Often internships for undergraduate students in nuclear science and engineering follow the DOE mo... more Often internships for undergraduate students in nuclear science and engineering follow the DOE model of placing the students in a national laboratory or at one of the two Nuclear Chemistry Summer Schools (NCSS) held annually at San Jose State University in California or Brookhaven National Lab in New York. This year, through a grant from Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to determine the uranium and plutonium underwater, Florida Memorial University was invited to participate for one month at the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) at the University of Texas. Florida Memorial University is the only HBCU in south Florida and one of the few in the country with an undergraduate Radiochemistry program. During July, 2008, a professor and two undergraduate students participated in research involving the use of prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) with a thermal neutron beam from the TRIGA reactor. It was envisaged that the accompaniment of a professor would greatly enha...
ABSTRACT With the passing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the United States is experiencing for... more ABSTRACT With the passing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the United States is experiencing for the first time in over two decades, what some refer to as the “Nuclear Renaissance”. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recognizes this surge in application submissions and is committed to reviewing these applications in a timely manner to support the country’s growing energy demands. Notwithstanding these facts, it is understood that the nuclear industry requires appropriately trained and educated personnel to support the growing needs of the nuclear industry and the US NRC. Equally important is the need to educate the next generation of students in nuclear non‐proliferation, nuclear forensics and various aspects of homeland security for the national laboratories and the Department of Defense. From mechanical engineers educated and experienced in materials, thermal∕fluid dynamics, and component failure analysis, to physicists using advanced computing techniques to design the next generation of nuclear reactor fuel elements, the need for new engineers, scientists, and health physicist has never been greater.
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2012
ABSTRACT Samples from a potentially contaminated industrial area were analyzed for uranium using ... more ABSTRACT Samples from a potentially contaminated industrial area were analyzed for uranium using neutron activation analysis (NAA). Uranium concentration values had a typical uncertainty of 2 % and a detection limit of 1 Bq/kg. To investigate the potential leaching dynamics into ground water two techniques were employed. The US EPA Toxicity Characterization Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and the Sequential Extraction Procedure (SEP) were used to determine the concentration of uranium in the leachates. TCLP and SEP showed that very little of the uranium leached into solution under different chemical conditions. Values of uranium leachates ranged from 0.05 to 3.5 Bq/L; a concentration much lower than the results found in the soil concentrations which ranged from 29 to 155 Bq/kg. NAA showed an 8 % uncertainty for leachates with a detection limit of 0.13 Bq/L. To mimic environmental conditions and acid rain, pH 4.3 water was used as the extraction solvent instead of the acetic acid routinely used in TCLP. Results confirmed that very low amounts of uranium leached with values ranging from 0.0002 to 0.0122 Bq/L. These values represent 0.01–1 % of the uranium in the soil samples. The distribution of uranium in soil according to particle size was also investigated to evaluate its potential movement and possible contamination of the water table. Particles below 250 μm in diameter showed a linear increase in uranium concentration whereas those with a larger diameter had constant uranium content.
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2011
Abstract Neutron activation analysis (NAA) remains an excellent technique to introduce undergradu... more Abstract Neutron activation analysis (NAA) remains an excellent technique to introduce undergraduate students to nuclear science and engineering coming from different academic areas. The NAA methods encompass an appreciation of basic reactor engineering ...
The presence and expression of the orf256 gene in the hybrid plants between Triticum aestivum (Ta... more The presence and expression of the orf256 gene in the hybrid plants between Triticum aestivum (Ta) and T. timopheevi (Tt) leads to cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). The organization and expression of the orf256 was studied in different wheat lines. The gene is expressed as a 7 kD protein in CMS lines only. In the present work, orf256 was expressed in
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2013
ABSTRACT Nuclear forensics continues to be an integral part of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Off... more ABSTRACT Nuclear forensics continues to be an integral part of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration. As with our previous three-year Nuclear Forensics Education Award Program we will continue to offer a comprehensive educational program and closely collaborate with national laboratories to pursue common research. Our research will primarily focus on analysis of radioactive debris following a nuclear or radiological dispersive device event or the investigation of the pedigree of nuclear materials in nonproliferation. This research will include using Compton suppression and gamma coincidence low-level gamma ray counting, investigation of nuclear fuel cycles for nonproliferation, on-site inspection within the context of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and radioxenon detection physics. We also offer a graduate program in nuclear robotics, an interdisciplinary program in the automation of handling special nuclear materials. To better equip our students who are entering the workforce at the national laboratories and government agencies we are also proposing the development of several new laboratory modules for non-destructive identification of fission products in environmental samples and irradiated uranium specimens at various enrichments and characterizing naturally occurring radioactive material. Collaboration with Florida Memorial University a Historically Black Colleges and Universities will continue for training and collaborative research.
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) contain radionuclides, such as radium, thorium, ... more Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) contain radionuclides, such as radium, thorium, and uranium. The existence of NORM remains an issue for oil and gas exploration because once the material becomes concentrated through technological activity, it becomes a radioactive contamination hazard or a radioactive waste. Pipes and tanks used to handle large volumes of produced water at some oil-field sites are coated with scale deposits that contain high levels 226Ra, 228Ra and 210Pb. Experiments were conducted using thermal and epithermal neutron activation analysis and Compton suppression for the determination of macroconstituents and trace elements in the radioactive scale sample.
Often internships for undergraduate students in nuclear science and engineering follow the DOE mo... more Often internships for undergraduate students in nuclear science and engineering follow the DOE model of placing the students in a national laboratory or at one of the two Nuclear Chemistry Summer Schools (NCSS) held annually at San Jose State University in California or Brookhaven National Lab in New York. This year, through a grant from Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to determine the uranium and plutonium underwater, Florida Memorial University was invited to participate for one month at the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (NETL) at the University of Texas. Florida Memorial University is the only HBCU in south Florida and one of the few in the country with an undergraduate Radiochemistry program. During July, 2008, a professor and two undergraduate students participated in research involving the use of prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) with a thermal neutron beam from the TRIGA reactor. It was envisaged that the accompaniment of a professor would greatly enha...
ABSTRACT With the passing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the United States is experiencing for... more ABSTRACT With the passing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the United States is experiencing for the first time in over two decades, what some refer to as the “Nuclear Renaissance”. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recognizes this surge in application submissions and is committed to reviewing these applications in a timely manner to support the country’s growing energy demands. Notwithstanding these facts, it is understood that the nuclear industry requires appropriately trained and educated personnel to support the growing needs of the nuclear industry and the US NRC. Equally important is the need to educate the next generation of students in nuclear non‐proliferation, nuclear forensics and various aspects of homeland security for the national laboratories and the Department of Defense. From mechanical engineers educated and experienced in materials, thermal∕fluid dynamics, and component failure analysis, to physicists using advanced computing techniques to design the next generation of nuclear reactor fuel elements, the need for new engineers, scientists, and health physicist has never been greater.
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2012
ABSTRACT Samples from a potentially contaminated industrial area were analyzed for uranium using ... more ABSTRACT Samples from a potentially contaminated industrial area were analyzed for uranium using neutron activation analysis (NAA). Uranium concentration values had a typical uncertainty of 2 % and a detection limit of 1 Bq/kg. To investigate the potential leaching dynamics into ground water two techniques were employed. The US EPA Toxicity Characterization Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and the Sequential Extraction Procedure (SEP) were used to determine the concentration of uranium in the leachates. TCLP and SEP showed that very little of the uranium leached into solution under different chemical conditions. Values of uranium leachates ranged from 0.05 to 3.5 Bq/L; a concentration much lower than the results found in the soil concentrations which ranged from 29 to 155 Bq/kg. NAA showed an 8 % uncertainty for leachates with a detection limit of 0.13 Bq/L. To mimic environmental conditions and acid rain, pH 4.3 water was used as the extraction solvent instead of the acetic acid routinely used in TCLP. Results confirmed that very low amounts of uranium leached with values ranging from 0.0002 to 0.0122 Bq/L. These values represent 0.01–1 % of the uranium in the soil samples. The distribution of uranium in soil according to particle size was also investigated to evaluate its potential movement and possible contamination of the water table. Particles below 250 μm in diameter showed a linear increase in uranium concentration whereas those with a larger diameter had constant uranium content.
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2011
Abstract Neutron activation analysis (NAA) remains an excellent technique to introduce undergradu... more Abstract Neutron activation analysis (NAA) remains an excellent technique to introduce undergraduate students to nuclear science and engineering coming from different academic areas. The NAA methods encompass an appreciation of basic reactor engineering ...
The presence and expression of the orf256 gene in the hybrid plants between Triticum aestivum (Ta... more The presence and expression of the orf256 gene in the hybrid plants between Triticum aestivum (Ta) and T. timopheevi (Tt) leads to cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). The organization and expression of the orf256 was studied in different wheat lines. The gene is expressed as a 7 kD protein in CMS lines only. In the present work, orf256 was expressed in
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2013
ABSTRACT Nuclear forensics continues to be an integral part of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Off... more ABSTRACT Nuclear forensics continues to be an integral part of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration. As with our previous three-year Nuclear Forensics Education Award Program we will continue to offer a comprehensive educational program and closely collaborate with national laboratories to pursue common research. Our research will primarily focus on analysis of radioactive debris following a nuclear or radiological dispersive device event or the investigation of the pedigree of nuclear materials in nonproliferation. This research will include using Compton suppression and gamma coincidence low-level gamma ray counting, investigation of nuclear fuel cycles for nonproliferation, on-site inspection within the context of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and radioxenon detection physics. We also offer a graduate program in nuclear robotics, an interdisciplinary program in the automation of handling special nuclear materials. To better equip our students who are entering the workforce at the national laboratories and government agencies we are also proposing the development of several new laboratory modules for non-destructive identification of fission products in environmental samples and irradiated uranium specimens at various enrichments and characterizing naturally occurring radioactive material. Collaboration with Florida Memorial University a Historically Black Colleges and Universities will continue for training and collaborative research.
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) contain radionuclides, such as radium, thorium, ... more Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) contain radionuclides, such as radium, thorium, and uranium. The existence of NORM remains an issue for oil and gas exploration because once the material becomes concentrated through technological activity, it becomes a radioactive contamination hazard or a radioactive waste. Pipes and tanks used to handle large volumes of produced water at some oil-field sites are coated with scale deposits that contain high levels 226Ra, 228Ra and 210Pb. Experiments were conducted using thermal and epithermal neutron activation analysis and Compton suppression for the determination of macroconstituents and trace elements in the radioactive scale sample.
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Papers by Dimitri Tamalis