Estimated potential radiation dose from tritium in gasoline produced from oil shale by use of nuclear explosives
Recovery of oil from shale by use of nuclear explosives has been proposed. The principal radiological impact of this application of nuclear explosives would be expected to result from introduction of tritium into hydrocarbon products, including gasoline. The potential radiation dose that could result from tritiated gasoline is estimated by assuming that all gasoline used in the metropolitan Denver area in 1971 contained 5 microcuries of tritium per gallon. The tritium would be converted to HTO and released from automobile exhausts at ground level. Traffic counts at various locations in the area together with a national average value for gasoline consumption was used to estimate tritium release rates in each of 400-km$sup 2$ areas into which the metropolitan area was divided. This information, together with annual average meteorological data from the Denver area, provided input to the AIRDOT computer code which calculates doses from dispersed atmospheric radioactivity releases. The estimated highest potential dose to a continuously exposed individual is 0.006 m Rem/y and the potential population dose to 1.06 million people living in the area is 2.3 man Rem/y. These figures can be compared with the estimated background radiation dose from natural sources in Colorado of 164.6 m Rem/y which results in a population dose to 1.06 million people of 175,000 man-Rem/y. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- NSA Number:
- NSA-33-000564
- OSTI ID:
- 4175064
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-TM-5017
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 30-JUN-76
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
N48500 -Life Sciences-Radiation Effects on Animals
450201* -Explosions & Explosives-Nuclear-Civil Uses
*GASOLINE- CONTAMINATION
*HUMAN POPULATIONS- RADIATION DOSES
*NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS- USES
*SHALE OIL- RECOVERY
*TRITIUM- RADIATION HAZARDS
AUTOMOBILES
COLORADO
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EXHAUST GASES
FRACTURING
OIL SHALES
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS