There was a rush of air as I opened the door to enter the building and begin the tour.
But first, I was asked to hang a dosimeter, a device that detects radioactivity, around my neck. When I put it on, it read "0.00." I silently hoped that it would stay that way. If that number rose, it would mean I was being exposed to higher levels of radiation than is natural.
The tour guide unlocked each door as we entered a new room and closed and locked each door behind us.
Peering over the side of the 24-foot-deep reactor pool at the blue-glowing core of the reactor, the guide explained that the building uses a negative air pressure system. Airflow is directed into the building instead of out, which explains those small yet strong gusts of air as each door opens and closes.
A sign that read, "At Sound of Horn Evacuate Building" was displayed prominently on a wall. It appeared to have been there since the reactor opened more than 50 years ago.
The guide and I walked down a flight of stairs. We stopped for a moment, and he said we were just on the other side of the reactor pool wall. There was only a concrete wall separating us from the recently repaired reactor pool.
Throughout the rest of my visit, I learned about the reactor and its educational and research applications. Before leaving the reactor after the hour-long tour, I was asked to return the dosimeter. It still read "0.00," and I felt a final rush of air as I opened the door to go home.
Delayed Reaction
Classes and research activities using Penn State's Breazeale Nuclear Reactor resumed last Monday after a leak of "slightly radioactive water" was repaired during Thanksgiving break, said Fred Sears, director of Penn State's Radiation Science and Engineering Center (RSEC). The leak had been discovered at the nuclear reactor pool Oct. 9 during routine checks of the amount of water lost naturally through evaporation, which is typically between 10 and 80 gallons a day.
During the leak, the reactor pool was losing between 10 and 18 gallons of water per hour, in addition to the water being lost through evaporation.
The 71,000-gallon reactor pool lost about 6,000 total gallons of water before repairs were completed, Sears said, though it was not considered a large leak.
"If you have a faucet that leaks once every 15 seconds, there is probably more water lost [in comparison]," he said.
The actual source of the leak was never found, but an epoxy compound and an impermeable coating of spray paint were used to seal the pool walls and the divider wall between the north and south end of the pools, which plugged the leak, Sears said.
Reacting to the Reactor
Sears said there was no reason for the public to be concerned, and that officials found no detectable amounts of radiation in precautionary samples.
"I think a lot of people have radiation phobia," Dale Klein, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told reporters at a press conference yesterday morning. He added that the fear often comes from a lack of understanding.
Klein emphasized the safety of Penn State's research reactor and praised Penn State's response to the reactor pool leak.
"The public was never at risk," Klein said. "The important thing is to have a system in place to identify a problem and correct it."
Klein added that Penn State did both.
"Do we want to have leakage? No, we don't," Sears said. "But we've been sensitive enough to address it and have taken steps to correct it."
Sears said those who called his office with concerns about the leak said their concerns dissipated after he explained what researchers do at the reactor.
Dividing Neutrons and Glowing Blue
The nuclear reactor sits in a 24-foot-deep reactor pool, and its core emits a soft blue shade. The glow is caused by electrons moving through the water faster than the speed of light, Sears said. The water in the pool is so pure that it doesn't conduct electricity, he added.
When neutrons react with uranium in the reactor, they split at a rate of 10^-24 seconds, and a sustained chain reaction generates more neutrons. During fission, which is the act of splitting a nucleus into smaller nuclei and thus releasing energy, the resulting emitted radiation travels through objects until it is absorbed, Sears said. These newly radioactive objects are then used for laboratory experiments and research.
To shut the reactor down, poisons are released, Sears said, adding that poisons are materials with a high probability of absorbing neutrons. To increase power, the poison is removed.
Fuel Cells
Researchers at the nuclear reactor are using the energy for various research projects. Among them, researchers are attempting to develop fuel cells for automotive companies as part of the hydrogen economy, Sears said. All radiation is contained inside the fuel cells, so there is no radioactive exposure to researchers.
When hydrogen combines with air, the "waste" products are energy and water, he said. With technology called neutron radioscopy -- real-time imaging similar to an X-ray -- researchers can see inside fuel cells to redesign and make them more efficient because, unlike X-rays, neutron radioscopy can penetrate metal.
Matthew Mench, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, uses neutron imaging to make fuel cells more efficient. He said neutron imaging is the only technology that can be used to see inside fuel cells and show the precise distribution of water.
"Fuel cells produce water, which is good for the environment, but from an engineering standpoint, it can be a difficult challenge to manage the water," Mench said. "It blocks the electrochemical reaction from occurring. The key is basically efficiently removing the water and distributing it."
Mench said research was delayed while the reactor pool leak was being repaired, but he has since been able to catch up on much of his research with the help of reactor staff.
Other Uses
Because everything has a unique emission of radiation, anthropologists can also use nuclear technology to study particular rock deposits, like arrowheads, to identify trade routes that have been used throughout the world.
Researchers also hope to correlate volcanic action with tree rings, Sears said. Trees "get stressed" during volcanic activity and take up particular nutrients like gold, so researchers can compare irradiated tree rings to the recorded history of volcanic activity. If researchers are successful, they would be able to determine prehistoric volcanic activity.
There was also some debate surrounding the Hewer statue in Eisenhower Auditorium about whether a fig leaf was a part of the original statue, Sears said. When small samples from the statue and fig leaf were irradiated, it was determined that the fig leaf was not part of the original statue, and the leaf was removed.
A cobalt pool at the facility generates gamma radiation, which can change objects without making them radioactive, Sears said. It can be used to sterilize everything from foods and spices to medical surgical gear.
Gamma radiation eliminates salmonella from chicken, removes bugs from spices and also helps in food preservation, Sears said, adding that all of the food that goes up in space is first sterilized using gamma radiation.
Certain plants, such as white poinsettias, are also created using gamma radiation sterilization; poinsettias grow naturally in only red.
History
The nuclear reactor is part of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program. Eisenhower initiated the program with a speech about studying atomic energy for peaceful purposes before the United Nations Dec. 8, 1953.
Eisenhower's brother, Milton Eisenhower, was the Penn State president at the time, and Penn State's Breazeale Nuclear Reactor began operating during Milton Eisenhower's term on Aug. 15, 1955. The reactor, named for Penn State's first professor of nuclear engineering, William Breazeale, is now the longest operating reactor in the country.
Sears added that there are about 3,000 visitors a year to the reactor, and its primary function is education.
"There was a great deal of foresight that went into this," Sears said.
