NUCLEAR FLEA BROOM & DUSTPAN

speedy submitted..

ELECTROSTATIC NUCLEAR FLEA BROOM AND DUSTPAN

A nuclear "flea" is a very small particle of nuclear fuel with such a high electrical charge due to beta plus or minus emission that it will jump onto oppositely charged objects, such as nuclear workers. Fleas interact with workers when a) the nuclear fuel cladding is damaged, releasing particles of nuclear fuel containing highly active fission fragments to the reactor coolant system and b) the integrity of the reactor coolant system is breached during maintenance, for instance during steam generator tube eddy current testing.

A fuel flea lodging on the skin of a worker presents a unique radiological protection challenge. The dose rate is extremely high...the area near the flea can easily suffer an exposure of hundreds of REM. However, beta particles are blocked (energy is absorbed) by the skin, so there is no whole body dose. It will not kill you, but it might if left there cause cause localized problems such as ulceration.

From a regulatory standpoint, the exposure is problematic: the dose must be accounted for, and the only regulatory category would be extremity dose, whole body dose, or god forbid dose to the lens of the eye. Or internal organ dose, which only comes into play if you swallow the damn thing. Anyway, take my word for it, there is a market for a means to prevent fleas from hopping on workers in the nuclear industry.

Anyway, here is my public domain idea:


An electrostatic flea broom, consisting of a flat plate on a handle, with electronics capable of maintaining a high electric field of selectable polarity on the plate. Select positive to sweep for negative fleas, negative to select for positive fleas. If sensitive current monitoring was included in the electronics, it should be possible to include a digital indicator of flea impacts.

The dustpan would consist of a box that the charged plate docked into. When the broom was selected to the unload position, the broom would reverse polarity while at the same time a plate in the bottom of the box would be charged to a polarity opposite that of the broom. The fleas would be repelled from the broom and captured by the plate in the dustpan. The dustpan with appropriate electronics could also register impact of the fleas. Positive control and accountability of the radioactive material would be maintained.

I think it is quite likely that someone who implemented this invention could make quite a good living providing flea mitigation services to nuclear utilities during outages.