Radioactive Releases in the Environment Impact and Assessment

by Cooper, John R.; Randle, Keith; Sokhi, Ranjeet S.

• ISBN13: 9780471899242
• ISBN10: 0471899240
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-07
• Publisher: WILEY

Summary

This text brings together in one single comprehensive reference, the fundamentals of radioactivity. It uniquely fills the gap in the market, as no other books deal with environmental radioactivity to this degree. * Timely and invaluable as the studies of environmental processes and the awareness of the impact of human activity on our environment are increasing * Links all three main aspects of environmental radioactivity: Principles, Transport and Measurement * Useful to a wide readership - students, lecturers, researchers, companies and environmental consultants

Author Biography

John R. Cooper is the author of Radioactive Releases in the Environment: Impact and Assessment, published by Wiley.

Keith Randle is the author of Radioactive Releases in the Environment: Impact and Assessment, published by Wiley.

Ranjeet S. Sokhi is the author of Radioactive Releases in the Environment: Impact and Assessment, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
Introduction to Environmental Radioactivity	1	(24)
The Discovery and Early History of Radioactivity	1	(2)
Sources of Radiation	3	(17)
Natural Sources of Radiation	3	(9)
Man-Made Sources of Radionuclides	12	(8)
Summary and Overview of Book	20	(5)
Nature of Radioactivity	25	(18)
Structure of Matter and Nomenclature	25	(2)
Structure of Matter	25	(1)
Definitions and Nomenclature	26	(1)
Stability of Atomic Nuclei	27	(2)
Radioactive Decay	29	(1)
Properties of Nuclear Radiations	29	(4)
Alpha-Particle Radiation	29	(1)
Beta-Particle Radiation	30	(1)
Gamma-Radiation	31	(1)
Decay Schemes	32	(1)
Rate of Radioactive Decay and Half-Life	33	(2)
Activity of Daughter Products and Partial Decay Constants	35	(2)
Equilibria in Radioactive Decay	37	(4)
Secular Equilibrium	38	(1)
Transient Equilibrium	39	(1)
No Equilibrium	40	(1)
Radionuclide Decay Series	41	(2)
Interaction of Radiation with Matter	43	(22)
Ionization and Excitation	43	(2)
Ionization	43	(1)
Excitation	44	(1)
Directly and Indirectly Ionizing Radiation	44	(1)
Interaction of Gamma-Rays with Matter	45	(10)
The Photoelectric Effect	48	(2)
Compton Scattering	50	(2)
Pair Production	52	(1)
Elastic (or Coherent) Scattering	53	(1)
Photonuclear Reactions	54	(1)
Total Mass Attenuation Coefficient	54	(1)
Interaction of Charged Particles with Matter	55	(5)
Interaction of Alpha-Particles with Matter	55	(2)
Stopping Power	57	(3)
Interaction of Beta-Particles with Matter	60	(1)
Chemical and Biological Interactions of Charged Particles	61	(1)
Kerma	62	(3)
Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation and Radiological Protection	65	(32)
Radiation Dose	66	(5)
Absorbed Dose	66	(1)
Equivalent Dose	66	(2)
Effective Dose	68	(1)
Committed Effective Dose	69	(1)
Collective Effective Dose	70	(1)
Dose Commitment	70	(1)
Deterministic Effects	71	(5)
Fatal Deterministic Effects	73	(2)
Non-Fatal Deterministic Effects	75	(1)
Stochastic Effects	76	(8)
Studies on Exposed Populations	76	(4)
Molecular Studies	80	(2)
Conclusions -- the Linear No-Threshold Hypothesis	82	(2)
Radiological Protection	84	(10)
The ICRP System of Radiological Protection	84	(10)
Regulation and Radioactivity	94	(2)
Conclusions	96	(1)
Management of Radioactive Waste	97	(24)
Background	97	(3)
Dilute-and-Disperse	100	(3)
Concentrate-and-Contain	103	(1)
Radiological Protection Criteria for Solid Waste Disposal	104	(8)
ICRP Recommendations	106	(4)
Other Criteria	110	(1)
Time Frames	111	(1)
Types of Solid Radioactive Wastes	112	(4)
Environmental Aspects	116	(1)
Waste Management Systems	117	(4)
Nuclear Power	121	(54)
Nuclear Reactors	123	(2)
Basic Physics of Nuclear Reactors	123	(1)
Types of Nuclear Reactors	124	(1)
Nuclear Fuel Cycle	125	(9)
Mining, Milling and Extraction of Uranium Ore	125	(3)
Chemical Refining	128	(1)
Enrichment	129	(1)
Fuel Fabrication	130	(1)
Power Generation	130	(1)
Spent-Fuel Treatment	131	(3)
The Radiological Impact of Routine Releases of Effluents and Solid Wastes from the Nuclear Power Industry	134	(15)
Radiological Impact of Routine Liquid and Atmospheric Releases from the Nuclear Fuel Cycle	136	(5)
Solid Radioactive Waste	141	(2)
Development of Disposal Options for Radioactive Waste	143	(4)
Decommissioning	147	(2)
Nuclear Accidents	149	(13)
The Windscale Accident	149	(2)
The Three Mile Island Accident	151	(1)
The Chernobyl Accident	152	(5)
Accident Response	157	(5)
Nuclear Weapons	162	(11)
Fission Weapons	162	(1)
Fusion Weapons	163	(1)
Weapons Fall-Out	164	(1)
Nuclear Test Sites and Defence Industry Facilities	164	(9)
Conclusions	173	(2)
Releases of Radionuclides From Non-Nuclear Power Industries	175	(24)
Naturally Radioactive Raw Materials	175	(8)
Phosphate industry	176	(3)
Production of Special Metals from Ore or from By-Products of other Processes	179	(3)
Steel Production	182	(1)
Energy Production	183	(4)
Coal Combustion	183	(2)
Other Forms of Energy Production	185	(2)
The Control of Exposures arising from the Industrial Use of Material containing Natural Radionuclides	187	(1)
Residues from Past Industrial Activities	188	(1)
Releases from Radioisotope Production and Use	189	(6)
Production of Radionuclides	190	(2)
Industrial Uses of Radionuclides	192	(1)
Medical Uses of Radionuclides	193	(2)
Accidents	195	(4)
Instrumentation for Radiation Detection and Measurement	199	(32)
Types of Detector	200	(20)
Gas-Filled Detectors	200	(5)
Scintillation Detectors	205	(5)
Semiconductor Detectors	210	(6)
Passive Detectors	216	(4)
Associated Detector Electronics	220	(9)
The Modular Counting System	220	(1)
The Components of a Basic Modular Counting System	221	(3)
The Components of a Modular Energy Spectroscopy System	224	(5)
The Energy Resolution of a Detector	229	(2)
Measurement Techniques and Procedures	231	(34)
Energy Calibration of Detectors	231	(1)
Efficiency Calibration of Detectors	232	(12)
Geiger-Muller Detectors	235	(2)
Semiconductor Detectors for Alpha-Emitting Nuclides	237	(1)
Gas-Flow Detectors	238	(1)
Liquid Scintillation Detectors	238	(2)
Gamma-Ray Detectors	240	(4)
Solid-State Nuclear-Track Detectors used for Radon Counting	244	(1)
Radiochemical Separation Techniques	244	(1)
Radiation Measurements for Environmental Samples	245	(16)
Ionization Chambers	245	(1)
Geiger Counters	246	(3)
Semiconductor Detectors	249	(1)
Gas-Proportional Counters	250	(1)
Liquid Scintillation Counting	250	(4)
Gamma-Ray Counting	254	(5)
Analysing Gamma-Ray Spectra	259	(2)
Determination of Radon	261	(4)
Determination of the Working Level -- Active Method	262	(1)
Time-Integrating Method for Radon Determination -- Passive Method	262	(3)
Sampling and Sample Preparation	265	(24)
Sampling Terminology	266	(1)
General Sampling Methods	267	(3)
The Sampling Strategy	268	(1)
Estimation of Minimum Number of Samples Required	269	(1)
Sampling Hot Spots and Hot Particles	269	(1)
Sampling Solids	270	(3)
Soils and Sediments	271	(1)
Vegetation	272	(1)
Foodstuffs	272	(1)
Excreta	273	(1)
Sampling Liquids	273	(1)
Liquids Flowing in Open Systems	273	(1)
Liquids in Large, Open Bodies	274	(1)
Liquids in Closed Containers	274	(1)
Sampling Air	274	(8)
Collection of Aerosols	275	(4)
Collection of Gases	279	(3)
Labelling and Documentation	282	(1)
On-Site Treatment and Storage of Samples	282	(2)
Problems Associated with Colloids	283	(1)
Storage of Samples in the Laboratory	284	(1)
Pretreatment Prior to Analysis	284	(3)
Sub-Sampling	284	(1)
Weight of Sub-Sample Required	285	(2)
Solution Preparation	287	(2)
Leaching	287	(1)
Total Dissolution of Samples	287	(2)
Statistical Treatment of Radioactivity Measurements	289	(24)
Accuracy and Precision	289	(1)
Mean and Standard Deviation	290	(4)
Propagation of Errors (Uncertainties)	292	(2)
Probability and Distributions	294	(1)
Confidence Levels	295	(7)
Variations in Counting Period	298	(1)
The Division of Total Counting Time between the Source and Background Counting Times	299	(1)
Statistics of Rate Meters and Ionization Chambers	299	(1)
Statistics with an Unknown Probability Distribution	300	(1)
Outliers and their Treatment	300	(2)
Random and Systematic Errors	302	(1)
Limits of Detection	303	(4)
Regression Analysis	307	(3)
Least-Squares Analysis	308	(2)
Weighted Regression	310	(1)
Correlation Analysis	310	(3)
Radioactive Surveying and Remote Sensing	313	(26)
Surveys Based on Alpha- and Beta-Emitting Radionuclides	313	(2)
Gamma-Ray Surveys	315	(24)
Concentration Units Used in Gamma-Ray Surveying	316	(1)
Types of Gamma-Ray Surveys	317	(1)
Instrumentation used in Gamma-Ray Surveys	318	(6)
Corrections to Raw Gamma-Ray Survey Data	324	(2)
Calibration of Gamma-Ray Survey Instruments	326	(3)
Calibration of Dosimeter Survey Instruments	329	(1)
The Presentation of Gamma-Ray Survey Data	330	(2)
Selected Case Studies of Gamma-Ray Surveys	332	(7)
Modelling the Dispersion of Radionuclides in the Environment: An Introduction to Modelling Concepts	339	(16)
Introduction to Modelling	339	(3)
Types of Environmental Models	342	(1)
Physical Models	342	(1)
Mathematical Models	342	(1)
Statistical Models	342	(1)
Examples of Modelling Approaches	343	(3)
Source-Receptor Models	343	(1)
Receptor Models	343	(1)
Compartmental Models	344	(2)
Stages in the Development of Radiological Assessment Models	346	(1)
Uncertainty in Model Predictions	347	(1)
Model Evaluation and Validation	348	(7)
Model Validation Studies	349	(1)
Use of Experimental Data for Model Evaluation	350	(1)
Statistical Measure of Model Performance	351	(4)
Modelling Dispersion of Radionuclides in the Atmosphere	355	(26)
Air Pollution Meteorology	355	(7)
Structure of the Atmosphere	356	(1)
Dispersion Processes	357	(1)
Influence of Air Stability on Dispersion of Pollution	357	(2)
Mixing Layer	359	(1)
Implications for Plume Dispersion	359	(1)
Wind Profile	360	(1)
Importance of Wind Direction	361	(1)
Common Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling Approaches	362	(7)
K Theory -- Three-Dimensional Model	363	(1)
Fickian Diffusion Approach	364	(2)
Gaussian Puff Model	366	(2)
Gaussian Plume Model	368	(1)
Description of Atmospheric Stability	369	(5)
Modification of the Gaussian Plume Model	374	(3)
Radioactive Decay	374	(1)
Plume Rise	375	(1)
Complex Terrain and Effects of Buildings	375	(1)
Removal by Dry and Wet Deposition	375	(1)
Resuspension of Particles	376	(1)
Transport over Coastal regions	376	(1)
Lagrangian Trajectory Particle Models	377	(4)
Modelling Dispersion of Radionuclides in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments	381	(16)
Transport of Radioactivity in Aquatic Systems	381	(11)
Movement of Radioactivity in Riverine Systems	382	(2)
Movement of Radioactivity in Lakes	384	(2)
Movement of Radioactivity in Estuaries	386	(1)
Movement of Radionuclides in Coastal Seas	387	(3)
Transfer of Radioactivity to Sediment	390	(1)
Movement of Radioactivity in Groundwater	391	(1)
Movement of Radioactivity in the Terrestrial Environment	392	(5)
Radioactivity in Soil	392	(1)
Role of Vegetation -- Uptake and Deposition	393	(1)
Re-suspension of Radionuclides	394	(3)
Assessment of Radiation Doses	397	(26)
General Issues in Calculating Doses	398	(2)
Exposure Pathways	400	(2)
Estimation of Exposure	402	(14)
Soil	403	(3)
Air	406	(5)
Water	411	(3)
Terrestrial Foodchains	414	(2)
Estimation of Individual and Collective Doses	416	(5)
Doses to Individuals	417	(1)
Calculating Collective Doses	418	(3)
Applying Mathematical Models of Environmental Transfer of Radionuclides in Radiological Assessments of Releases of Radionuclides	421	(2)
Appendix 1 Acronyms Used in the Text	423	(2)
Appendix 2 Units, Terms and Conversion Factors for Radiation, Radioactivity and Related Areas	425	(4)
Appendix 3 Data for the Most Important Environmental Radionuclides	429	(10)
Bibliography	439	(2)
References	441	(18)
Index	459