Industrial uses of radionuclides and irradiation techniques

In many sectors of radionuclide and irradiation technology new findings and further developments of processes are opening up possibilities of industrial utilization of great national economic importance for long-known methods previously used, in part, on a small scale. This holds good e.g. of foodstuff irradiation the application of which in its greater part has been cleared as regards health hazards by international test programmes of several years duration, as also of flue gas cleaning, hygienisation and upgrading processes on an irradiation basis for which a vast scope of applications is emerging. For numerous industrial process and quality controls on the basis of radionuclide technology the economic incentive has been much strengthened. In the large area of measurements of wear, one of the early examples of the achievements of radionuclide technology, the possibilities at hand today as regards activation and measurement are extraordinarily improved. (orig.)