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ANS Student Conference 2025
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Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Fusion Science and Technology
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
K. Yamamoto, T. Sakashita, K. Miyamoto
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 1 | July-August 2005 | Pages 500-503
Technical Paper | Tritium Science and Technology - Containment, Safety, and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A975
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In order to predict tritium concentration at ground level near a nuclear site, a conceivable process for tritium transfer in the natural ecosystem must be traced. We developed an Easy Evaluation System for Atmospheric Dispersion (EESAD) code based on the random walk method (RWM) for calculation of the atmospheric dispersion of tritium. The code can deal with the hourly change of weather conditions and tritium release rates as are mainly observed in an accidental release. In order to validate its prediction accuracy, and to verify its effectiveness, we calculated using scenario 3 (constant release) and scenario 4.2 (intermittent release)supplied by BIOMASS (Biosphere Modeling and Assessment) program by IAEA. Tritium concentrations predicted by EESAD calculation agreed well with those observed. Tritium deposition from the plume (dry and wet), re-emission from the soil surface, and infiltration to the lower soil layers were all considered in the EESAD system, and found to be effective to get better agreement. The EESAD is useful for calculating not only a controlled constant release with meteorological changes but also an instantaneous release with hourly changes of the release conditions.