Nuclear Physical Methods in Radioecological Investigations of Nuclear Test Sites

xvii, [1], 256, [2] pages. Cover has slight wear and soiling. Published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division. This is volume 31 of the Disarmament Technologies series. The major areas addressed are: Overviews and Perspectives, General Ecological Problems of Nuclear Test Sites, Methods of Plutonium, Americium, and Strontium Determination with Preliminary Radiochemical Separation; Methods of Retrospective Estimation of the Absorbed Dose in Environmental Objects and the Human Body; Modern Methodology and Equipment for Field Radiometry and Spectrometry. Siegfried S. Hecker (born October 2, 1943) is an American metallurgist and nuclear scientist. He served as Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986 to 1997 and is now affiliated with Stanford University, where he is research professor emeritus in the Department of Management Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering, and senior fellow emeritus at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. During this time, he was also elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (1988) for outstanding research on plutonium and the forming of materials, and for leadership in developing energy and weapons systems. It is only with the ending of the Cold War that the issue of environmental hazards at many former nuclear testing sites around the world has attracted international scientific interest. This book discusses the environmental, ecological, and health problems associated with nuclear testing. Topics treated include dose assessment, risk, speciation and transport of radionuclides, measurement and separation of radionuclides, and remedial options. The nuclear test sites examined include the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (Kazakhstan), the Nevada Test Site (USA), the Pacific atolls, and the Maralinga Test Site (Australia). The volume also discusses the additional release sites of Chelyabinsk (Russia), Chernobyl (Ukraine), Palomares (Spain), Los Alamos (USA), and others. A valuable compendium of radiological problems for a wide spectrum of readers, from non-specialist to expert. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus.