Site Profile for the West Valley Demonstration Project Effective Date: 08/17/2007 Type of Document TBD Supersedes: Revision 00

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Site Profile for the West Valley Demonstration Project Effective Date: 08/17/2007 Type of Document TBD Supersedes: Revision 00 ORAU TEAM Dose Reconstruction Project for NIOSH Oak Ridge Associated Universities I Dade Moeller & Associates I MJW Corporation Page 1 of 152 Document Title: Document Number: ORAUT-TKBS-0057 Revision: 00 PC-1 Site Profile for the West Valley Demonstration Project Effective Date: 08/17/2007 Type of Document TBD Supersedes: Revision 00 Subject Expert(s): Robert E. Burns, Jr. Site Expert(s): N/A Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 08/14/2007 Jackson R. Ellis, Document Owner Concurrence: Signature on File Concurrence Date: 08/06/2007 John M. Byrne, Task 3 Manager Concurrence: Signature on File Concurrence Date: 08/06/2007 Edward F. Maher, Task 5 Manager Concurrence: Signature on File Concurrence Date: 08/15/2007 Kate Kimpan, Project Director Approval: Brant A. Ulsh Signature on File for Approval Date: 08/17/2007 James W. Neton, Associate Director for Science New Total Rewrite Revision Page Change FOR DOCUMENTS MARKED AS A TOTAL REWRITE, REVISION, OR PAGE CHANGE, REPLACE THE PRIOR REVISION AND DISCARD / DESTROY ALL COPIES OF THE PRIOR REVISION. Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0057 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 08/17/2007 Page 2 of 152 PUBLICATION RECORD EFFECTIVE REVISION DATE NUMBER DESCRIPTION 06/22/2007 00 New approved Site Profile for the West Valley Demonstration Project. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. There is an increase in assigned dose and a PER is required. Training required: As determined by the Task Manager. Initiated by Robert E. Burns, Jr. Approval: Signature on File___________________________ ___05/31/2007 Robert E. Burns, Jr., Document Owner Signature on File___________________________ ___05/31/2007 John M. Byrne, Task 3 Manager Signature on File____________________________ __06/01/2007 Edward F. Maher, Task 5 Manager Signature on File________ ________________ 05/31/2007 Kate Kimpan, Project Director Brant A. Ulsh Signature on File for ______________ _ 06/22/2007 James W. Neton, Associate Director for Science 08/17/2007 00 PC-1 Approved page change revision initiated to assign new document owner and to correct PER statement from Rev 00. No PER was required because Task 5 evaluation determined previously worked cases would not be adversely impacted (no compensability change) by the Rev 00 issuance of this TBD. No changes were needed as a result of formal internal and NIOSH review. Training required: As determined by the Task Manager. Initiated by Jackson R. Ellis. Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0057 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 06/22/2007 Page 3 of 152 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION TITLE PAGE Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................................13 1.0 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................17 1.1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................ 18 1.2 Scope ........................................................................................................................... 18 2.0 Site Description .........................................................................................................................18 2.1 Site History ................................................................................................................... 18 2.2 Reprocessing Plant Operations Era, 1965 to 1973 ...................................................... 20 2.2.1 Plant and Process Description .......................................................................20 2.2.2 Radiation Protection Program ........................................................................21 2.2.3 Special Considerations for the Operations Era ..............................................22 2.2.4 Chronic Sources of Personnel Exposures ......................................................23 2.2.4.1 Plant Ventilation Systems ..................................................................23 2.2.4.2 Acid Recovery System ......................................................................24 2.2.4.3 Fuel Receiving and Storage Facility ..................................................25 2.2.5 Miscellaneous Sources of Personnel Exposures ...........................................25 2.2.6 Personnel Exposures Associated with Specific Tasks or Duties .............................................................................................................26 2.2.6.1 Maintenance Workers ........................................................................26 2.2.6.2 Operations .........................................................................................30 2.2.6.3 Ventilation System Filter Changeouts ...............................................31 2.2.6.4 Overall Workforce .............................................................................35 2.3 Reprocessing Plant Residual Radiation Era, 1974 to February 25, 1982 ............................................................................................................................. 38 2.4 Reprocessing Plant DOE Era, February 26, 1982, to present ..................................... 41 2.5 State-Licensed (Commercial) Waste Disposal Area, 1963 to 1983 ............................. 44 2.6 High-Level Waste Disposal Area, 1966 to present ...................................................... 46 2.7 Isotopic Information for Plant Areas ............................................................................. 47 2.7.1 Operations and Residual Radiation Eras, 1966 to February 25, 1982 .........................................................................................................47 2.7.2 DOE Era, February 26, 1982, to present ........................................................49 3.0 Occupational Medical Dose ......................................................................................................50 4.0 Occupational Environmental Dose ............................................................................................51 4.1 Inhalation and submersion Dose .................................................................................. 52 4.1.1 Stack Releases ..............................................................................................52 4.1.1.1 Particulates .......................................................................................52 4.1.1.2 Krypton-85 ........................................................................................54 4.1.1.3 Iodine-131 .........................................................................................54 4.1.1.4 Tritium ...............................................................................................55 4.1.2 Ground Level Releases ..................................................................................56 4.2 Ambient Dose ............................................................................................................... 57 4.3 Summary of Exposures from Environmental Sources ................................................. 58 5.0 Internal Dosimetry .....................................................................................................................59 Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0057 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 06/22/2007 Page 4 of 152 5.1 Internal Dose Control Program .................................................................................... 59 5.1.1 Operations and Residual Radiation Eras 1966 – February 25, 1982 .........................................................................................................59 5.1.1.1 Nasal Swabs .....................................................................................60 5.1.1.2 Chest Counter ...................................................................................60 5.1.2 DOE Era February 26, 1982 – present ...........................................................60 5.2 Bioassay program ........................................................................................................ 61 5.2.1 Operations and Residual Radiation Eras 1966 – February 25, 1982 .........................................................................................................61 5.2.1.1 Bioassay Records .............................................................................63 5.2.2 DOE Era February 26, 1982 - present ............................................................63 5.2.2.1 Routine Bioassay ..............................................................................63 5.2.2.2 Special Bioassay ...............................................................................64 5.2.3 Summary ........................................................................................................64 5.3 In Vitro Analyses .......................................................................................................... 65 5.3.1 Operations and Residual Radiation Eras 1966 – February 25, 1982 .........................................................................................................65 5.3.2 DOE Era February 26, 1982 - present ............................................................68 5.4 In Vivo Analyses ........................................................................................................... 69 5.4.1 Operations and Residual Radiation Eras .......................................................69 5.4.1.1 Chest Counter ...................................................................................69
Recommended publications
  • Strontium-90
    EPA Facts about Strontium-90 What is strontium-90? The most common isotope of strontium is strontium-90. Radioactive strontium-90 is produced when uranium and plutonium undergo fission. Fission The time required for a radioactive substance to is the process in which the nucleus of a lose 50 percent of its radioactivity by decay is radionuclide breaks into smaller parts. Large known as the half-life. Strontium-90 has a half- amounts of radioactive strontium-90 were life of 29 years and emits beta particles of produced during atmospheric nuclear weapons relatively low energy as it decays. Yttrium-90, its tests conducted in the 1950s and 1960s. As a decay product, has a shorter half-life (64 hours) result of atmospheric testing and radioactive than strontium-90, but it emits beta particles of fallout, this strontium was dispersed and higher energy. deposited on the earth. How are people exposed to strontium- 90? What are the uses of strontium-90? Although external exposure to strontium-90 Strontium-90 is used in medical and agricultural from nuclear testing is of minor concern because studies. It is also used in thermoelectric devices environmental concentrations are low, that are built into small power supplies for use strontium in the environment can become part of the food chain. This pathway of exposure in remote locations, such as navigational beacons, remote weather stations, and space became a concern in the 1950s with the advent vehicles. Additionally, strontium-90 is used in of atmospheric testing of nuclear explosives. electron tubes, radioluminescent markers, as a With the suspension of atmospheric testing of radiation source in industrial thickness gauges, nuclear weapons, dietary intake has steadily and for treatment of eye diseases.
    [Show full text]
  • Calcined Bone Provides a Reliable Substrate for Strontium Isotope Ratios As Shown by an Enrichment Experiment
    Research Article Received: 8 August 2014 Revised: 15 October 2014 Accepted: 16 October 2014 Published online in Wiley Online Library Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2015, 29, 107–114 (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/rcm.7078 Calcined bone provides a reliable substrate for strontium isotope ratios as shown by an enrichment experiment Christophe Snoeck1*, Julia Lee-Thorp1,RickSchulting1,JeroendeJong2, Wendy Debouge2 and Nadine Mattielli2 1Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK 2G-Time Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 160/02, 50, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium RATIONALE: Strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) are used in archaeological and forensic science as markers of residence or mobility because they reflect the local geological substrate. Currently, tooth enamel is considered to be the most reliable tissue, but it rarely survives heating so that in cremations only calcined bone fragments survive. We set out to test the proposition that calcined bone might prove resistant to diagenesis, given its relatively high crystallinity, as the ability to measure in vivo 87Sr/86Sr from calcined bone would greatly extend application to places and periods in which cremation was the dominant mortuary practice, or where unburned bone and enamel do not survive. METHODS: Tooth enamel and calcined bone samples were exposed to a 87Sr-spiked solution for up to 1 year. Samples were removed after various intervals, and attempts were made to remove the contamination using acetic acid washes and ultrasonication. 87Sr/86Sr was measured before and after pre-treatment on a Nu Plasma multi-collector induced coupled plasma mass spectrometer using NBS987 as a standard.
    [Show full text]
  • THE NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY of the BIOSPHERE (Prirodnaya Radioaktivnost' Iosfery)
    XA04N2887 INIS-XA-N--259 L.A. Pertsov TRANSLATED FROM RUSSIAN Published for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations L. A. PERTSOV THE NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY OF THE BIOSPHERE (Prirodnaya Radioaktivnost' iosfery) Atomizdat NMoskva 1964 Translated from Russian Israel Program for Scientific Translations Jerusalem 1967 18 02 AEC-tr- 6714 Published Pursuant to an Agreement with THE U. S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION and THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. Copyright (D 1967 Israel Program for scientific Translations Ltd. IPST Cat. No. 1802 Translated and Edited by IPST Staff Printed in Jerusalem by S. Monison Available from the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information Springfield, Va. 22151 VI/ Table of Contents Introduction .1..................... Bibliography ...................................... 5 Chapter 1. GENESIS OF THE NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY OF THE BIOSPHERE ......................... 6 § Some historical problems...................... 6 § 2. Formation of natural radioactive isotopes of the earth ..... 7 §3. Radioactive isotope creation by cosmic radiation. ....... 11 §4. Distribution of radioactive isotopes in the earth ........ 12 § 5. The spread of radioactive isotopes over the earth's surface. ................................. 16 § 6. The cycle of natural radioactive isotopes in the biosphere. ................................ 18 Bibliography ................ .................. 22 Chapter 2. PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF NATURAL RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES. ........... 24 § 1. The contribution of individual radioactive isotopes to the total radioactivity of the biosphere. ............... 24 § 2. Properties of radioactive isotopes not belonging to radio- active families . ............ I............ 27 § 3. Properties of radioactive isotopes of the radioactive families. ................................ 38 § 4. Properties of radioactive isotopes of rare-earth elements .
    [Show full text]
  • Properties of Selected Radioisotopes
    CASE FILE COPY NASA SP-7031 Properties of Selected Radioisotopes A Bibliography PART I: UNCLASSIFIED LITERATURE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION NASA SP-7031 PROPERTIES OF SELECTED RADIOISOTOPES A Bibliography Part I: Unclassified Literature A selection of annotated references to technical papers, journal articles, and books This bibliography was compiled and edited by DALE HARRIS and JOSEPH EPSTEIN Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland Scientific and Technical Information Division / OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION 1968 USP. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Washington, D.C. PREFACE The increasing interest in the application of substantial quantities of radioisotopes for propulsion, energy conversion, and various other thermal concepts emphasizes a need for the most recent and most accurate information available describing the nuclear, chemical, and physical properties of these isotopes. A substantial amount of progress has been achieved in recent years in refining old and developing new techniques of measurement of the properties quoted, and isotope processing. This has resulted in a broad technological base from which both the material and information about the material is available. Un- fortunately, it has also resulted in a multiplicity of sources so that information and data are either untimely or present properties without adequately identifying the measurement techniques or describing the quality of material used. The purpose of this document is to make available, in a single reference, an annotated bibliography and sets of properties for nine of the more attractive isotopes available for use in power production. Part I contains all the unclassified information that was available in the literature surveyed. Part II is the classified counterpart to Part I.
    [Show full text]
  • 4. CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL, and RADIOLOGICAL INFORMATION
    STRONTIUM 189 4. CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL, and RADIOLOGICAL INFORMATION 4.1 CHEMICAL IDENTITY Strontium is an alkaline earth element in Group IIA of the periodic table. Because of its high reactivity, elemental (or metallic) strontium is not found in nature; it exists only as molecular compounds with other elements. The chemical information for elemental strontium and some of its compounds is listed in Table 4-1. Radioactive isotopes of strontium (e.g., 89Sr and 90Sr, see Section 4.2) are the primary cause of concern with regard to human health (see Chapter 3). 4.2 PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, AND RADIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES The physical properties of strontium metal and selected strontium compounds are listed in Table 4-2. The percent occurrence of strontium isotopes and the radiologic properties of strontium isotopes are listed in Table 4-3. Strontium can exist in two oxidation states: 0 and +2. Under normal environmental conditions, only the +2 oxidation state is stable enough to be of practical importance since it readily reacts with both water and oxygen (Cotton and Wilkenson 1980; Hibbins 1997). There are 26 isotopes of strontium, 4 of which occur naturally. The four stable isotopes, 84Sr, 86Sr, 87Sr, and 88Sr, are sometimes referred to as stable strontium. The most important radioactive isotopes, 89Sr and 90Sr, are formed during nuclear reactor operations and during nuclear explosions by the nuclear fission of 235U, 238U, or 239Pu. For example, 235U is split into smaller atomic mass fragments such as 90Sr by a nuclear chain reaction initiated by high energy neutrons of approximately 1 million electron volts (or 1 MeV).
    [Show full text]
  • The Discoverers of the Ruthenium Isotopes
    •Platinum Metals Rev., 2011, 55, (4), 251–262• The Discoverers of the Ruthenium Isotopes Updated information on the discoveries of the six platinum group metals to 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/147106711X592448 http://www.platinummetalsreview.com/ By John W. Arblaster This review looks at the discovery and the discoverers Wombourne, West Midlands, UK of the thirty-eight known ruthenium isotopes with mass numbers from 87 to 124 found between 1931 and 2010. Email: [email protected] This is the sixth and fi nal review on the circumstances surrounding the discoveries of the isotopes of the six platinum group elements. The fi rst review on platinum isotopes was published in this Journal in October 2000 (1), the second on iridium isotopes in October 2003 (2), the third on osmium isotopes in October 2004 (3), the fourth on palladium isotopes in April 2006 (4) and the fi fth on rhodium isotopes in April 2011 (5). An update on the new isotopes of palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum discovered since the previous reviews in this series is also included. Naturally Occurring Ruthenium Of the thirty-eight known isotopes of ruthenium, seven occur naturally with the authorised isotopic abun- dances (6) shown in Table I. The isotopes were fi rst detected in 1931 by Aston (7, 8) using a mass spectrograph at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, UK. Because of diffi cult experimental conditions due to the use of poor quality samples, Aston actually only detected six of the isotopes and obtained very approximate Table I The Naturally Occurring Isotopes of Ruthenium Mass number Isotopic Abundance, % 96Ru 5.54 98Ru 1.87 99Ru 12.76 100Ru 12.60 101Ru 17.06 102Ru 31.55 104Ru 18.62 251 © 2011 Johnson Matthey http://dx.doi.org/10.1595/147106711X592448 •Platinum Metals Rev., 2011, 55, (4)• percentage abundances.
    [Show full text]
  • PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT Strontium CAS#: 7440-24-6
    PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT Strontium CAS#: 7440-24-6 Division of Toxicology April 2004 This Public Health Statement is the summary External exposure to radiation may occur from chapter from the Toxicological Profile for natural or man-made sources. Naturally occurring strontium. It is one in a series of Public Health sources of radiation are cosmic radiation from space Statements about hazardous substances and their or radioactive materials in soil or building materials. health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™, is Man-made sources of radioactive materials are also available. This information is important found in consumer products, industrial equipment, because this substance may harm you. The effects atom bomb fallout, and to a smaller extent from of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on hospital waste and nuclear reactors. the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other If you are exposed to strontium, many factors chemicals are present. For more information, call determine whether you’ll be harmed. These factors the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. include the dose (how much), the duration (how _____________________________________ long), and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider the other chemicals you’re This public health statement tells you about exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, strontium and the effects of exposure. lifestyle, and state of health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in 1.1 WHAT IS STRONTIUM? the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for Strontium is a natural and commonly occurring long-term federal cleanup activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Properties and Applications of Ruthenium
    Chapter 17 Properties and Applications of Ruthenium Anil K. Sahu, Deepak K. Dash, Koushlesh Mishra, Saraswati P. Mishra, Rajni Yadav and Pankaj Kashyap Additional information is available at the end of the chapter http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76393 Abstract Ruthenium (Ru) with atomic number of 44 is one of the platinum group metals, the others being Rh, Pd, Os, Ir and Pt. In earth’s crust, it is quite rare, found in parts per billion quantities, in ores containing some of the other platinum group metals. Ruthenium is silvery whitish, lustrous hard metal with a shiny surface. It has seven stable isotopes. Recently, coordination and organometallic chemistry of Ru has shown remarkable growth. In this chapter, we review the application of Ru in diverse fields along with its physical and chemical properties. In the applications part of Ru we have primarily focused on the biomedical applications. The biomedical applications are broadly divided into diagnostic and treatment aspects. Ru and their complexes are mainly used in determination of ferritin, calcitonin and cyclosporine and folate level in human body for diagnosis of diseases. Treat- ment aspects focuses on immunosuppressant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity. Keywords: ruthenium, platinum group, biomedical application, rare element, cancer, isotopes 1. Discovery of ruthenium Ruthenium is one of the 118 chemical elements given in the periodic table. Out of these 118 elements, 92 elements originated from natural sources and remaining 26 elements have been synthesized in laboratories [1, 2]. The last naturally occurring element to be discovered was Uranium in 1789 [1, 3]. Technetium was the first man-made element to be synthesized in the year 1937 [2].
    [Show full text]
  • Disaster Preparedness for Radiology Professionals
    Disaster Preparedness for Radiology Professionals Response to Radiological Terrorism A Primer for Radiologists, Radiation Oncologists and Medical Physicists Government Version 3.0 © 2006 American College of Radiology ACR Disaster Planning Task Force American College of Radiology (www.acr.org) American Association of Physicists in Medicine (www.aapm.org) American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (www.astro.org) Disclaimer: The information contained herein was current as of the date of publication and is intended for educational purposes only. The American College of Radiology does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy of the information presented in this primer. The ACR is not liable for any legal claims or damages that arise from acts or omissions that occur based on its use. 2 PREFACE The American College of Radiology (ACR) Disaster Planning Task Force, in collaboration with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), developed this primer as part of an educational program to enable the radiology community to respond effectively to a terrorist attack. As we learned on September 11, 2001, a large-scale disaster can strike without warning. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and several incidents of anthrax in the mail placed our colleagues on the front lines in New York, Washington, D.C., and other venues, triaging the injured and diagnosing those infected with biological agents. Government officials have issued warnings about the possible use of radiological and chemical weapons in future attacks. A radiation disaster is a possibility for which we must be prepared.
    [Show full text]
  • Activation Cross Sections of Proton Induced Nuclear Reactions on Palladium up to 80 Mev
    Activation cross sections of proton induced nuclear reactions on palladium up to 80 MeV F. Tark´ anyi´ a, F. Ditroi´ a,∗, S. Takacs´ a, J. Csikaia, A. Hermanneb, S. Uddind, M. Babad aInstitute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary bCyclotron Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium cInstitute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), Obninsk, Russia dCyclotron Radioisotope Center (CYRIC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan Abstract Activation cross sections of proton induced nuclear reactions on palladium were measured up to 80 MeV by using the stacked foil irradiation technique and gamma ray spectrometry. The beam intensity, the incident energy and the energy degradation were controlled by a method based on flux constancy via normalization to the excitation functions of monitor reactions measured in parallel. Excitation functions for direct and cumulative cross-sections were measured for the production of 104m;104g;105g;106m;110mAg, 100;101Pd, 99m;99g;100;101m;101g;102m;102g;105Rh and 103;97Ru radioisotopes. The cross section data were compared with the theoretical predictions of TENDL-2014 and -2015 libraries. For practical applications thick target yields were derived from the measured excitation functions. Application in the field of medical radionuclide production is shortly discussed. Keywords: proton irradiation, palladium target, stacked foil technique, cross sections, production yields 1. Introduction Hu et al., 1998; Johnson et al., 1979; Kormali et al., 1976; Zarubin and Sergeev, 1989). Our results obtained Excitation functions of proton induced nuclear re- in that period for some medically relevant radionuclides actions on palladium are important in many applica- were published during 2004-2007.
    [Show full text]
  • RUTHENIUM Element Symbol: Ru Atomic Number: 44
    RUTHENIUM Element Symbol: Ru Atomic Number: 44 An initiative of IYC 2011 brought to you by the RACI NICKI BURNS www.raci.org.au RUTHENIUM Element symbol: Ru Atomic number: 44 The element ruthenium is named after Ruthenia. This word is a Latin rendering of the historical territory of Rus, which today is formed with parts of Belarus, Ukraine, western Russia,northeastern Slovakia and eastern Poland. Ruthenium was discovered in 1844 by Karl Karlovitch Klaus, then an unknown professor at the University of Kazan. Klaus could be considered the creator of the chemistry of the platinum metals because of his extensive investigation of rhodium, iridium, osmium, and to a lesser extent, palladium and platinum. Ruthenium is the 74th most abundant metal on Earth and is generally found in ores with the other platinum group metals in the Ural Mountains and in North and South America. Roughly 12 tonnes of ruthenium is mined each year. Ruthenium is also a fission product of235 Uranium, however the extraction from used nuclear fuel is complicated, expensive and also results in radioactive isotopes of ruthenium. Ruthenium has several applications. An alloy containing small amounts of ruthenium with gold increases the stability of gold in jewellery. It is also used in some advanced high-temperature single-crystal superalloys with applications including the turbine blades in jet engines. The “RU” nib in the famous Parker 51 fountain pen was a 14K gold nib tipped with 96.2% ruthenium and 3.8% iridium. 106Ruthenium, a β-decaying isotope, is used in radiotherapy of eye tumours, mainly malignant melanomas of the uvea.
    [Show full text]
  • Timber Tracking: Multi-Isotope Analysis for Provenancing Bigleaf Maple
    Timber Tracking: Multi-isotope analysis for provenancing Bigleaf maple wood in the Pacific Northwest Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Adelaide for an Honours Degree in Geology Courtney Jane Guy November 2015 Courtney Jane Guy Tracking timber with isotopes in the Pacific Northwest ABSTRACT Tracking timber back to its point of origin is crucial in order to prevent illegal logging and preserve our natural forests. Stable isotope ratios can provide useful information on the geographic origin of trees due to differences based on surrounding environmental, climatic and geological conditions in which the plant grew. Thus isotope ratios of wood can provide a screening tool to assist in ruling whether timber comes from a legal or illegal source. In this study we analysed three light stable isotopes and one heavy stable isotope in order to develop a model able to propose a zone of geographic origin of Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Oxygen (δ18O), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios were measured in α- cellulose and whole-wood of Bigleaf maple sampled in 73 trees from four different states (California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia). In addition strontium (87Sr/86Sr) ratios of 10 trees were measured across this range. The relationships between these isotope ratios were examined based on geographic, climatic and geologic information in order to attempt to distinguish trees from different locations. To test the method, five blind samples were analysed to yield a proposed zone of origin. Carbon and nitrogen ratios did not show coherent geographic trends in this species across the sampled region.
    [Show full text]