A review of research programs related to the behavior of plutonium in the environment

Technical Report · Wed Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6411072· OSTI ID:6411072

Bartram, Bart W; Wilkinson, Martha J

Plutonium-fueled radioisotopic heat sources find application in a spectrum of space, terrestrial, and underseas applications to generate electrical power by thermoelectric or dynamic-cycle conversion. Such systems under postulated accident conditions could release radioactivity into the environment resulting in risks to the general population. The released radioactivity could be dispersed into various environmental media, such as air, soil, and water and interact with people through various exposure pathways leading to inhalation, ingestion, and external radiological doses and associated health effects. The authors developed short-term exposure (RISK II) and long-term exposure (RISK III) models for use in safety risk assessments of space missions utilizing plutonium-fueled electric power systems. To effectively use these models in risk assessments, representative input values must be selected for a spectrum of environmental transfer parameters that characterize the behavior of plutonium in the environment. The selection of appropriate transfer parameters to be used in a given analysis will depend on the accident scenarios to be modeled and the terrestrial and aquatic environments to be encountered. The authors reviewed the availability of plutonium in the environment. This report summarizes the research programs presently being conducted at six Department of Energy Laboratories and makes recommendations on areas where further research is needed to fill gaps in the data necessary for risk assessments

• Research Organization: NUS Corporation, Gaithersburg, MD (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-80ET32079
• OSTI ID: 6411072
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/32079-1; OSTI ID: 6411072; TRN: US0302925
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 15 Jun 1983
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
RADIOISOTOPE HEAT SOURCES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RISK ASSESSMENT
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
PLUTONIUM 238
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
SPACE PROPULSION REACTORS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS- RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
PLUTONIUM 238- RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
PLUTONIUM 238- RISK ASSESSMENT
RISK ASSESSMENT- MATHEMATICAL MODELS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS- RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
510300* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
520300 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1989)
210600 - Power Reactors
Auxiliary
Mobile Package
& Transportable