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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Frisch-Peierls memorandum: A seminal document of nuclear history
The Manhattan Project is usually considered to have been initiated with Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin Roosevelt in October 1939. However, a lesser-known document that was just as impactful on wartime nuclear history was the so-called Frisch-Peierls memorandum. Prepared by two refugee physicists at the University of Birmingham in Britain in early 1940, this manuscript was the first technical description of nuclear weapons and their military, strategic, and ethical implications to reach high-level government officials on either side of the Atlantic. The memorandum triggered the initiation of the British wartime nuclear program, which later merged with the Manhattan Engineer District.
Gordon M. Lodde, Beverly A. Good, Diane M. Surgeoner
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 2 | October 1989 | Pages 535-544
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Health Physics and Environmental Release / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27750
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
As a result of the March 28, 1979, accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2), significant quantities of fission gases and volatile radionuclides, primarily radioiodine, were released into the enclosed reactor building (RB) atmosphere from the damaged reactor core. Approximately 1 yr after the accident, air samples of the RB atmosphere showed that 85Kr was the principle remaining radionuclide. The TMI-2 controlled venting experience proved that radioactive gases released during an accident causing significant core damage can be safely disposed of through atmospheric dispersion after a suitable period for radioactive decay of short-lived radioactive contaminants. The actions taken by the use of ice vests and the installation of air chillers provided a tolerable working environment within the RB for workers dressed in protective clothing. The contribution of the doses due to internally deposited radioactivity has been negligible when compared to those for radiation sources outside the body. It is clear that uptakes of radioactive material into the body have not been significant at TMI-2.