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

 • 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

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

 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
4 9.012182 +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

 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
4 9.012182 +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

 0.00294% ECp ECp ECp ECp ECp EC EC EC 5.8 EC 91.72 2.2 0.28 ! ! ! !

Z=0-28 Part 1 of 2
2 1246°
8 Mn 2061° Mn44 Mn45 Mn46 Mn47 Mn48 Mn49 Mn50 Mn51 Mn52 Mn53 Mn54 Mn55 Mn56 Mn57 Mn58 Mn59 Mn60 Mn6
13 41 ms 100 ms 158.1 ms 382 ms 283.88 ms 46.2 m 5.591 d 3.74E+6 y 312.3 d 2.5785 h 85.4 s 3.0 s 4.6 s 51 s 0.71
25 2 +2+3+4+7
54.938049
0.000031% ECp ECp
4+
ECp,EC",... EC
5/2-
EC
0+
*
EC
5/2-
EC
6+
*
EC
7/2-
EC,!-
3+ 5/2-
100 !-
3+
!-
5/2-
!-
0+
*
!-
3/2-,5/2-
!-
0+
*
!-
(5/2

2 1907°
8 Cr 2671° Cr42 Cr43 Cr44 Cr45 Cr46 Cr47 Cr48 Cr49 Cr50 Cr51 Cr52 Cr53 Cr54 Cr55 Cr56 Cr57 Cr58 Cr59 Cr6
13 21 ms 53 ms 50 ms 0.26 s 500 ms 21.56 h 42.3 m 1.8E+17 y 27.702 d 3.497 m 5.94 m 21.1 s 7.0 s 0.74 s 0.57
24 1 +2+3+6
51.9961
0.000044%
(3/2+)
ECp,EC",... ECp
0+
ECp EC
0+
EC
3/2-
EC
0+ 5/2-
ECEC
0+
4.345 EC
7/2- 0+
83.789
3/2-
9.501
0+
2.365 !-
3/2-
!-
0+ 3/2-,5/2-,7/2-
!- !-
0+
!- !-
0+

2 1910°
8 V 3407° V40 V41 V42 V43 V44 V45 V46 V47 V48 V49 V50 V51 V52 V53 V54 V55 V56 V57 V58 V5
11 800 ms 90 ms 547 ms 422.37 ms 32.6 m 15.9735 d 330 d 1.4E+17 y 3.743 m 1.61 m 49.8 s 6.54 s

Vanadium 23 2 +2+3+4+5
50.9415
-7
9.6#10 % EC
(7/2-)
EC"
(2+)
*
EC
7/2-
EC
0+
*
EC
3/2-
EC
4+ 7/2-
EC,!-
6+
0.250
7/2-
99.750 !-
3+
!-
7/2-
!-
3+
!-
(7/2-)

2 1668°
8 Ti 3287° Ti38 Ti39 Ti40 Ti41 Ti42 Ti43 Ti44 Ti45 Ti46 Ti47 Ti48 Ti49 Ti50 Ti51 Ti52 Ti53 Ti54 Ti55 Ti56 Ti57 Ti5
Titanium 22
10
2 +2+3+4
47.867
0+
26 ms
(3/2+)
50 ms
0+
80 ms
3/2+
199 ms
0+
509 ms
7/2-
63 y
0+
184.8 m
7/2- 0+ 5/2- 0+ 7/2- 0+
5.76 m
3/2-
1.7 m
0+
32.7 s
(3/2)- 0+ 0+ 0+
-6
7.8#10 % ECp EC ECp EC EC EC EC 8.0 7.3 73.8 5.5 5.4 !- !- !-
2 1541°
8 Sc 2836° Sc36 Sc37 Sc38 Sc39 Sc40 Sc41 Sc42 Sc43 Sc44 Sc45 Sc46 Sc47 Sc48 Sc49 Sc50 Sc51 Sc52 Sc53 Sc54 Sc55 Sc56 Sc5
9 182.3 ms 596.3 ms 681.3 ms 3.891 h 3.927 h 83.79 d 3.3492 d 43.67 h 57.2 m 102.5 s 12.4 s 8.2 s
Scandium 21 2 +3
44.955910
(7/2-) 4- 7/2- 0+
*
7/2- 2+
*
7/2-
*
4+
*
7/2- 6+ 7/2- 5+
*
(7/2)- 3+
1.12#10 -7% ECp,EC",... EC EC EC EC 100 !- !- !- !- !- !- !-
2 842°
8 Ca 1484° Ca34 Ca35 Ca36 Ca37 Ca38 Ca39 Ca40 Ca41 Ca42 Ca43 Ca44 Ca45 Ca46 Ca47 Ca48 Ca49 Ca50 Ca51 Ca52 Ca53 Ca54 Ca55 Ca5
8 50 ms 102 ms 181.1 ms 440 ms 859.6 ms 1.03E+5 y 162.61 d 4.536 d 6E+18 y 8.718 m 13.9 s 10.0 s 4.6 s 90 ms

Calcium 20 2 +2
40.078
0.000199%
0+
EC2p ECp
0+
ECp
3/2+
EC
0+
EC
3/2+ 0+
96.941 EC
7/2- 0+
0.647
7/2-
0.135
0+
2.086 !-
7/2- 0+
0.004 !-
7/2- 0+
!-,!-!-
0.187
3/2-
!-
0+
!-n
(3/2-)
!-
0+ (3/2-,5/2-)
!-n
0+ 0+

2 63.38°
8 K 759° K32 K33 K34 K35 K36 K37 K38 K39 K40 K41 K42 K43 K44 K45 K46 K47 K48 K49 K50 K51 K52 K53 K54 K5
8 190 ms 342 ms 1.226 s 7.636 m 1.277E+9 y 12.360 h 22.3 h 22.13 m 17.3 m 105 s 17.50 s 6.8 s 1.26 s 472 ms 365 ms 105 ms 30 ms 10 ms
Potassium 19 1 +1
39.0983
0.0000123% ECp
3/2+ 2+
ECp,EC",... EC
3/2+
EC
3+
*
3/2+
93.2581
4-
EC,!-
0.0117
3/2+
6.7302 !-
2-
!-
3/2+
!-
2-
!-
3/2+
!-
(2-)
!-
1/2+
!-n
(2-)
!-n
(3/2+)
!-n
(0-,1,2-) (1/2+,3/2+)
!-n !-n !-n
(3/2+)
!-n
2 -189.35°
8 Ar -185.85° Ar30 Ar31 Ar32 Ar33 Ar34 Ar35 Ar36 Ar37 Ar38 Ar39 Ar40 Ar41 Ar42 Ar43 Ar44 Ar45 Ar46 Ar47 Ar48 Ar49 Ar50 Ar51 Ar52 Ar53
Argon 18
8
0
39.948
0.000329%
-122.28° 15.1 ms

ECp,EC2p,...ECp
98 ms
0+
173.0 ms

ECp
1/2+
844.5 ms

EC
0+
EC
1.775 s
3/2+ 0+
0.337 EC
35.04 d
3/2+ 0+
0.063 !-
269 y
7/2- 0+
99.600
109.34 m

!-
7/2-
!-
32.9 y
0+
5.37 m
(3/2,5/2)
!- !-
11.87 m
0+
!-
21.48 s

!-
8.4 s
0+
!-n
700 ms
0+ 0+ 0+
3
2 -101.5°
8 Cl -34.04° Cl28 Cl29 Cl30 Cl31 Cl32 Cl33 Cl34 Cl35 Cl36 Cl37 Cl38 Cl39 Cl40 Cl41 Cl42 Cl43 Cl44 Cl45 Cl46 Cl47 Cl48 Cl49 Cl50 Cl51
7 143.8° 150 ms 298 ms 2.511 s 1.5264 s 3.01E+5 y 37.24 m 55.6 m 1.35 m 38.4 s 6.8 s 3.3 s 434 ms 400 ms 223 ms

Chlorine 17 +1+5+7-1
35.4527
0.000017% ECp
1+
ECp,EC",... EC
3/2+
EC
0+
*
3/2+
75.77
2+
EC,!-
3/2+
24.23 !-
2-
*
!-
3/2+
!-
2- (1/2,3/2)+
!- !- !- !-n !-n !-n !-n
2 115.21°
8 S 444.60° S26 S27 S28 S29 S30 S31 S32 S33 S34 S35 S36 S37 S38 S39 S40 S41 S42 S43 S44 S45 S46 S47 S48 S49
Sulfur 16
6
+4+6-2
32.066
0.00168%
1041° 21 ms

ECp,EC2p,...ECp
125 ms
0+
ECp
187 ms
5/2+
EC
1.178 s
0+
EC
2.572 s
1/2+ 0+
95.02
3/2+
0.75
0+
4.21 !-
87.51 d
3/2+ 0+
0.02 !-
5.05 m
7/2-
!-
170.3 m
0+
11.5 s
(3/2,5/2,7/2)-
!- !-
8.8 s
0+
!-n
0.56 s
0+
!-n
220 ms

!-n
123 ms
0+
!-n
82 ms
0+ 0+
34
2 44.15°
8 P 280.5° P24 P25 P26 P27 P28 P29 P30 P31 P32 P33 P34 P35 P36 P37 P38 P39 P40 P41 P42 P43 P44 P45 P46
Phosphorus 15
5
+3+5-3
30.973761
0.000034%
721°

ECp
20 ms
(3+)
ECp
260 ms
1/2+
270.3 ms
3+
ECp,EC",... EC
4.140 s
1/2+
EC
2.498 m
1+ 1/2+
100
14.262 d

!-
1+
!-
25.34 d
1/2+
!-
12.43 s
1+
!-
47.3 s
1/2+
!-
5.6 s

!-
2.31 s

!-n
0.64 s

!-n
0.16 s

!-n
260 ms

!-n
120 ms

!-n
110 ms

!-n
33 ms
32
2 1414°
8 Si 3265° Si22 Si23 Si24 Si25 Si26 Si27 Si28 Si29 Si30 Si31 Si32 Si33 Si34 Si35 Si36 Si37 Si38 Si39 Si40 Si41 Si42
Silicon 14
4
+2+4-4
28.0855
0.00326% ECp
6 ms
0+
ECp
102 ms
0+
ECp
220 ms
5/2+
EC
2.234 s
0+
EC
4.16 s
5/2+ 0+
92.23
1/2+
4.67
0+
3.10 !-
157.3 m
3/2+
!-
172 y
0+
!-
6.18 s

!-
2.77 s
0+
!-
0.78 s

!-n
0.45 s
0+ 0+ 0+ 0+
30
2 660.32°
8 Al 2519° Al21 Al22 Al23 Al24 Al25 Al26 Al27 Al28 Al29 Al30 Al31 Al32 Al33 Al34 Al35 Al36 Al37 Al38 Al39

Aluminum 13
3
+3
26.981538
0.000277% ECp
70 ms

ECp
0.47 s

EC"
2.053 s
4+
*
EC
7.183 s
5/2+
EC
7.4E+5 y
5+
*
5/2+
100
2.2414 m

!-
3+
!-
6.56 m
5/2+
!-
3.60 s
3+
644 ms
(3/2,5/2)+
!- !-
33 ms
1+
!-n
60 ms

!-n
150 ms
28
2 650°
8 Mg 1090° Mg20 Mg21 Mg22 Mg23 Mg24 Mg25 Mg26 Mg27 Mg28 Mg29 Mg30 Mg31 Mg32 Mg33 Mg34 Mg35 Mg36 Mg37
Magnesium 12
2
+2
24.3050
0.00350% ECp
95 ms
0+
122 ms
(3/2,5/2)+
ECp EC
3.857 s
0+
EC
11.317 s
3/2+ 0+
78.99
5/2+
10.00
0+
11.01 !-
9.458 m
1/2+
!-
20.91 h
0+
!-
1.30 s
3/2+
!-
335 ms
0+
!-n
230 ms

!-n
120 ms
0+
!-n
90 ms

!-n
20 ms
0+ 0+
26
2 97.80°
8 Na 883° Na18 Na19 Na20 Na21 Na22 Na23 Na24 Na25 Na26 Na27 Na28 Na29 Na30 Na31 Na32 Na33 Na34 Na35
1 447.9 ms 22.49 s 2.6019 y 14.9590 h 59.1 s 1.072 s 301 ms 30.5 ms 44.9 ms 48 ms 17.0 ms 13.2 ms 8.2 ms 5.5 ms 1.5 ms
Sodium 11 +1
22.989770
2+ 3/2+ 3+ 3/2+ 4+
*
5/2+ 3+ 5/2+ 1+ 3/2 2+ 3/2+ (3-,4-)
0.000187% p EC" 100 !- !- !- !-n !-n !-n !-n,!-2n,... !-n,!-2n,... !-n,!-2n,... !-n,!-2n,... !-2n !-n
2 -248.59°
8 Ne -246.08° Ne16 Ne17 Ne18 Ne19 Ne20 Ne21 Ne22 Ne23 Ne24 Ne25 Ne26 Ne27 Ne28 Ne29 Ne30 Ne31 Ne32
Neon 10 0
-228.7°

20.1797
0.0112% 2p
122 keV
0+
109.2 ms
1/2-
ECp,EC",... EC
1672 ms
0+
EC
17.22 s
1/2+ 0+
90.48
3/2+
0.27
0+
9.25 !-
37.24 s
5/2+
!-
3.38 m
0+
602 ms
(1/2,3/2)+
!- !-n
197 ms
0+
!-n
32 ms

!-n
17 ms
0+
!-
0.2 s
0+ 0+
24
2 -219.62°
7 F -188.12° F14 F15 F16 F17 F18 F19 F20 F21 F22 F23 F24 F25 F26 F27 F28 F29
Fluorine 9 -1
18.9984032
-129.02°

2.7#10 -6% p
(2-)
p
1.0 MeV
(1/2+)
p
40 keV
0-
EC
64.49 s
5/2+
EC
109.77 m
1+ 1/2+
100 !-
11.00 s
2+
!-
4.158 s
5/2+
!-
4.23 s
4+,(3+)
2.23 s
(3/2,5/2)+
!- !-
0.34 s
(1,2,3)+
!-n
59 ms
22
2 -218.79°
6 O -182.95° O12 O13 O14 O15 O16 O17 O18 O19 O20 O21 O22 O23 O24 O25 O26
Oxygen 8 -2
-118.56°

15.9994
0.078%
0.40 MeV

2p
0+
ECp
8.58 ms
(3/2-)
EC
70.606 s
0+
EC
122.24 s
1/2- 0+
99.762
5/2+
0.038
0+
0.200 !-
26.91 s
5/2+
!-
13.51 s
0+
3.42 s
(1/2,3/2,5/2)+
!- !-
2.25 s
0+
!-n
82 ms

!-n
61 ms
0+
20
2 -210.00°
5 N -195.79° N10 N11 N12 N13 N14 N15 N16 N17 N18 N19 N20 N21 N22 N23 N24
Nitrogen 7
-146.94°
±1±2±3+4+5
14.00674
0.0102% p
740 keV
1/2+
11.000 ms

EC3"
1+
EC
9.965 m
1/2- 1+
99.634
1/2-
0.366 !-"
7.13 s
2-
!-n
4.173 s
1/2-
624 ms
1-
!-n,!-",... !-n
0.304 s
(1/2-)
!-n
100 ms

!-n
85 ms

!-n
24 ms
18
2 4492t°
4 C 3642s° C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22
230 keV 126.5 ms 19.255 s 20.39 m 5730 y 2.449 s 0.747 s 193 ms 95 ms 46 ms 14 ms
Carbon 6 +2+4-4
12.0107
0+ (3/2-) 0+ 3/2- 0+ 1/2- 0+ 1/2+ 0+ 0+ 0+ 0+
0.033% ECp,ECp2",...
EC EC 98.90 1.10 !- !- !-n !-n !-n !-n !-n
2 2075°
3 B B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13 B14 B15 B16 B17 B18 B19
Boron
4000°

5 +3
10.811
-8
6.9#10 %
1.4 MeV
(3/2-)
770 ms
2+
EC2" 2p"
0.54 keV
3/2- 3+
19.9
3/2-
80.1 !-3"
20.20 ms
1+
!-n
17.36 ms
3/2-
!-
13.8 ms
2-
!-
10.5 ms

n
200 Ps
(0-)
!-n
5.08 ms
(3/2-)
16
2 1287°
2 Be 2471° Be5 Be6 Be7 Be8 Be9 Be10 Be11 Be12 Be13 Be14
Beryllium
4 +2
9.012182
2.38#10 -9% 2p
92 keV
0+
53.29 d

EC
3/2-
2"
6.8 eV
0+ 3/2-
100
1.51E+6 y

!-
0+
!-"
13.81 s
1/2+
!-
23.6 ms
0+
n
0.9 MeV
(1/2,5/2)+
4.35 ms
0+
!-n,!-2n,...
12 14
2 180.5°
Li Li4 Li5 Li6 Li7 Li8 Li9 Li10 Li11 Li12
Lithium
1 1342°

3 +1
6.941
1.86#10 -7%
2-
p
1.5 MeV
3/2- 1+
7.5
3/2-
92.5 !-2"
838 ms
2+
!-n
178.3 ms
3/2-
n
1.2 MeV 8.5 ms
3/2-
!-n,!-2n,...
10
elements
Different

2 -272.2°
He -268.93° He3 He4 He5 He6 He7 He8 He9 He10
Helium2 0
-267.96°
1/2+ 0+
0.60 MeV
3/2-
806.7 ms
0+
160 keV
(3/2)-
119.0 ms
0+
0.30 MeV
(1/2-)
0.3 MeV
0+
4.002602
8.9% 0.000137 99.999863 n !- n !-n n n
1 -259.34°
H H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6
Hydrogen -252.87°

1 +1-1
1.00794
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

elements
Different

Different
isotopes

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

The reactor’s job is to turn U into fission products. Uranium &
95% of reactor power comes from the fission Plutonium
events themselves.

5% comes from the p e s

ot o
later fission product
le i s
decays.
St ab

The products include c t s

odu
many different
n pr
elements. i o
Fiss Fission
elements
Different

Different
isotopes

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

While it’s running, the reactor’s Neutron capture Uranium &
neutrons can undergo side on fuel Plutonium
reactions that make more
unstable elements in the fuel ... Minor Actinides

p e s
ot o
and in other materials. le i s
St ab

c t s
odu
n pr
i o
Fiss Fission

Neutron capture on water,

elements
Different

air, reactor materials

Different
Induced radioactivity
isotopes

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 Radiation damage
Alpha decay: common
in minor actinides
(damages every 10th
atom it passes.)
222Rn → 218Po + 4He

Beta & gamma decay:

fission products
(damages every 3000th
atom it passes.)
14C → 14N + e- + ν

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 http://education.jlab.org

 How much damage?
• One becquerel = 1 decay per second
• One curie = 37 billion decays per second.
• A measure of amount, as in “There are 20 million curies of
137Cs in the fuel pond”

• One gray = absorbing 1 billion 238U decays, or 10 billion

137Cs decays, per gram of body mass

• One sievert = absorbing 0.05B 238U decays, or 10B of 137Cs,

per gram of body mass
• A measure of “dose” = fraction of body’s chemical bonds
damaged.
For fission products, gray = sievert
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11
 Radiation numeracy
Natural backgrounds
• You are all getting irradiated
vary; 1.5 - 7 mSv/y
right now.
• natural 40K
in your body:
~0.2 mSv/yr.
• natural 222Rn in the air:
~1 mSv/yr.
• Moving to Denver?
Add ~1 mSv/yr.
• Are you a flight attendant?
Add ~few mSv/yr.

Lesson: a few milliSieverts dose is not worth

worrying about at all. (but mSv/h rate can add up.)
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 “Chernobyl Record” R.F. Mould, IOP 2000
 Radiation and cancer
Ionization ≈ DNA damage (rarely)

DNA damage ≈ changed cells (rarely)

changed cells ≈ cancer (rarely)

Extra cases per 10000 people with

Type of cancer
1000mSv doses

Leukemia 3
Lesson: 1 Sv = 1000 mSv
Breast
is a risk you would go out 7
Thyroid of your way to avoid, 1.6
Lung like texting while driving. 4
Stomach 5
Colon 2
From John D. Boice, Natl. Cancer Institute
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 in “Health Effects from Exposure to Low-Level Ionizing Radiation”, IOP 1996
Acute radiation sickness
Lesson: >5 Sv = run for your life
• Extraordinarily rare.
• “Slotin Incident”: 21 Sv, victim died 9 d later
• “Daghlian incident”: 5 Sv, victim died 1 month later
• Goiania accident: 5 Sv/hr medical source got loose.
4 dead (all > 5 Sv), 15 hospitalized (all betwen 0.5
and 5 Sv).
• Chernobyl first-responders: dose rates of 10 Sv/hr
in many areas; 30 dead, 200 hospitalized
• Many victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 Units in the news
Last Defense at Troubled Reactors: 50 Japanese Workers
Radiation close to the reactors was
← we know 5000 mSv = fatal
Published: March 15, 2011

reported to reach 400 millisieverts per

hour on Tuesday after a blast inside so 400 mSv/hr for would be fatal
reactor No. 2 and fire at reactor No. 4, but
has since dropped back to as low as 0.6
if you had 5000/400 = 12 hours
millisieverts at the plant gate.
← 0.6 mSv per hour
1000 mSv = texting while driving
1000/0.6 = two months
Radiation levels on the edge of the plant
compound briefly spiked at 8217 microsieverts ← 8000 µSv/hr = 8 mSv/hr
per hour but later fell to about a third that.

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 They meant “millisieverts
per hour” NYTimes.com

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 Are low doses
proportionally dangerous?
• Probably?? There is no case where a small extra risk was
detectable. (Chernobyl area: thyroid cancer at 100 mSv)

added
added cancer
cancer rate
rate

?? ?? ??
dose
1mSv 100mSv 1Sv 2Sv years since dose
Fukushima?
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11
“Health effects of low-level exposure to ionizing radiation”, ed. Hendee & Edwards, 1oP 1996
 What’s getting out? Uranium &

What’s getting out?

Minor Actinides
Plutonium

p e s
ot o
le i s
St ab

c t s
odu
n pr
i o
Fiss
elements
Different

Different
Induced radioactivity
isotopes

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

Periodic Table of the Elements Chemistry Reference Sheet California Standards Test
1 18
1A

H
1 Induced radioactivity 8A

He
2
1
Hydrogen 2 13 14 15 16 17 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

Fission products
Cesium Barium Lanthanum Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
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
(223) (226) (227) (261) (262) (266) (264) (269) (268)

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71

* If this number is in parentheses, then

Ce
Cerium
140.12
Pr
Praseodymium
140.91
Nd
144.24
Pm
(145)
Sm
Neodymium Promethium Samarium
150.36
Eu
Europium
151.96
Gd
Gadolinium
157.25
Tb
Terbium
158.93
Dy
minor actinides
Dysprosium
162.50
Ho
Holmium
164.93
Er
Erbium
167.26
Tm
Thulium
168.93
Yb
Ytterbium
173.04
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)

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

Copyright © 2008 California Department of Education
Periodic Table of the Elements Chemistry Reference Sheet California Standards Test
1 18
1A 8A
1 2
1 H He
Hydrogen 2 13 14 15 16 17 Helium
1.01 2A Key 3A 4A 5A 6A 7A 4.00

2
3
Li
Lithium
6.94
Be
4

Beryllium
9.01
Na
11

Sodium
Atomic number
Element symbol
Element name
B
5

Boron
10.81
C
6

Carbon
12.01
N
7
Gases
Nitrogen
14.01
O
8

Oxygen
16.00
9
F
Fluorine
19.00
10
Ne
Neon
20.18
22.99
solu r

11 12 Average atomic mass* 13 14 15 16 17 18

bl e
e

3 Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
wat

Sodium Magnesium 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

Inert metals
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
(223) (226) (227) (261) (262) (266) (264) (269) (268)

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium
* If this number is in parentheses, then 140.12 140.91 144.24 (145) 150.36 151.96 157.25 158.93 162.50 164.93 167.26 168.93 173.04 174.97
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)

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

Copyright © 2008 California Department of Education
 Healthy reactor:

In Zircalloy casing:
fuel + fission products + actinides

In cooling water:
activation products
In steam:
activation products
In environment:
practically nothing

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 Meltdown:

In Zircalloy casing:
fuel + fission products + actinides

In cooling water:
fission products like Cs, I, Tc
In steam:
fission products like Xe, Kr, Rn
In environment:
practically nothing

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 Meltdown + emergency
Three-Mile venting:
Island In Zircalloy casing:
fuel + fission products + actinides

In cooling water:
fission products like Cs, I, Tc
In steam:
fission products like Xe, Kr, Rn
In environment:
practically
Xe, Kr,nothing
Rn
 Meltdown + containment
Fukushima failure:
Daiishi 2 In Zircalloy casing:
fuel + fission products + actinides

In cooling water:
fission products like Cs, I, Tc
In steam:
fission products like Xe, Kr, Rn

In environment:
Xe, Kr,
Xe,Rn,
Kr,Cs,
Rn I, Tc
 Meltdown + fuel fire
???
In Zircalloy casing:
fuel + fission products + actinides

In environment:
fuel + fission products + actinides
Briefly happened at
Fukushima spent-fuel
pools? (reports vary?)

This is very bad but

still not as bad as Chernobyl
http://mitnse.com
 Chernobyl
no real “containment
vessel”
Core filled with graphite
(fuel for huge fire)
Reactor fissioning during
explosions and fire
(Fukushima reactors have
now been “off” for 5 days)
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 wikipedia
 Saving graces at
Fukushima
• Reactor survived
earthquake intact (!!!!!)
• Shut down properly
• First hour of containment
saved factor of 5x
• First day: factor 20x
• Evacuation
• Biggest fire risk is 100-
day-old spent fuel, i.e. 100x
less radioactive than
Chernobyl material

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11

 Nuclides to watch
Nuclide Half-life Effect at Chernobyl
131Iodine quick ~0.5 mSv dose to
8 days everyone in Eastern Europe

137Cesium 30 years Additional ~1 mSv over 30y

90Strontium Lower amount than Cs, but

30 years accumulates in bone

241Plutonium Large doses near reactor

9 years site; easier to decontaminate

Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11 Cooper, Randle, and Sokhi, Wiley 2003
 In case of fire ... soot
Nuclide Half-life
95Zirconium 60 days
99Molybdenum 3 days
103Ruthenium 40 days
141Cerium 30 days
140Barium 14 days
• Worst concern to first responders. Weather may move soot
plumes around (Chernobyl: bad plumes to 60km)
• This is what the “stay indoors” advisories are talking about. Soot in
your driveway doesn’t dose you; soot on your clothes does.
• Can be cleaned from streets/buildings. Agriculture, fisheries
have to wait it out (or remove top 10cm soil)
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11
 Conclusions
• The worst general-public effects of Chernobyl were
stress/fear; HUGE education/communication failure
• You have the information: count the millisieverts and
decide how to respond
• My feeling: the worst-case radiation hazards from
Fukushima are mitigatable and local
• (early evacuation + controls on 131I in food)
• My feeling: the global radiation hazard is nil.
• The best way to reduce worldwide low-level radiation
releases is ... stop burning coal
• Save your energy for those affected by the tsunami and
“50 plant workers” at Fukushima
Ben Monreal, UCSB Physics 3/11