Re: Kr-85

[Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 02:25 05.12.1996 -0600, you wrote:
>The radiation information on Kr-85 posted here is correct, but the
>production and use of Kr-85 is not. Kr-85 is a very important
>radionuclide in commerce. It is captured and condensed from any type of
>fission product reprocessing--even such processes as production of
>fission product Mo-99 for medical use. 
>---------------------------

An extremely small portion of Kr-85 is "captured and condensed", but in
reprocessing Kr-85 is simply released though there are technologies
available to isolate it. I mentioned this in a previous posting. This is
confirmed by the already mentioned fact that the atmosphere contains about
1Bq/m3 and that the concentration rose by about 5% per year. Being a noble
gas the application you mentioned is not without problems - one is the
fading of signals due to diffusion. This posed problems with quality
assurance. The necessary correction is effected in modern equipment by
computer programs. 

Franz
Schoenhofer
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