Updated tool for nuclear criticality accident emergency response
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Some 20 yr ago a hand-held slide rule was developed at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant to aid in the response to several postulated nuclear criticality accidents. These assumed accidents involved highly enriched uranium in either a bare metal or a uranyl nitrate system. The slide rule consisted of a sliding scale based on the total fission yield and four corresponding dose indicators: (1) a prompt radiation dose relationship as a function of distance; (2) a delayed fission product gamma dose rate relationship as a function of time and distance; (3) the total dose relationship with time and distance; and (4) the I-min integrated dose relationship with time and distance. The original slide rule was generated assuming very simplistic numerical procedures such as the inverse-square relationship of dose with distance and the Way-Wigner relationship to express the time dependence of the dose. The simple prescriptions were tied to actual dose measurements from similar systems to yield a meaningful, yet simple approach to emergency planning and response needs. This paper describes the application of an advanced procedure to the updating of the original slide rule for five critical systems. These five systems include (a) an unreflected sphere of 93.2 wt% enriched uranium metal, (b) an unreflected sphere of 93.2 wt% enriched uranyl nitrate solution with a H/{sup 235}U ratio of 500, (c) an unreflected sphere of damp 93.2 wt% enriched uranium oxide with a H/{sup 235}U ratio of 10, (d) an unreflected sphere of 4.95 wt% enriched uranyl fluoride solution having a H/{sup 235}U ratio of 410, and (e) an unreflected sphere of damp 5 wt% enriched uranium dioxide having a H/{sup 235}U ratio of 200.
- OSTI ID:
- 186594
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950601-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 96:007016
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 72; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), Philadelphia, PA (United States), 25-29 Jun 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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