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Title: Potential health risks from postulated accidents involving the Pu-238 RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) on the Ulysses solar exploration mission

Abstract

Potential radiation impacts from launch of the Ulysses solar exploration experiment were evaluated using eight postulated accident scenarios. Lifetime individual dose estimates rarely exceeded 1 mrem. Most of the potential health effects would come from inhalation exposures immediately after an accident, rather than from ingestion of contaminated food or water, or from inhalation of resuspended plutonium from contaminated ground. For local Florida accidents (that is, during the first minute after launch), an average source term accident was estimated to cause a total added cancer risk of up to 0.2 deaths. For accidents at later times after launch, a worldwide cancer risk of up to three cases was calculated (with a four in a million probability). Upper bound estimates were calculated to be about 10 times higher. 83 refs.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6]
  1. California Univ., Davis, CA (USA)
  2. EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (USA)
  3. Air Force Inspection and Safety Center, Kirtland AFB, NM (USA)
  4. Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Inst., Albuquerque, NM (USA). Inhalation Toxicology Research Inst.
  5. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
  6. Lawren
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOD; DOE/DP; National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)
OSTI Identifier:
6251642
Report Number(s):
UCRL-JC-105779; CONF-910116-19
ON: DE91007142
DOE Contract Number:  
W-7405-ENG-48
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 8. symposium on space nuclear power systems, Albuquerque, NM (USA), 6-10 Jan 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.; 30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; EARTH ATMOSPHERE; RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION; HUMAN POPULATIONS; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE; PLUTONIUM 238; RADIATION HAZARDS; PLUTONIUM DIOXIDE; RADIATION ACCIDENTS; RISK ASSESSMENT; SPACE VEHICLES; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; METEOROLOGY; RADIATION DOSES; SOURCE TERMS; THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS; ACCIDENTS; ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS; ACTINIDE ISOTOPES; ACTINIDE NUCLEI; ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; CHALCOGENIDES; DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS; DOSES; ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; HAZARDS; HEALTH HAZARDS; HEAVY ION DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; HEAVY NUCLEI; ISOTOPES; MASS TRANSFER; NUCLEI; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PLUTONIUM COMPOUNDS; PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES; PLUTONIUM OXIDES; POPULATIONS; RADIOISOTOPES; SILICON 32 DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS; VEHICLES; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems; 560151* - Radiation Effects on Animals- Man; 300300 - Thermoelectric Generators; 540130 - Environment, Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)

Citation Formats

Goldman, M, Nelson, R C, Bollinger, L, Hoover, M D, Templeton, W, and Anspaugh, L. Potential health risks from postulated accidents involving the Pu-238 RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) on the Ulysses solar exploration mission. United States: N. p., 1990. Web.
Goldman, M, Nelson, R C, Bollinger, L, Hoover, M D, Templeton, W, & Anspaugh, L. Potential health risks from postulated accidents involving the Pu-238 RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) on the Ulysses solar exploration mission. United States.
Goldman, M, Nelson, R C, Bollinger, L, Hoover, M D, Templeton, W, and Anspaugh, L. 1990. "Potential health risks from postulated accidents involving the Pu-238 RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) on the Ulysses solar exploration mission". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6251642.
@article{osti_6251642,
title = {Potential health risks from postulated accidents involving the Pu-238 RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) on the Ulysses solar exploration mission},
author = {Goldman, M and Nelson, R C and Bollinger, L and Hoover, M D and Templeton, W and Anspaugh, L},
abstractNote = {Potential radiation impacts from launch of the Ulysses solar exploration experiment were evaluated using eight postulated accident scenarios. Lifetime individual dose estimates rarely exceeded 1 mrem. Most of the potential health effects would come from inhalation exposures immediately after an accident, rather than from ingestion of contaminated food or water, or from inhalation of resuspended plutonium from contaminated ground. For local Florida accidents (that is, during the first minute after launch), an average source term accident was estimated to cause a total added cancer risk of up to 0.2 deaths. For accidents at later times after launch, a worldwide cancer risk of up to three cases was calculated (with a four in a million probability). Upper bound estimates were calculated to be about 10 times higher. 83 refs.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6251642}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Nov 02 00:00:00 EST 1990},
month = {Fri Nov 02 00:00:00 EST 1990}
}

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