|
|
beta particle
binding energy (cosmic glue)
byproduct material
| C |
|
|
|
|
Radiation Health Effects |
an iron-gray, lustrous metal. It is malleable, and oxidizes very readily at room temperature, especially in moist air. The pure metal may ignite when scratched with a knife. Cerium-141, -143, and -144 are radioisotopes of cerium. They emit beta particles during radioactive decay.
a reaction that initiates its own repetition. In a fission chain reaction, a fissionable nucleus absorbs a neutron and fissions (splits) spontaneously, releasing additional neutrons. These, in turn, can be absorbed by other fissionable nuclei, releasing still more neutrons. A fission chain reaction is self-sustaining when the number of neutrons released in a given time equals or exceeds the number of neutrons lost by absorption in non-fissionable material or by escape from the system.
to describe the characteristics of something, such as a waste or a waste site. For example, characterizing a waste from mining or processing a naturally occurring radioactive material typically includes finding the following types of information:
- chemical and radionuclide content
- level of radiation
- physical description (is it liquid or solid; in big chunks or a fine powder, etc.)
- amount
- pH (is it an acid or a base)
exposure to a substance over a long period of time, possibly resulting in adverse health effects.
Exposure Pathways Radiation Health Effects
a type of final status survey that applies to areas with the highest potential for contamination, and meet the following criteria: (1) impacted; (2) potential for delivering a dose above the release criterion; (3) potential for small areas of elevated activity; and (4) insufficient evidence to support classification as Class 2 or Class 3
a type of final status survey survey that applies to areas that meet the following criteria: (1) impacted; (2) low potential for delivering a dose above the release criterion; and (3) little or no potential for small areas of elevated activity.
a type of final status survey that applies to areas meeting the following criteria: (1) impacted; (2) little or no potential of delivering a dose above the release criterion; and (3) little or no potential for small areas of elevated activity.
a gray, hard, magnetic, ductile, and somewhat malleable metal, cobalt is relatively rare and generally obtained as a byproduct of other metals, such as copper. Its most common radioactive isotope is cobalt-60, which emits beta particles during radioactive decay.
Cobalt-60
a group of two or more states formed to dispose of low-level radioactive waste on a regional basis. The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 encouraged states to form compacts to ensure continuing low-level waste disposal capacity. As of December 2000, forty-four states have formed ten compacts. No compact has successfully sited and constructed a disposal facility.
a plan that specifies authorities and responsibilities of each group that may play a significant role during an emergency response.
an organization whose members represent state radiation protection programs
CRCPD
the deposition of unwanted radioactive material on the surfaces of structures, areas, objects, or people. It may also be airborne, external, or internal (inside components or people).
planning to ensure that the essential functions of an organization, such as an agency or the federal government, can continue during a wide range of potential emergencies.
Responding to Radiological Emergencies
a heat exchanger designed to aid in the cooling of water that was used to cool exhaust steam exiting the turbines of a power plant. Cooling towers transfer exhaust heat into the air instead of into a body of water.
a term used to describe the state of a fission reaction when the number of neutrons released by fission is exactly balanced by the neutrons being absorbed and escaping. For example, reactor is said to be "critical" when it achieves a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, as it does when the reactor is operating.
the total dose resulting from repeated exposures of ionizing radiation to an occupationally exposed worker to the same portion of the body, or to the whole body, over a period of time.
Radiation Health Effects
a measure of radioactivity based on the observed decay rate of approximately one gram of radium. The Curie was named in honor of Pierre and Marie Curie, pioneers in the study of radiation.
One curie of radioactive material will have 37 billion atomic transformations (disintegrations) in one second.
Curie Figures in History: Pierre and Marie Curie
Information |
||||||||||
|
||
|