Abstract
A radiological safety analysis is presented for the SNAP-III thermoelectric generator. Since the fuel of the device is polonium-210, a toxic radioisotope, certain safety measures have been designed into the device and its shipping container to prevent a release of the contaminant into any environment during normal operation or a catastrophic accident. Once containment is assured, the direct radiation problem is considered. It has been shown that the direct radiation from the thermal source is kept within tolerance limits by surrounding materials and spatial and temporal factors. It must be emphasized that this device should not be deliberately abused or mishandled since this would serve to increase the probability of accident. The device has been evaluated with respect to internal forces such as heat and helium pressure and external forces such as impact and chemical attack. The mechanical thermal and chemical integrity of the thermoelectric generator is shown to be quite reliable. The basic physical, chemical, thermal, atomic and nuclear characteristics of polonium-210 have been presented. Potential internal and external radiation hazards have been set forth. (auth)
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