Environmental airborne tritium monitoring system based on absorption of tritiated water on calcium chloride.

Environmental monitoring of tritium around nuclear facilities is conducted in order to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements on the protection of members of the public. Multiple techniques are used to monitor its concentration in air, soil and flora. A new monitoring system was developed, which is based on the absorption of tritiated water on Calcium Chloride grains.

A Characteristic Dose Model for Historical Internal Dose Reconstruction in the Framework of the IAEC Compensation Programme.

A model was developed at the Nuclear Research Centre Negev (NRCN) to assess historical doses from internal exposures by a relatively fast and simple procedure. These assessments are needed in the framework of a compensation programme for the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) workers, which were diagnosed for cancer diseases. This compensation programme was recently recommended by a public committee to avoid lengthy court procedures.

ENHANCED RADIOACTIVE CONTENT OF 'BALANCE' BRACELETS.

During a routine whole body counting measurement of a worker at the Nuclear Research Center Negev, abnormal activities of (232)Th and (238)U were measured. After a thorough investigation, it was found that the radioactivity was due to a rubber bracelet ('balance bracelet') worn by the worker during the measurement. The bracelet was counted directly by an high pure germanium gamma spectrometry system, and the specific activities determined were 10.

A statistical model for reconstruction of historical internal doses for uranium workers.

Uranium workers are monitored for their internal doses mainly by urine measurements. During the years before the early nineties, urine samples were analysed using a fluorimetric system, and the lower limit of detection of the urine samples was relatively high, thus most of the urine measurements were recorded as below threshold. A model was developed for the reconstruction of doses to workers at uranium facilities during these years.

Determination of the solubility and size distribution of radioactive aerosols in the uranium processing plant at NRCN.

Inhalation is the main route of internal exposure to radioactive aerosols in the nuclear industry. To assess the radiation dose from the intake of these aerosols, it is necessary to know their physical (aerodynamic diameter distribution) and chemical (dissolution rate in extracellular lung fluid) characteristics. Air samples were taken from the uranium processing plant at the Nuclear Research Center, Negev.