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Undeclared uranium hitches a ride on cobalt exports from Congo, study says
Philippe (left) and Manzuk quantified the amount of uranium that has been exported from the DRC in cobalt shipments or left behind in the environment. (Photo: Joel Hallberg/UW–Madison)
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Princeton University have published a study in Nature Communications that calls attention to a blind spot in nuclear nonproliferation: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exported thousands of metric tons of uranium, and there is no accounting for where it has gone.
In partnership with Lighthouse Reports and the Financial Times, UW–Madison nuclear engineering professor and nuclear security expert Sébastien Philippe and Ryan Manzuk, a geologist and research fellow in Philippe’s group and at Princeton, conducted the study using countrywide mineralization and geochemical data.
Johannes M. Bauer, James C. Liu, Alyssa A. Prinz, Sayed H. Rokni
Nuclear Technology | Volume 175 | Number 1 | July 2011 | Pages 198-201
Technical Paper | Special Issue on the 16th Biennial Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division / Accelerators | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A12290
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) is currently working on increasing its stored current from originally 100 to 500 mA. SSRL worked with the SLAC Radiation Protection Department on mitigating the possible radiological hazards from these upgrades. This paper describes the related analyses, new safety systems, and beam tests. The top-off injection mode (injection with beamline stoppers open) is essential for operation at high currents. The radiological consequences of various situations were analyzed, a new Beam Containment System (BCS) was implemented, and radiation surveys were performed during tests. Since March 2010, all beamlines have been operating in top-off mode. Operation with higher beam currents was also analyzed for radiological hazards, and a new Beamline BCS was installed. The storage ring is now operating with 200 mA during user runs, and tests are ongoing with higher beam currents. Soon the power of the injection current will also be raised from 1.5 W at present to 5 W maximal.
