[ RadSafe ] Scenarios

[JPreisig at aol.com]

Dear Radsafe,
 
 
     From:    _jpreisig at aol.com_ (mailto:jpreisig at aol.com)     
 
 
     Hope you all are well.  Here is a brief  discussion of some scenarios 
involving a reactor or
whatever in Iran.
 
     In Health Physics etc. one of the accident  simulation scenarios is 
something like what will
happen to a reactor if a 747 airplane crashes into the containment  
building.  So let's build upon that
possibility.
 
      Suppose a 747 jet crashes into a building  housing centrifugal U235 
enrichment machines, and the 
facility is above ground.  I guess such a crash would release Uranium  
Hexafluoride (or 
whatever chemical gas is involved) to the atmosphere.  Countries East  of 
Iran might be
affected in such a scenario.  Such a release doesn't seem very ominous  to 
me.   I guess the 
Iranians could limit such an accident from happening by placing their  
centrifugal
enrichment facility underground.  Does such a facility exist???   Sure, 
something other
than a 747 jet (if you catch my Bunker Buster drift) could crash into  such 
a facility.
 
     What kind of peaceful reactor does Iran  have???  Is it a PWR 
(Pressurized Water Reactor)
or a BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) and what is the power level (in MegaWatts  
or whatever)???
Is this reactor as big, power-wise as a typical US power reactor????
 
      Well. now consider a 747 jet airplane (or  whatever) crashing into 
the containment of
Iran's peaceful energy reactor.  Is the containment building up  to US 
safety standards???
Who built the reactor --- France, USSR, China, or someone else????   Let's 
say the containment
building fails miserably and the reactor core loses its cooling  water.  A 
Chernobyl type
event in a rather arid part of the world.  I suppose there is extra  
cooling water nearby from a river
to supply emergency cooling water.  Iran's response to such an  accident 
would be to try to 
restore cooling water to the reactor, and barring that, to cover the  
reactor with dirt, concrete etc.
Of course, the Iranian nuclear engineers, health physicists, emergency  
response personnel
would be picking up considerable dose equivalent responding to the  
incident.  If this were to
happen, would Iran accept help from outside nations???
 
     Of course, depending on the weather conditions  around the time and 
vicinity of the reactor
and reactor accident, countries immediately to the East of Iran might  
suffer some
considerable exposure risk.  Any cropland involved might be affected  also.
 
     Of course, Iran's next reactor might be built  underground????!!!!!
 
     So, there you go, something to think about for the  rest of today.
 
     And I didn't even say Israel even  once...OOOOOPSSSS!!!!!
 
 
     Regards,     Joseph R. (Joe)  Preisig, PhD