The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams—Cutting-Edge Research and Clean Air
Mark Hallman, P.E., LEED AP®, Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc.
Peter Grivins, Michigan State University
Modern medicine and research necessitate the usage and study of radioactive elements. Radionuclides have wide medical applications and other uses that are being explored in research facilities. Such facilities use a linear particle accelerator to create beams of nuclei that will produce dozens of rare isotopes when they strike a target material. Beam losses will occur as the beam traverses through the material, resulting in airborne radionuclides released to the atmosphere. These radionuclides need to be safely managed to ensure facility compliance and the health and well-being of researchers and the public at large.
Michigan State University's (MSU) future Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is one such facility that must operate in a safe and compliant manner. Funded through a cooperative agreement between MSU and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, FRIB will be located on the campus of MSU and is anticipated to be operational by 2020. Several points of potentially radioactive exhaust discharge will be situated on the building roof, where the highly filtered exhaust air will be combined with fresh make-up air and released from high-velocity rooftop fans, as designed by SmithGroup. Filtration, make-up air, rooftop fans, and high discharge velocities are all positive design steps from an exhaust dispersion perspective, but do not inherently assure safety without validation.
FRIB must comply with federal radiation dosage limits, as governed by the United States National Regulatory Commission (NRC), which apply to facility workers and the general public. Several methods are available to evaluate whether FRIB will be in compliance with these limits, most of which involve the use of numerical dosage estimation models. Such models can be considered if time and budget are limited, but predicted results can be poor representations of real-world radiation dosages depending on the surrounding buildings and terrain. Instead, physical wind tunnel dispersion modeling of a scale model of FRIB and surroundings coupled with post-processing to estimate radiation dosages is recommended for greatest accuracy. Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. was engaged to confirm compliance via wind tunnel dispersion modeling and post-processing techniques. Improvement on the initial numerical results was observed via dispersion modeling, and compliance with NRC limits is anticipated based on the facility design as proposed.
As such, FRIB is anticipated to be a facility that will conduct cutting-edge rare isotope research with the assurance that the health and well being of the MSU community will not be compromised.
Biographies:
Mark Hallman is a project engineer providing exhaust dispersion consulting services with Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. Mr. Hallman has provided consulting services on exhaust and intake designs for a variety of new and existing facilities in the university laboratory sectors, including FRIB at MSU. When consulting on projects, Mr. Hallman looks to provide advice on exhaust designs that can maximize energy efficiency without compromising the safety or comfort of building occupants. Mr. Hallman is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario and is a LEED AP BD+C.
Peter Grivins has more than 15 years of experience in radiation, chemical, fire, and laser safety management. He has managed MSU's environmental health and safety (EH&S) programs at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), handling safe operations, coordination with regulators and campus stakeholders, and communication with and training of laboratory employees. He reports to the MSU Director for EH&S and is further responsible for machine-produced radiation at MSU as Assistant Radiation Safety Officer.
Mr. Grivins led the development and implementation of NSCL's International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 environmental management system, leading to a Clean Corporate Citizen designation from the state of Michigan, the first such designation earned by a university in the state. He also contributed to the development and implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services 18001 occupational health and safety management system and the ISO 9001 quality management system. Mr. Grivins earned a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology from MSU in 1997.