Surface charge accumulation of particles containing radionuclides in open air

Yong ha Kim, Sotira Yiacoumi, Costas Tsouris

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Radioactivity can induce charge accumulation on radioactive particles. However, electrostatic interactions caused by radioactivity are typically neglected in transport modeling of radioactive plumes because it is assumed that ionizing radiation leads to charge neutralization. The assumption that electrostatic interactions caused by radioactivity are negligible is evaluated here by examining charge accumulation and neutralization on particles containing radionuclides in open air. A charge-balance model is employed to predict charge accumulation on radioactive particles. It is shown that particles containing short-lived radionuclides can be charged with multiple elementary charges through radioactive decay. The presence of radioactive particles can significantly modify the particle charge distribution in open air and yield an asymmetric bimodal charge distribution, suggesting that strong electrostatic particle interactions may occur during short- and long-range transport of radioactive particles. Possible effects of transported radioactive particles on electrical properties of the local atmosphere are reported. The study offers insight into transport characteristics of airborne radionuclides. Results are useful in atmospheric transport modeling of radioactive plumes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)91-99
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Environmental Radioactivity
Volume143
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2015

Funding

This work was supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency under grant number DTRA1-08-10-BRCWMD-BAA . The manuscript has been co-authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DEAC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Keywords

  • Ionization of air
  • Nuclear plant accidents
  • Radioactive particles
  • Radioactive plume modeling
  • Radioactivity transport
  • Radioactivity-induced charge

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