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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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No impact from Savannah River radioactive wasps
The news is abuzz with recent news stories about four radioactive wasp nests found at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The site has been undergoing cleanup operations since the 1990s related to the production of plutonium and tritium for defense purposes during the Cold War. Cleanup activities are expected to continue into the 2060s.
P. Ramakrishnan, G. E. Mitchell, C. R. Gould, S. A. Wender, G. F. Auchampaugh, R. C. Little
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 98 | Number 4 | April 1988 | Pages 357-364
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE88-A23536
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A procedure for the determination of neutron-induced photon production cross sections is described, including corrections for the neutron-induced photon background and the unfolding of the gamma-ray spectra. As an example, data have been obtained for tantalum and beryllium with five bismuth germanate detectors and the high-energy white neutron source at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. Calculations and measurements indicate that a beryllium sample may be used to simulate a neutron-induced photon background. Results for the Ta(n,xγ) reaction for neutron energies below En = 20 MeV are compared with previous measurements at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator.