Oak Ridge Associated Universities 2006 Annual Report

PROFILE
College Football Player Trades
Helmet for Hard Hat to Gain
Valuable Experience with Nuclear
Instrumentation
The commitments of a Division I college football
player can be demanding, not only during
football season but also in the months after the
final down is played. Summer is often a time for
taking a few extra classes or spending time with
family and friends, but don’t tell that to Norfolk,
Virginia, native David Yancey, a senior in nuclear
engineering at The University of Tennessee (UT)
and a running back on the Vols football team.
While many of his teammates enrolled in summer
courses, Yancey gained professional experience with
ORISE by measuring radioactive contamination
through the use of in situ gamma ray spectroscopy
(ISGRS)—a sophisticated technology that
records levels of radioactive contamination during
environmental site surveys.
Yancey, who worked with fellow summer intern
Ben Estes, examined how ISGRS can be used
to pinpoint specific areas of radioactive material
above and below the soil surface. ISGRS essentially
deploys the in situ object counting system (ISOCS)
detector to take readings from a precise area
without collecting background gamma radiation
from heavily contaminated rooms or nearby
sources.
Image Information:
Students Estes (above, standing) and Yancey record field
measurements with the ISOCS at ORISE during their
summer internship. Their work has helped ORISE increase
its capabilities in radiological surveying and health physics.
Photo courtesy of UT.
Yancey’s research involved evaluating the sensitivity
of the ISOCS detector by determining whether
it could “see” a small radioactive particle on the
fringe of its field of view—a process that required
recording measurements at controlled distances
away from the detector.
According to Jeff Chapman, health physicist for
ORISE, “The in situ research is the first step in
determining how small an area can be in order to
define the Derived Concentration Guideline Level
Elevated Measurement Comparison, a detection
technique used when small areas of elevated
radioactivity exist within larger areas.” ORISE
technicians have begun analyzing the data collected
by Yancey and Estes in an effort to increase the
program’s independent environmental assessment
and verification expertise.
Though Yancey lacked the free time that most of
his teammates had over the summer, he said the
most exciting part of the internship was having the
opportunity to work hands-on with health physics
equipment. “The experience enabled me to study
trends of radioactive sources, as well as the limits
and capabilities of radiation detectors,” explained
Yancey. “I look forward to applying what I learned
this summer to future course work.”
63