Re: Radioactive Material Transportation

[Mike Grissom <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Cameron et al.,

As others have noted, aircraft do indeed carry DU
counterweights (for the reasons stated:  control
flutter in wings and maintain aircraft balance
for the unloaded configuration--fuel/passenger/cargo
distribution effects on flight behavior of the aircraft
is an 'ongoing management' issue for the aircrew).

The DU counterweights are normally fairly compact,
shaped units with cadmium cladding.  As long as the
cladding is intact, they are exempt sources.
Unfortunately, occassionally they have holes drilled
in them at aircraft rework facilities (maintenance
and refurbishment activities)!

There is a very detailed discussion on DU counter-
weights in the radsafe archives (somewhere :^>).

S.,

MikeG.


At 06:25 AM 8/14/97 -0500, you wrote:
>It is hard to believe that planes would carry ballast at all. Why make an
>aeroplane heavier that necessary so that you need more fuel, which in turn
>makes the aircraft heavier. I believe that if any ballast is needed then
>extra fuel is added and balanced throughout the aircraft.
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Cameron Jeffries
>Environmental Aerosol Laboratory
>School of Physical Sciences
>Queensland University of Technology
>2 George St
>Brisbane 4001
>
>+61 7 3864 1129 (Phone)
>+61 7 3864 1521 (Fax)
>c.jeffries@qut.edu.au