One would think that the NUC department with world class researches can test for plutonium, right?
Hello:
I am quite stunned by the fact that the UC berkely engineering department does not have the capacity to test for strontium, plutonium and uranium. After all, this is, as the word implias an "engineering" department with world class scientist, one former graduated even is now working for world class TEPCP who is in charge of 6 nuclear reactors. I am very curious as to the reasons UC berkely does not have equipment like this? It is almost as if Stanford medical center cannot afford an MRI? Very very strange. If UC berkely is not able to test for alpha emitters, how can they even contribute to the nuclear research field? After all, nuclear has to do with chain reactions not only with gammarays?
Mabye I am missing something here. What do you do your research on othewise if you do not test for the public the amount of cesium and iodine?
Is it limited to gamma emmitters? That is kind of hard to believe.
right
yes, you right
We have the ability to test for alphas and betas
Hi, let me make a few points of clarification on this:
The research group within the NE department that is carrying out this work specializes in sophisticated gamma-ray detection for nuclear physics and homeland security-related projects. We don't usually make measurements like this and have had to re-tool our gamma-ray detectors to test the radioisotope levels in rainwater, air, milk, and other things. This has not been trivial and has taken the work of several students over the course of three weeks now. We have also taken over much of the equipment in an NE department teaching lab and are grateful to the students in the course for being flexible.
The ability to detect alpha, beta, and gamma rays is indeed the bread-and-butter of the field. Different research groups in the NE department have systems dedicated to measuring these particles for advanced nuclear physics experiments. The teaching lab we are using for our measurements has an alpha spectrometer, for example. Other labs have beta spectrometers. Part of the issue is in diverting these resources from ongoing projects for use in these tests; part of the issue is in retooling them so that the tests could actually be performed in a useful way with the equipment. For example, we have commented on our current status on alpha testing.
Another issue is that we have to consider what we are likely to find if we look. Now the vapor pressures of uranium, plutonium, and strontium are orders of magnitude lower than those of iodine, cesium, and tellurium. This means that U, Pu, and Sr would be released in much lower quantities than the trace amounts of the other radioisotopes we are seeing. In fact, detecting those elements (U, Pu, Sr) would be something of a "holy grail" for researchers in the sense that it would provide clear evidence of extreme temperatures in the reactor cores when the releases occurred -- temperatures much greater than anyone currently thinks were achieved. So there would be absolutely no reason for a cover-up -- detection of U, Pu, and Sr would be very valuable to scientists and others who want to understanding the complex and still unfolding situation at Fukushima.
As noted in our current status on alpha testing, we still would like to test for alpha emitters for completeness.
By the way, for those reading this who might not understand why detecting alphas and betas relates to U, Pu, and Sr: U-238, U-235, and Pu-239 undergo radioactive alpha decay, while Sr-90 undergoes beta decay. Their gamma-ray signatures are little to none.
~Mark [BRAWM Team Member]
Thanks, BRAWM team...
...And thanks also, Mark, for sharing the reality about the demanding, painstaking, and time-consuming nature of what it is you folks are efforting, for the sake of science, the public interest, and we fraidy-cats, scare-mongers, wet blankets, trolls, and whipping-boys (and -girls).
A few questions, if you have time (I know... Really, just ignore that) and don't mind:
[1] Given your statement: "U, Pu, and Sr would be released in much lower quantities than the trace amounts of the other radioisotopes we are seeing. In fact, detecting those elements (U, Pu, Sr) would be something of a "holy grail" for researchers in the sense that it would provide clear evidence of extreme temperatures in the reactor cores when the releases occurred -- temperatures much greater than anyone currently thinks were achieved"... Does the EPA's RADNET Air Monitoring data for the period March 15-24, found here [http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/docs/rert/radnet-cart-filter-final.pdf], that indicated minute quantities of U-234 and U-238, in most cases, in places as diverse as Alaska, California, Guam, Hawaii, Saipan, and Washington State, provide that 'smoking gun'? ...Is there ANYTHING that can be derived or deduced from this? ...And, also: What sort of impact does this data have on your own estimations and conclusions about the public health?
[2] Do you guys have any guidance, or can you reference any source documents, about what sort of isotopes might be / are being detected by RADNET's Beta Count Gross Rate graphs? (For illustration -- here's Dallas: [http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/rert/radnet-dallas-bg.html])
[3] Finally -- and of perhaps greatest interest to yours truly -- can you help explain or quantify RADNET's Gamma Gross Count Rate graphs? (Another illustration; Fort Worth, Texas: [http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/rert/radnet-ftworth-bg.html]) If there is ANY information out there that can make relevant this data being generated every fifteen minutes by the EPA, I for sure can't find it, nor have I been able to find ANYONE who can point me in the right direction as to what sorts of natural or exotic substances might show up on those nine Gamma Gross Count Rate plots. I am also bearing in mind what you said: "Detecting alphas and betas relates to U, Pu, and Sr: U-238, U-235, and Pu-239 undergo radioactive alpha decay, while Sr-90 undergoes beta decay. Their gamma-ray signatures are little to none." Naturally, I'm not assuming that every time the Beta Gross Count spikes, I'm necessarily breathing in uranium, plutonium, or strontium... But EPA's explanations have been nil to date. They don't even color-code their results so you can know, in an instant, whether a particular reading is of concern or not -- and, seriously, how hard would it be to publish "safe" information in green fields, and "worrisome" information in red, or something? Fail.
Rick Cromack.
Allen, Texas
RichardFCromackJr@gmail.com
972-746-8575
Your efforts to perform
Your efforts to perform additional important tests are appreciated. In the mean time, has anyone else performed such testing and released their results?
alpha particles
Please find a way to test for the alpha particles.
Thank you.
Good questions. Questions
Good questions. Questions I'm assuming will either be ignored or deflected.