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Abstract
1
Introduction
..
Nuclear
Energy.
Types of Nuclear
Reaction
I.
Fission Reaction
II.
Fusion Reaction.
Nuclear Reactors.
Types of Nuclear Reactors
Radiation Exposure Units..
Safety
Measures..
Nuclear
Waste
Safety measures :
Each viable method of production of electricity has
unique advantages and possible detrimental effects. In the statement of the
general nuclear safety objective, radiological hazard means adverse health
effects of radiation on both plant workers and the public and radioactive
contamination of land, air, water or food products. It does not include any of
the more conventional types of hazard that attend any industrial endeavor.
The protection system is effective as stated in the objective if it prevents
significant addition either to the risk to health or to the risk of other damage
to which individuals; society and the environment is exposed as a
consequence of industrial activity already accepted. In this application, the
risk associated with an accident or an event is defined as the arithmetic
product of the probability of that accident or event and the adverse effect it
would produce. The overall risk would then be obtained by considering the
entire set of potential events and summing the products of their respective
probabilities and consequences. In practice, owing to the large uncertainties
that can be associated with the different probabilities and consequences, it is
generally more convenient and useful to disaggregate the probabilities and
the consequences of potential events, as discussed in INSAG-9. These health
risks are to be estimated without taking into account the countervailing and
substantial benefits which the nuclear and industrial activities bestow, both in
better health and in other ways important to modern civilization. When the
objective is fulfilled, the level of risk due to nuclear power plants does not
exceed that due to competing energy sources, and is generally lower. If
another means of electricity generation is replaced by a nuclear plant, the
total risk will generally be reduced. The comparison of risks due to nuclear
plants with other industrial risks to which people and the environment are
exposed makes it necessary to use calculation models in risk analysis. To
make full use of these techniques and to support implementation of this
general nuclear 8 safety objective, it is important that quantitative targets,
safety goals, be formulated. It is recognized that although the interests of
society require protection against the harmful effects of radiation, they are
not solely concerned with the radiological safety of people and the avoidance
of contamination of the environment. The protection of the resources
invested in the plant is of high societal importance and demands attention to
all the safety issues with which this report is concerned. However, the main
focus of this report is the safety of people. What follows is therefore
expressed in these terms solely, but this is not to imply that INSAG has no
regard for other factor.
Radiation UNITS :
Roentgen: Is the measurement of energy produced by Gamma or X-Ray
radiation in a cubic centimeter of air. It is abbreviated with the capital "R".
One milliroentgen, abbreviated "mR" is one-thousandth of a roentgen. One
microroentgen, abbreviated uR is one-millionth of a roentgen.
RAD: Radiation Absorbed Dose. Original measuring units for expressing the
absorption of all types of ionizing radiation (alpha, beta, gamma, neutrons,
etc.) into any medium. One rad is equivalent to the absorption of 100 ergs of
energy per gram of absorbing tissue.
REM: Roentgen Equivalent Man is a measurement that correlates the dose of
any radiation to the biological effect of that radiation. Since not all radiation
has the same biological effect, the dosage is multiplied by a "quality factor"
(Q). For example, a person receiving a dosage of gamma radiation will suffer
much less damage than a person receiving the same dosage from alpha
particles, by a factor of three. So alpha particles will cause three times more
damage than gamma rays. Therefore, alpha radiation has a quality factor of
three. Following is the Q factor for a few radiation types.
Radiation:
Quality Factor
(Q)
Thermal Neutrons
10
20
The difference between the rad and rem is that the rad is a measurement of
the radiation absorbed by the material or tissue. The rem is a measurement
of the biological effect of that absorbed radiation. For general purposes most
physicists agree that the Roentgen, Rad and Rem may be considered
equivalent. System International (SI) Units the System International (S.I. unit)
units for radiation measurements are gray (Gy) and sivert (Sv) for
absorbed dose and equivalent dose respectively. The conversion from one
system to another is simple:
1 Sv = 100 rem
1 rem = .01 Sv
1 mR = .01 mSv
1 Gy = 100 rad
1 rad = .01 Gy
Dose(conventional)
Dose (SI)
1.5mrem
.015 mSv
Dental X-ray
9 mrem
.09 mSv
Chest X-ray
10 mrem
0.1mSv
Mammogram
70 mrem
0.7 mSv
Background Radiation
620 mrem/year
6.2 mSv/year