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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
Richard D. Peters, Urban P. Jenquin, Langdon K. Holton, Jr.
Nuclear Technology | Volume 90 | Number 1 | April 1990 | Pages 78-86
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT90-A34387
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Measurement and prediction of outside surface exposure rates and measurement of gamma photon spectra from radioactive sources are described. The sources were 30-cm-diam canisters filled with borosilicate glass to a height of ∼100 cm. Each canister contained up to 237 kCi of 137 Cs and 159 kCi of 90Sr. Exposure rates on the outside surfaces ranged from 26 000 to 320 000 R/h, chiefly from decay of 137 Cs. The radiation field around the canisters was modeled using two codes based on point kernel theory (ISOSHLD-II and QAD-CG) and a transport theory code (ANISN). It was found that the point kernel codes overpredicted surface exposure rates for the radioactive canisters by a factor of ∼2. The surface exposure rates calculated by the transport theory code were ∼25% higher than the measurements. Spectral measurements indicate that most exposure is associated with gamma radiation in the 0.1- to 0.5-MeV range.
