Understanding the radioactivity at Fukushima A physics and engineering perspective Prof. Ben Monreal UCSB Department of Physics

1. Understanding the
radioactivity at Fukushima
A physics and engineering perspective
Prof. Ben Monreal
UCSB Department of Physics
Q&A Panel:
Ben Monreal
Prof. Theo Theofanous, UCSB Chem E.
Prof. Patrick McCray, UCSB History
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

2. • Introduction to radioactivity
• Radiation hazards and health
• What escapes in a meltdown?
• Where does it go?
• How worried should we be?
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

3. Periodic Table of the Elements Chemistry Reference Sheet California Standards Test
1 18
1A 8A
1 H
1
Hydrogen 2
“Tritium” (hydrogen) 13 14 15 16 17
He
2
Helium
1.01 2A Key 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 4.00
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 Atomic number
2 Li Be Na Element symbol
B C N O F Ne
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
6.94 9.01 Sodium Element name 10.81 12.01 14.01 16.00 19.00 20.18
22.99
11 12 Average atomic mass* 13 14 15 16 17 18
3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
Sodium Magnesium 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
22.99 24.31 3B 4B 5B 6B 7B 8B 1B 2B 26.98 28.09 30.97 32.07 35.45 39.95
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
4 K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
39.10 40.08 44.96 47.87 50.94 52.00 54.94 55.85 58.93 58.69 63.55 65.39 69.72 72.61 74.92 78.96 79.90 83.80
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
5 Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
85.47 87.62 88.91 91.22 92.91 95.94 (98) 101.07 102.91 106.42 107.87 112.41 114.82 118.71 121.76 127.60 126.90 131.29
55 56 57 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86
6 Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Cesium Barium Lanthanum Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
Iodine
132.91 137.33 138.91 178.49 180.95 183.84 186.21 190.23 192.22 195.08 196.97 200.59 204.38 207.2 208.98 (209) (210) (222)
87 88 89 104 105 106 107 108 109
7 Fr Ra Ac Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt
Francium Radium Actinium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium
Cesium
(223) (226) (227) (261) (262) (266) (264) (269) (268)
* If this number is in parentheses, then
58
Ce
Cerium
140.12
59
Pr
Praseodymium
140.91
60
Nd Pm
61 62
Sm
Neodymium Promethium Samarium
144.24 (145) 150.36
Uranium and Plutonium
63
Eu
Europium
151.96
64
Gd
Gadolinium
157.25
65
Tb
Terbium
158.93
66
Dy
Dysprosium
162.50
67
Ho
Holmium
164.93
68
Er
Erbium
167.26
69
Tm
Thulium
168.93
70
Yb
Ytterbium
173.04
71
Lu
Lutetium
174.97
it refers to the atomic mass of the
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
most stable isotope.
Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium
232.04 231.04 238.03 (237) (244) (243) (247) (247) (251) (252) (257) (258) (259) (262)
Copyright © 2008 California Department of Education

4. 230 keV 126.5 ms 19.255 s 20.39 m 5730 y
6 +2+4-4
12.0107
0.033%
0+ (3/2-)
ECp,ECp2",...
EC
0+
EC
3/2- 0+
98.90
1/2-
1.10 !-
0+
2 2075°
3 B 4000° B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13
Boron
1.4 MeV 770 ms 0.54 keV 20.20 ms 17.36 ms
5 +3
10.811
-8
6.9#10 %
(3/2-) 2+
EC2" 2p"
3/2- 3+
19.9
3/2-
80.1 !-3"
1+
!-n
3/2-
2 1287°
2 Be 2471° Be5 Be6 Be7 Be8 Be9 Be10 Be11 Be12
92 keV 53.29 d 6.8 eV 1.51E+6 y 13.81 s 23.6 ms
Beryllium 9.012182
4 +2 0+ 3/2- 0+ 3/2- 0+ 1/2+ 0+
-9
2.38#10 % 2p EC 2" 100 !- !-" !-
2 180.5°
1 Li 1342° Li4 Li5 Li6 Li7 Li8 Li9 Li10 Li11
1.5 MeV 838 ms 178.3 ms 1.2 MeV 8.5 ms
Lithium
3 +1
6.941
2- 3/2- 1+ 3/2- 2+ 3/2- 3/2-
elements
Different
1.86#10 -7% p 7.5 92.5 !-2" !-n n !-n,!-2n,...
2 -272.2°
He -268.93° He3 He4 He5 He6 He7 He8 He9 He10
Helium -267.96° 0.60 MeV 806.7 ms 160 keV 119.0 ms 0.30 MeV 0.3 MeV
2 0
4.002602
8.9%
1/2+
0.000137
0+
99.999863 n
3/2-
!-
0+
n
(3/2)-
!-n
0+
n
(1/2-)
n
0+
1 -259.34°
H -252.87° H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6
Hydrogen
1 1.00794
+1-1
91.0%
-240.18°
1/2+
99.985
1+
0.015 !-
12.33 y
1/2+ 2-
6 8
n1
!-
614.8 s
1/2+
2 4
Different
isotopes
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 http://nndc.lbl.gov

5. 230 keV 126.5 ms 19.255 s 20.39 m 5730 y
6 +2+4-4
12.0107
0.033%
0+ (3/2-)
ECp,ECp2",...
EC
0+
EC
3/2- 0+
98.90
1/2-
1.10 !-
0+
2 2075°
3 B 4000° B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13
Boron
1.4 MeV 770 ms 0.54 keV 20.20 ms 17.36 ms
5 +3
10.811
-8
6.9#10 %
(3/2-) 2+
EC2" 2p"
3/2- 3+
19.9
3/2-
80.1 !-3"
1+
!-n
3/2-
2 1287°
2 Be 2471° Be5 Be6 Be7 Be8 Be9 Be10 Be11 Be12
92 keV 53.29 d 6.8 eV 1.51E+6 y 13.81 s 23.6 ms
Beryllium 9.012182
4 +2 0+ 3/2- 0+ 3/2- 0+ 1/2+ 0+
-9
2.38#10 % 2p EC 2" 100 !- !-" !-
2 180.5°
1 Li 1342° Li4 Li5 Li6 Li7 Li8 Li9 Li10 Li11
1.5 MeV 838 ms 178.3 ms 1.2 MeV 8.5 ms
Lithium
3 +1
6.941
2- 3/2- 1+ 3/2- 2+ 3/2- 3/2-
elements
Different
1.86#10 -7% p 7.5 92.5 !-2" !-n n !-n,!-2n,...
2 -272.2°
He -268.93° He3 He4 He5 He6 He7 He8 He9 He10
Helium -267.96° 0.60 MeV 806.7 ms 160 keV 119.0 ms 0.30 MeV 0.3 MeV
2 0
4.002602
8.9%
1/2+
0.000137
0+
99.999863 n
3/2-
!-
0+
n
(3/2)-
!-n
0+
n
(1/2-)
n
0+
1 -259.34°
H -252.87° H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6
Hydrogen
1 1.00794
+1-1
91.0%
-240.18°
1/2+
99.985
1+
0.015 !-
12.33 y
1/2+ 2-
6 8
n1
!-
614.8 s
1/2+
2 4
Different
isotopes
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 http://nndc.lbl.gov