Environmental and radiological safety studies: interaction of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ heat sources with terrestrial and aquatic environments. Progress report, April 1-June 30, 1981
The containers for /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ heat sources in radioisotope thermoelectric generators are designed with large safety factors to ensure they will withstand reentry from orbit and impact with the earth and safely contain the nuclear fuel until it is recovered. Existing designs have proved more than adequately safe, but the Space and Terrestrial Division of the Department of Energy Office of Advanced Nuclear Systems and Projects continually seeks more information about the heat sources to improve their safety. The work discussed here includes studies of the effects on the heat source of terrestrial and aquatic environments to obtain data for design of even safer systems. This report includes data from environmental chamber experiments that simulate terrestrial conditions, experiments to measure PuO/sub 2/ dissolution rates, soil column experiments to measure sorption of plutonium by soils, and several aquatic experiments.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 5881772
- Report Number(s):
- LA-8996-PR; ON: DE82002439
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Environmental and radiological safety studies: interaction of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ heat sources with terrestrial and aquatic environments. Progress report, July 1-September 30, 1979. [Exposure chamber studies of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ dissolution and migration in ecosystems]
Environmental and radiological safety studies. Interaction of /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ heat sources with terrestrial and aquatic environments. Progress report, July 1-September 30, 1980
Related Subjects
PLUTONIUM 238
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
PLUTONIUM DIOXIDE
DISSOLUTION
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
WEATHERING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPOSURE CHAMBERS
SOILS
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHALCOGENIDES
DATA
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAT SOURCES
HEAVY NUCLEI
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
RADIOISOTOPES
TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
510301* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)
520302 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Aquatic Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)