Posted by buickanddeere on May 15, 2009 at 06:11:47 from (216.183.134.54):
In Reply to: Re: Dirtiest jobs posted by MarkB_MI on May 15, 2009 at 02:58:58:
Wikipedia says it fairly well.
They are tiny flecks of used nuclear fuel. U235,U238, plutonium and fission daughters such as iodine, cession, strontium etc. On contact they often exceed 10,000rem. However due being so small even a good set of eyes can miss them even while using a magnifying glass. Being so small they dose a very minute are of the body through a plastic suit. And being so small the gamma & beta energy rapidly falls off to a few rem or less at one inch distance. So a plastic suit and clothing hold them far enough away to be of little trouble. However the fleas are a powerful ionizer and will strip electrons of it's self and surrounding atoms.Now with an extreme static charge these things leap about or piggyback on people, clothing or equipment. With as much random motion or predicibility as a real flea.And about is difficult to see. So we will know they are in the area but it takes some hunting to track down and catch them. Of course keeping them off the skin and hair is a challenge when undressing from a plastic suit. On the outside of the body they are manageable. And the skin, hair, muscle and body fat are good shields for the vital organs from beta and alpha radiation. However it's not recommended to breath in or ingest any used nuclear fuel no matter how small.Now it's direct contact and can even dissolve and travel in the body through the blood stream. Iodine in particular to the thyroid. Caesium to the bones etc. Still I would rather tackle a fuel flea rather than work under a garbage truck or, unwrap pieces of a farmer from around a pto shaft
Fuel fleas From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Jump to: navigation, search Fuel fleas are microscopic hot particles of new or spent nuclear fuel. While small, they tend to be intensely radioactive.
The fuel particles, the size about 10 micrometers, are a strong source of beta and gamma radiation and a weaker source of alpha radiation. The disparity between alpha and beta radiation (alpha activity is typically 100-1000 times weaker than beta, so the particle loses much more negative-charged particles than positive-charged ones) leads to buildup of positive electrostatic charge on the particle, causing the particle to "jump" from surface to surface and easily become airborne.
Fuel fleas are typically rich in uranium 238, and contain an abundance of insoluble fission products. Due to their high beta activity, they can be detected by a Geiger counter. Their gamma output can allow analysis of their isotope composition (and therefore their age and origin) by a gamma ray spectrometer.
Fuel fleas, and hot particles in general, are very dangerous when ingested.
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