Nuclide Mass of Nuclide Activity found in the volume of soil
in calculation
Uranium 0.7 pCi/g (25 Bq/kg) 2,200 kg 0.8 curies (31 GBq)
Thorium 1.1 pCi/g (40 Bq/kg) 12,000 kg 1.4 curies (52 GBq)
Radium 1.3 pCi/g (48 Bq/kg) 1.7 g 1.7 curies (63 GBq)
Radon 0.17 pCi/g (10 kBq/m3) soil 11 µg 0.2 curies (7.4 GBq)
All water on the Earth, including seawater, has some radionuclides in it. In the following table,
the oceans' volumes were calculated from the 1990 World Almanac:
The activities used in the table below are from 1971 Radioactivity in the Marine Environment,
National Academy of Sciences:
Food
Every food has some small amount of radioactivity in it. The common radionuclides in food are
potassium 40 (40K), radium 226 (226Ra) and uranium 238 (238U) and the associated progeny. Here
is a table of some of the common foods and their levels of 40K and 226Ra.
40 226
K Ra
Food
pCi/kg pCi/kg
Banana 3,520 1
Ref: Handbook of Radiation Measurement and Protection, Brodsky, A. CRC Press 1978 and
Environmental Radioactivity from Natural, Industrial and Military Sources, Eisenbud, M and Gesell
T. Academic Press, Inc. 1997.
Human body
You are made up of chemicals, and it should be of no surprise that some of them are
radionuclides, many of which you ingest daily in your water and food. Here are the estimated
concentrations of radionuclides calculated for a 70,000 gram adult based ICRP 30 data:
It would be reasonable to assume that all of the radionuclides found in your environment would
be in you in some small amounts. The average annual dose equivalent from the internal deposited
radionuclides is given in the table at the top of this page.
Natural Radioactivity in Building Materials
As mentioned before, building materials have some radioactivity in them. Listed below are a few
of common building materials and their estimated levels of uranium, thorium and potassium.
Estimates of concentrations of uranium, thorium and potassium in building materials (NCRP 94, 1987,
except where noted)
Sandstone concrete 0.8 11 (0.3) 2.1 8.5 (0.23) 1.3 385 (10.4)
By-product gypsum 13.7 186 (5.0) 16.1 66 (1.78) 0.02 5.9 (0.2)
Natural gypsum 1.1 15 (0.4) 1.8 7.4 (0.2) 0.5 148 (4)
Clay Brick 8.2 111 (3) 10.8 44 (1.2) 2.3 666 (18)
In 1972, natural nuclear reactor was found in a Western Africa in the Republic of Gabon, at Oklo.
While the reactor was critical, approximately 1.7 billion years ago, it released 15,000 megawatt-
years of energy by consuming six tons of uranium. It operated over several hundred thousand
years at low power.
It was discovered by a French mining geologist while assaying samples for the Oklo Uranium
mine. Today, the fissionable Uranium 235 has an natural abundance of 0.7202%, but the scientist
noticed some samples from Oklo to be 0.7171%. While this difference was small, it started the
scientists to ponder and take a look closer at the Oklo site. Later, samples were found more
depleted, down to 0.44%. This difference could only be explained if some of the fuel, the 235U,
had been used up in a fission reaction. Upon further investigation, abnormally high amounts of
fission products were found in six separate reactor zones.
Like present day power reactors, a natural reactor would require several special conditions,
namely fuel, a moderator, a reflector, lack of neutron absorbing poisons and some way to remove
the heat generated. At Oklo, the area was naturally loaded with uranium by water transport and
deposition. The concentration of Uranium 235 is artificially enriched for most modern reactors,
but at the time of the Oklo reactor it was naturally enriched with an abundance of approximately
3%. This is because when the world was formed, there was a certain amount of 235U, and it has
been decaying ever since. So, because 235U has a shorter half-life than 238U, so one billion years
ago ,235U made up a larger percentage of the natural uranium. The 3% 235U was enough for a
sustained nuclear reaction. Oklo site was saturated with groundwater, which served as a
moderator, reflector and cooling for the fission reaction. There was a lack of poisons before the
reaction began, and fission products like xenon and neodymium serve as neutron absorbing
poisons, absorbing neutrons, acting to limit the power.
To confirm that there was a natural fission reactor, the scientists started looking for other
evidence. First they wanted to look for some element that might have been produced in a reactor,
but would have little natural occurrence elsewhere. They looked at several, but neodymium gave
strong indications of the reactor had indeed operated. Neodymium has seven stable isotopes, but
only six are fission products. The abundance of the neodymium at Oklo sites was compared to
other areas and to the neodymium found in modern reactors. Once the samples were compared,
the abundance of neodymium was found to be almost exactly that found in present day reactors.
All in all, the fission products studied matched what would have been the result of a sustained
nuclear reaction. There is even evidence that the reactor bred its own fuel, bombarding the 238U
with neutrons, making the easily fissionable 239Pu.
Some other interesting information has come out of this, over half of the thirty fission products
found there were confined to the reactor zones, with all plutonium immobilized. The strontium
was mainly confined to the local zones, with some release to environment estimated from krypton
85 and cesium 137
One of the greatest works of the 20th century was the building of the first atomic pile (nuclear
reactor) in Chicago in 1941 by Enrico Fermi. It took some of the brightest minds in modern
physics and great engineering efforts to duplicate what nature did two billion years earlier.
Editors note: Despite some wild baseless claims, there is no evidence or even credible theory
that the Oklo natural reactor was anything but a natural phenomenon. The 6 reactor zones are
spread over a huge area that was a uranium mine during the time it was first discovered. The
reactor zones were the result of natural physical processes, active for thousands of years.
For more information on the Oklo Reactor, try:
The Natural Nuclear Reactor at Oklo: A Comparison with Modern Nuclear Reactors (WWW paper
by Andrew Karam - 1998, updated 2005)
Scientific American: The Workings of an Ancient Nuclear Reactor [ GEOSCIENCE ]
Oklo natural reactor (Western Australian Isotope Science Research Centre)
The a-recoil effects of uranium in the Oklo reactor. Nature 312:535-6 Dec 6 '84
Gabon's natural reactors: nature shows how to contain radioactive waste. Nuclear-Engineering-
International. vol.39, no.475; Feb. 1994; p.30-1
Organic matter and containment of uranium and fissiogenic isotopes at the Oklo natural
reactors. Nature. vol.354, no.6353; 12 Dec. 1991; p.472-5
Estimation of burnup in the Oklo natural nuclear reactor from ruthenium isotopic
composition. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Letters. vol.155, no.2; 16 Sept.
1991; p.107-13
The origin of the chemical elements and the Oklo phenomenon. Kuroda, P. K. Berlin ; New York :
Springer-Verlag, 1982.
Background radiation levels are from a combination of terrestrial (from the 40K, 232Th, 226Ra, etc.)
and cosmic radiation (photons, muons, etc.). The level is fairly constant over the world, being 8-
15 µrad/hr.The US EPA has an on-line calculator to let you calculate your own annual
background dose.
Around the world though, there are some areas with sizable populations that have high
background radiation levels. The highest are found primarily in Brazil, India and China. The
higher radiation levels are due to high concentrations of radioactive minerals in soil. One such
mineral, Monazite, is a highly insoluble rare earth mineral that occurs in beach sand together with
the mineral ilmenite, which gives the sands a characteristic color. The principal radionuclides in
monazite are from the 232Th series, but there is also some uranium its progeny, 226Ra.
In Brazil, the monazite sand deposits are found along certain beaches. The external radiation
levels on these black sands range up to 5 mrad/hr (50 µGy/hr), which is almost 400 times normal
background in the US. Some of the major streets of the surrounding cites have radiation levels as
high as 0.13 mrad/hr (1.3 µGy/hr), which is more than 10 times the normal background. Another
high background area in Brazil is the result of large rare earth ore deposits that form a hill that
rises about 250 meters above the surrounding area. An ore body near the top of the hill is very
near the surface, and contains an estimated 30,000 tons of thorium and 100,000 tons of rare earth
elements. The radiation levels near the top of the hill are 1 to 2 mrad/hr (0.01 to 0.02 mGy/hr)
over an area of about 30,000 m2. The plants found there have absorbed so much 228Ra, that can
will produce a self "x-ray" if placed on a sheet of photographic paper (an autoradiograph).
On the Southwest coast of India, the monazite deposits are larger than those in Brazil. The dose
from external radiation is, on average, similar to the doses reported in Brazil, 500-600 mrad/yr (5-
6 mGy/yr), but individual doses up to 3260 mrad/yr (32.6 mGy/yr) have been reported.
An area in China, has dose rates that is about 300-400 mrad/yr (3-4 mGy/yr). This is also from
monazite that contains thorium, uranium and radium.
From BEIR V, National Research Council report on Health Effects of Low Levels of Ionizing
Radiation:
Cosmic Radiation
Cosmic radiation as discussed above, upon interaction with our atmosphere produces cosmogenic
radionuclides. It also is responsible for a whole body doses.
Cosmic radiation is really divided into two types, primary and secondary. Primary cosmic
radiation is made up of extremely high energy particles (up to 1018 eV), and are mostly protons,
with some larger particles. A large percentage of it comes from outside of our solar system and is
found throughout space. Some of the primary cosmic radiation is from our sun, produced during
solar flares.
Little of the primary cosmic radiation penetrates to the Earth's surface, the vast majority of it
interacts with the atmosphere. When it does interact, it produces the secondary cosmic radiation,
or what we actually see here on Earth. These reactions produce other lower energy radiations in
the form of photons, electrons, neutrons and muons that make it to the surface.
The atmosphere and the Earth's magnetic fields also act as shields against cosmic radiation,
reducing the amount that reaches the Earth's surface. With that in mind, it is easy to see that the
annual dose you get from cosmic radiation depends on what altitude you are at. From cosmic
radiation the U.S., the average person will receive a dose of 27 mrem per year and this roughly
doubles every 6,000 foot increase in elevation.
There is only about a 10% decrease at sea level in cosmic radiation rates when going from pole to
the equator, but at 55,000 feet the decrease is 75%. This is because of the effect of the earth's and
the Sun's geomagnetic fields on the primary cosmic radiations.
Flying can add a few extra mrem to your annual dose, depending on how often you fly, how high
the plane flies, and how long you are in the air.
Calculated cosmic ray doses to a person flying in subsonic and supersonic aircraft under normal solar
conditions
Subsonic flight at 36,000 ft (11 km) Supersonic flight at 62,000 (19 km)
Other sites with good information on cosmic radiation is The Exposure Of New Zealand Aircrew
To Cosmic Radiation, Australian Aircrew To Cosmic Radiation and SEC Radiation Hazard page
Astronauts are exposed to cosmic radiation, but they are also exposed to radiation as they pass
through the Van Allen radiation belts that circle the Earth.
For more information on space radiation, try our Specialties and related area web page.