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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
Carl A. Detrick, James L. Kelly
Nuclear Technology | Volume 7 | Number 5 | November 1969 | Pages 472-477
Radiation | doi.org/10.13182/NT69-A28450
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The quantitative effects of certain factors on the radiation-induced graft polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and paper (cellulose) were determined. All irradiations were performed in a medium-intensity gamma radiation field created by neutron activation of 55Mn. Resultant radiation dose rates varied between 1.4 and 3.2 × 105 rads/h, initially, and diminished with a 2.58-h half-life. Sample preparation was an important variable in that paper samples immersed in MMA and irradiated immediately thereafter exhibited no grafting, whereas samples soaked 4 and 24 h prior to irradiation yielded increasing amounts of grafting for the same radiation dose. Hydroquinone, which serves as an ideal inhibitor for bulk MMA, yielded no induction period at all for the MMA-cellulose system. The effects of oxygen on the graft polymerization of MMA were similar to its effects on the homopolymerization of MMA. The use of acetone as a solvent for MMA enhanced the amount of graft polymerization. Even higher yields per absorbed dose were obtained using a water-acetone-MMA solution. Furthermore, no pre-irradiation “soak” was necessary to achieve grafting at relatively low absorbed doses in the MMA-solvent systems.