RE: xenon behavior

[jgbarnes@ix.netcom.com (JAMES BARNES)]

I've had a similar experience at a commercial reactor that was dumping its waste 
gas tanks through the stack on top of containment.  The discharge rolled down 
containment and into the dress out area, setting off all the friskers.

Jim Barnes
Rocketdyne
-------------------
>
>	I do know that it flows down-hill.
>
>	Some years ago we suddenly had a CO-60 area monitor go off in our
>	department, (radiation therapy,) which is on the first floor. The CO60
>	the unit was fine, according to electrical and mechanical indicators.
>	It was finally traced to Nuclear Medicine, (one floor ABOVE.) 
>
>	They had just done a study and turned off their exhaust fan before it 
>	had time to vent the exhaust stack, (which went up eight more floors.)
>
>	All the Xenon came back down the stack, thru the study room in
>	Nuclear Medicine, down a conveniently located back stairway,
>	under a door, down a short corridor, down a hall, down a second
>	stairway, and into our ventillation system, where it quickly was 
>	circulated throughout one section of our department, including the 
>	room containing the CO60 unit.
>
>	N.B. Figuring this out was mainly due to some superb detective work by
>	     a very astute RSO.
>
>Frank R. Borger - Physicist     ___     "I promise you we won't build an
>Michael Reese - U of Chicago   |___     airport in Lake Michigan, if it 
>Center for Radiation Therapy   | |_) _  bothers one resident of the lake!"
>net: Frank@rover.uchicago.edu    | \|_) - Daley the elder, (former Mayor
>ph: 312-791-8075 fa: 791-2517       |_) of the City of Chicago.)
>