Californium coal monitorIn 1969, the use of californium-252 radioactive material in monitoring the sulphur content of coal was announced by the Atomic Energy Commission. Using this intense neutron source to measure the sulphur content of coal, as it moved on a conveyor belt through a coal processing plant, would enable better control of the air pollution caused by burning coal. When coal is burned, for example at electrical power plants, its sulphur is released as sulphur dioxide, a pollutant which needs to be reduced, because it contributes to acid rain. In turn, this results in acidified soils, forest damage and building corrosion. A shipment of 18 micrograms of the isotope had been sent from its Savannah River plant to South Carolina to the Bureau of Mines research centre at Morgantown, West Virginia. (A microgram is one millionth of a gram.)« |
