Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

Radiation Exposure Calibration Of The Al2o3:C With Radium-226 And Cesium-137 Using The Osl Method, Selma Tepeli Aydin

All Theses

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimetry was utilized to calibrate Al₂O₃:C powder dosimeters, available commercially as the nanoDot® from Landauer Inc., and compare the dosimeter response to radium-226 (²²⁶Ra) and cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs). The signal from the OSL was quantified using a microSTARii^® OSL reader also produced by Landauer Inc. Dose-response curves were developed for ²²⁶Ra and ¹³⁷Cs experiments (5 dosimeters each) at thirteen absorbed doses. Individual dosimeter response was tracked by serial number. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine if there were significant differences between the intercepts of the …

Thin Safety Margin: The Sefor Super-Prompt-Critical Transient Experiments, Ozark Mountains, Arkansas 1970–1971, Jerry Havens, Collis Geren

Arkansas Scholarly Editions

Thin Safety Margin charts the history of SEFOR, a twenty-megawatt reactor that operated for three years in the rural Ozark Mountains of Arkansas as part of an internationally sponsored program designed to demonstrate the Doppler effect in plutonium-oxide-fueled fast reactors. Authors Jerry Havens and Collis Geren draw upon this history to assess the accidental explosion risk inherent in using fast reactors to reduce the energy industry’s carbon dioxide emissions.

If a sufficiently powerful fast-neutron explosion were to cause the containment of a reactor such as SEFOR’s to fail, the reactor’s radiotoxic plutonium fuel could vaporize and escape into the surrounding …

Nuclear Weapons In A Changing Climate: Probability, Increasing Risks, And Perception, Adam Liska, Tyler R. White, Eric Holley, Robert J. Oglesby

Adam Liska Papers

Many people tend to think that the outcome of any nuclear weapons use today will result in an escalatory situation with apocalyptic outcomes for the countries involved. Yet many factors are increasing the probability of the limited use of nuclear weapons (e.g., 1 to 20 warheads) in a range of conflict scenarios. Previous atmospheric model simulations of regional nuclear conflicts employing many relatively small bombs have been estimated to cause a global “nuclear autumn,” with great reductions in agricultural productivity, stratospheric ozone loss, and spread of hazardous radioactive fallout. The totality of these effects would result in widespread damage …

Anti-Nuclear Activism And The Past, Present And Future Of United States Nuclear Energy Policy, Isabel C. Zellweger

Honors Theses

Nuclear power has had a long and controversial history leading people to have many different views on the topic. Even though nuclear power does provide the nation with a significant portion of its electricity, many still fear its risks, especially after the events at Fukushima last spring. This thesis explores how public opinion, current events, and anti-nuclear activism have shaped nuclear power in America today. After reviewing the literature on nuclear energy in the United States, I discuss the past and current state of United States nuclear energy policy, and then describe changing American attitudes toward nuclear power over time. …

Perspectives On Radioactive Waste Disposal: A Consideration Of Economic Efficiency And Intergenerational Equity, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

There are both internal and external pressures on the U.S. Department of Energy to reduce the estimated costs of isolating radioactive waste, $19 billion for transuranic waste at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and $57 billion for high level waste at Yucca Mountain. The question arises whether economic analyses would add to the decision-making process to reduce costs yet maintain the same level of radiological protection. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of using cost-benefit analysis (CBA), a tool used to measure economic efficiency as an input for these decisions. Using a comparative research approach, we find that CBA …

Report Of The State Nuclear Safety Advisor Submitted To The Governor And 120th Legislature As Of January 15, 2001, Paula M. Craighead

Maine Collection

Report of the State Nuclear Safety Advisor submitted to the Governor and 120th Legislature As of January 15, 2001

Paula M. Craighead, State Nuclear Safety Advisor, Executive Department, Maine State Planning Office, Augusta, Maine, 2001.

Contents: Introduction and Executive Summary / I. Maine Yankee Decommissioning / II. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) / III. Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) / IV. High Level Radioactive Waste / V. Transport Routes and Safety Response / VI. Shipments / VII. Status of Federal and State Legal and Administrative Proceedings / References and Resources / Glossary

The Effects Of A Mandatory Early Shutdown Of Maine Yankee, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

The Effects of a Mandatory Early Shutdown of Maine Yankee

Maine State Planning Office - Richard Silkman, Director (September 1987).

Contents: Introduction / Legal Issues / Economic Issues / Health and Environmental Issues / Conclusions / Appendices

Maine Yankee Shutdown Assessment: A Report To Governor Joseph E. Brennan, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

Maine Yankee Shutdown Assessment: A Report to Governor Joseph E. Brennan

Maine State Planning Office, Maine Office of Energy Resources, Maine Public Advocate

Executive Department - May 1986

Contents: Legal Process / Decommissioning Constraints and Costs / Public and Economic Costs and Benefits / Apprendices