Health Physics

Radiation-Generating Devices, Characteristics, and Hazards

Joseph John Bevelacqua

• Publisher: Wiley-VCH
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9783527694341
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Applied Sciences
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The book bridges the gap between existing health physics textbooks and reference material needed by a practicing health physicist as the 21st century progresses. This material necessarily encompasses emerging radiation-generating technologies, advances in existing technology, and applications of existing technology to new areas. The book is written for advanced undergraduate and graduate science and engineering courses. It is also be a useful reference for scientists and engineers.

Part I
Overview of Health Physics: Radiation-Generating Devices, Characteristics, and Hazards

Health Physics: Radiation-Generating Devices, Characteristics, and Hazards connects twentieth-century and twenty-first-century health physics in selected areas including the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear accidents, radiological emergencies, nuclear terrorism and related events, nuclear medicine, public issues related to radiation and radioactive materials, and evolving regulatory issues. Specific topics include advanced nuclear reactors, laser uranium enrichment, actinide transformation, advanced medical devices, radiation therapy utilizing exotic particles and heavy ions, nuclear accidents, terrorism involving radioactive dispersal devices and improvised nuclear devices, and evolving regulatory requirements. These topics are active health physics areas. Other topics involving public space travel, harmonization of radiation protection regulations, using antimatter and internal radiation-generating devices in nuclear therapy applications, and implementation of advanced fuel cycles using Generation IV reactors are evolving areas that will more fully emerge as the twenty-first century progresses.

Seven chapters introduce these topics and basic knowledge required to understand the anticipated evolution of the health physics field. Background information is provided in eight appendices to smooth the transition to information needed to comprehend the emerging radiation-generating technologies. The reader should consult these appendices as they are referenced in the main text.

Some topical areas naturally appear in multiple chapters since they are significant and have many aspects. For example, the major nuclear power reactor accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi are addressed throughout the book and not restricted to Chapter 3 that focuses on reactor accidents. This organizational structure is appropriate since these accidents had a significant impact on the nuclear fuel cycle, planning for future nuclear emergencies, public issues associated with the nuclear power debate, and regulatory issues associated with reactor licensing and the selection of design and beyond design basis accidents.

The nature of this text suggests that its content is continuously evolving. As with any book, it is necessary to eventually freeze the content and focus on consolidation and editing. Text material was finalized in mid-2014 and the addition of new material essentially terminated at that time. Accordingly, some material may have evolved after that date including the ongoing description and development of Generation IV reactors, proposed changes to the 10CFR20 radiation protection regulations in the United States, and emerging advances in nuclear medicine. As warranted, references were added to reflect these evolving topics.

Chapter 1
Introduction to Twenty-First Century Health Physics

1.1 Overview of Twenty-First Century Health Physics

History has the unfortunate habit of repeating. Significant events of a given classification (e.g., accidents, natural disasters, and conflicts over natural resources) reoccur and are often influenced by available technology. For example, wars continue to be waged, but their scope and destructive power are amplified by technology. The development of nuclear technology and the fabrication of nuclear weapons continue to influence world events and health physics concerns as the twenty-first century unfolds.

1.2 Health Physics Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities

The twentieth-century power reactor accidents at Three Mile Island Unit 2 and Chernobyl Unit 4 revealed weaknesses in the management and regulation of nuclear reactors. Unfortunately, the nuclear accident hat trick was achieved in the twenty-first century with the accident involving Fukushima Daiichi Units 1, 2, 3, and 4. This most recent accident reveals additional structural weaknesses in nuclear regulation and management that involve fundamental licensing basis issues. The legacies of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl remain, and final cleanup actions for these sites either are delayed until facility decommissioning or are ongoing. The decade cleanup duration of Three Mile Island is dwarfed by the projected 40–100-year recovery effort for Fukushima Daiichi. Associated with these three accidents are issues involving environmental impacts, stakeholder concerns, regulatory changes, licensing impacts, and financial implications. These issues are addressed in this book and have a profound influence on health physics activities associated with these accidents and the subsequent expansion of nuclear power generation.

In a similar fashion, the terrorist attacks of the twentieth century culminated in the 11 September 2001 events involving the World Trade Center in New York and the US Pentagon. These attacks spawned significant concerns regarding the escalation of terrorist events to include a variety attacks including those utilizing radioactive materials and nuclear weapons. Technology has once again opened a door to an escalation of attack profiles that significantly affect the health physics profession.

The nuclear fuel cycle has successfully enriched uranium for reactor fuel and weapons production and reprocessed spent nuclear fuel to recover uranium and plutonium. Historically, the enrichment process required large facilities because diffusion and centrifuge technologies are relatively inefficient processes for uranium enrichment. The advent of advanced centrifuge technology and laser isotope separation makes the uranium enrichment step considerably more efficient and permits smaller facilities to be constructed and operated. These facilities are easier to conceal than the large centrifuge and gaseous diffusion plants. This presents the opportunity for a clandestine enrichment facility to produce weapons-grade uranium. Advanced technologies, particularly laser uranium enrichment, present a twenty-first-century nuclear proliferation concern.

In a similar manner, reprocessing technology has successfully recovered plutonium, and this technology is well known. The expansion of nuclear power facilities offers the possibility for the diversion of spent fuel that could be reprocessed and the recovered plutonium diverted toward weapons production or terrorist purposes.

On a more positive note, nuclear medicine has advanced and improved diagnostic and therapeu...