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Wednesday, August 20, 1975
University Daily Kansan
KU nuclear reactor produces energy and interest
By CONNIE BRUCE Kansan Staff Reporter
Many people today are becoming concerned about the safety of thermal nuclear reactions, which split atoms and result in large amounts of energy and radiation.
KU's $147,000 nuclear reactor on 15th St. contains about five pounds of enriched Uranium 238 fuel. Uranium is one of the few elements that will cause an atomic reaction -fission -to occur. The uranium is in the reactor core and looks like a large box of
ALTHOUGH THE REACTOR may look
harmless, the core, where the reaction occurs, is under 20 feet of water, about 6,500 gallons, and is surrounded by 610,000 pounds of concrete shielding.
A tour of the reactor shows a 20 foot mass of cement that grows smaller as a fuel vessel cools.
A short climb to the top enables one to look down into the reactor. Inside all that heavy shielding is a deep tanklike pool. The water in the tank moderates the energy produced by the reaction and acts as a shield to keep radiation inside the reactor.
To the side of the reactor is a control panel, the console, where the nuclear
reactor operator, Hobart O. Woody,
initiates and controls the Nuclear reactions
COMMERCIAL NUCLEAR plant plants need permanent threats to threats to environmental power plants.
However, the reactor here is used almost entirely for research projects and educational purposes and detailed safety information is followed whenever the reactor is used.
According to Russell Meder, professor of chemical engineering, it is environmentally better to work with this reactor than with larger, commercial ones. The isotopes it uses are radioactive and substances made radioactive by the reactor lose their radency within a year.
Staff photo by DON PIERCE
Nuclear reactor
Hobart O. Woody, nuclear reactor operator, in charge of maintaining KU's $147,000 reactor. Woody said that the felt safer in the reactor room than he did on the street.
Mesler said there was no attempt made to capture and utilize the energy generated by the reactor. It is capable of producing energy at a rate of 250 kilowatts an hour, he
One of the departments that uses the reactor most frequently is radiation biophysics. Besides usage for research, the reactor is used in a training program to teach students radiation protection procedures around nuclear plants.
There are few programs like this in the country. Mesler said.
Mesler estimated the yearly cost of running the reactor to be $20,000. The reactor is funded by the University, through the department of chemical engineering.
Before anything can be exposed to the reactor, a report must be submitted to an advisory committee at the center. The report must describe the experiment, its purpose and how the resulting radioactive material will be stored. If it is approved, additional safety guidelines are followed during implementation of the experiment.
WHEN THE REACTOR is started, a check list is examined to make sure the machinery is operating correctly. Woody is in charge of maintaining the reactor, which includes checking for mechanical problems.
One common experiment that is done at the center is to measure the amount of sodium in blood, Mesier said. This analysis is very difficult to do by chemical means. By making the blood radioactive, the sodium can easily be detected.
The reactor also provides a learning experience for visitors.
Common visitors include school groups. Last spring 15 or 20 Topeka school groups toured the reactor. An experiment is done to test whether it occurs. A blush light is all that is visible.
The reaction done for the groups begins when a plutonium-beryllium neutron is inserted into the core. Woody then removes the neutrons, allowing the neutrons to radioactive material by absorbing the neutrons, allowing the neutron to interact with the uranium. A neutron chain reaction
THERE ARE THREE experimental facilities built into the reactor: a thermo column door, beam ports, and pneumatic tubes.
can then take place. Some neutrons go into
the nucleus and some escape to make the objects radiates.
'WE ARE CONCERNED with keeping the radiation under control and keeping it within safe limits.'
A concern of many is the radiation the experiments produce. Too much exposure to radiation can cause loss of hair, illness and death. Mesler said.
prevent corrosion by daily circulation through a demineralizer. The radioactive material trapped in the demineralizer is destroyed and does not accumulate in system every three months, Mealer said.
channel. These devices allow the various experiments to be conducted.
The thermo column door rolls out of one side of the reactor. A substance can then be placed in any one of numerous "graphite stringers". These stringers, which look like brushes and have a small pocket in the top, are located directly behind the core of the reactor.
He said the waste was a very small mixture of elements that is barely detectable. It has never been analyzed, Mesler said.
Mesler said that plutonium, a very hazardous and toxic substance, wasn't a risk.
A health physicist examines the mixture before it is placed in the radioactive disposal unit, Woody said. If it isn't safe, it is set aside to decay over time.
The beam ports are pipes that can open on the side of the reactor. A beam of radiation can be directed onto the substance being exposed.
Pneumatic tubes carry the substance through pipes into the reactor and after a few minutes, the material is removed.
Control panels warn the operator how the reaction is taking place, Mesler said. He can "scram" the reactor if anything goes wrong. "Scram" means to lower the boron rods, which would absorb the neutrons and stop the reaction.
Woody said the reactor automatically
THE WATER IN THE reactor is purified to
EVERY EMPLOYE IN the nuclear reactor center must wear a badge that can be tested for the amount of radiation it has been exposed to over a period of time.
"We know how much radiation we're exposed to in here," Woody said, "but you don't know how much you're being exposed to out there."
WE DISCOUNTS ON HI-FI
GIVE COMPONENTS
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