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The heat produced by the decay of radioactive fission products after a reactor has been shut down.
Industry:Energy
Isotopes that are formed by the radioactive decay of some other isotope. In the case of radium-226, for example, there are 10 successive daughter products, ending in the stable isotope lead-206.
Industry:Energy
One of three units used to measure the intensity of radioactivity in a sample of material. This value refers to the amount of ionizing radiation released when an element (such as uranium) spontaneously emits energy as a result of the radioactive decay (or disintegration) of an unstable atom. Radioactivity is also the term used to describe the rate at which radioactive material emits radiation, or how many atoms in the material decay (or disintegrate) in a given time period. As such, 1 Ci is equal to 37 billion (3. 7 x 10<sup>10</sup>) disintegrations per second, so 1 Ci also equals 37 billion (3. 7 x 10<sup>10</sup>) Bequerels (Bq). A curie is also a quantity of any radionuclide that decays at a rate of 37 billion disintegrations per second (1 gram of radium, for example). The curie is named for Marie and Pierre Curie, who discovered radium in 1898.
Industry:Energy
The total dose that an occupationally exposed worker receives as a result of repeated exposures to ionizing radiation to to the same portion of the body, or to the whole body, over time.
Industry:Energy
A colloquial term for corrosion and wear products (rust particles, etc. ) that become radioactive (i.e., activated) when exposed to radiation. Because the activated deposits were first discovered at Chalk River, a Canadian nuclear plant, "crud" has been used as shorthand for Chalk River Unidentified Deposits.
Industry:Energy
The normal operating condition of a reactor, in which nuclear fuel sustains a fission chain reaction. A reactor achieves criticality (and is said to be critical) when each fission event releases a sufficient number of neutrons to sustain an ongoing series of reactions.
Industry:Energy
That part of the body that is most susceptible to radiation damage under the specific conditions under consideration.
Industry:Energy
The smallest mass of fissionable material that will support a self-sustaining chain reaction.
Industry:Energy
A general designation applied to radiation detection instruments or survey meters that detect and measure radiation. The signal that announces an ionization event is called a count.
Industry:Energy
A source of natural background radiation, which originates in outer space and is composed of penetrating ionizing radiation (both particulate and electromagnetic). The sun and stars send a constant stream of cosmic radiation to Earth, much like a steady drizzle of rain. Differences in elevation, atmospheric conditions, and the Earth's magnetic field can change the amount (or dose) of cosmic radiation that we receive. Secondary cosmic rays, formed by interactions in the Earth's atmosphere, account for about 45 to 50 millirem of the 360 millirem of background radiation that an average individual receives in a year.
Industry:Energy
