Nature of Aerosols in Nuclear Operations

In the monitoring of airborne radioactivity it Is necessary to have a detailed knowledge of the nature of the aerosols involved, far example particle size distribution, chemical nature, charge, radioactivity, structure and state of aggregation. In this paper different aerosol formation processes in nuclear operations are described, and the characterization of aerosols in general and the nature of aerosols encountered in different nuclear operations are discussed. Studies carried out on aerosols farmed from the gas phase, the role of condensation nuclei in the formation of radioactive aerosols, and the plutonium aerosols are described. (author)