Patent Application
20220310280
This invention seeks to greatly increase the rate of decay of radioisotopes contaminating soil, and in particular soil near the ground and in low lying vegetation just above the soil, to make this area safe for habitation. The current contamination, resulting from a nuclear power plant melt down, is deadly. This large area of previously habitable land is utterly unusable, and without treatment, this land will be unusable for centuries to come.
Radioisotopes, as studied in higher level physics, have a highly unstable nucleus. This nucleus will eventually reach homoeostasis and become stable. One of the most common ways this nucleus will become stable is by emitting a subatomic particle such as a positron. These emissions occur independently but not consistently in nature.
Radioactive contamination levels will decline naturally over time, albeit slowly, until the radiation levels become minimal. This is a natural life cycle. Unfortunately, the natural life cycle has been disrupted when assembly of large molecules that have a greater impact then what is found in nature began with human activity. There are several large areas of land severely contaminated with harmful radioisotopes by human activity all around the world. The most well-known was the complete melt down of a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986 resulting in contamination of a large ground surface by plutonium and uranium isotopes. This has completely prevented use of this land at the site of the disaster. This new technology can reverse this negative impact on earth and its soil, with simply using the earth's natural energy and harnessing and redirecting this power to achieve this purpose.
At the present natural rate of decay, normal use of that contaminated land area will be prevented for many centuries to come. One technique that has been used to speed up reclamation of the land is to remove the contaminated soil down to a depth of three feet, and storing the removed soil in underground enclosures which often leak after a few years. This approach is thus impractical even for small areas.
It is generally known that subatomic particles such as positrons are rare. Positrons come from the decay of nuclides that have an excess of protons in their nucleus, such as radioactive nuclei. This type of decay creating positron emission is a subtype of radioactive decay referred to as beta decay. Positrons are continuously and naturally emitted in random directions from decaying radioisotopes disposed at substantial depths of the soil below the surface of the ground. Emitted positrons do not travel far unless in a vacuum or in a created space, because they will quickly encounter an electron, and when this happens the positron and electron annihilate each other destroying themselves instantaneously.
The present inventor has realized that if a positron contacts the nucleus of a radioisotope atom or an atom of a radioisotope molecule, that atom will immediately be caused to decay.
Thus, such emitted positrons could potentially be used to reduce radioisotope contamination by collecting and redirecting great numbers of these particles into the soil at a shallow depth on the same order as is usually contaminated, i.e., about three feet below ground as well as into vegetation on the surface. When this is continued over time, a much more rapid decay of contaminants occurs such that the land can be restored to normal use in just a few years and at a much lesser cost than currently known alternatives.
The purpose of the present invention is to effectively cause a much more rapid decay of radioisotope contamination in soil at or below ground level down to a depth on the order of three feet as well as in low growing plants just above the ground surface.
The goal of the above recited invention is in fact an introduction of a novel technique to utilize the positrons existing force in nature and direct this naturally occurring force to radioactive isotopes in the soil. This is achieved by a process involving the use of an array of elongated tubular members of varying lengths but which are much longer than three feet, which are specially configured in a manner according to the present invention. The members are installed into a corresponding array of holes vertically drilled into the surface of the ground in a particular pattern in a region of ground to be restored, the tubular members act to collect emitted positrons from natural decay reactions which will result in the radioactive isotopes being decontaminated at a rate greatly increased over what would occur naturally so as to enable restoring the land to be fit for normal use within just a few years.
The elongated tubular members are extrusions of a durable plastic such as polyethylene, each member forms a cluster of five equally spaced rounded passageways arranged about a center thereof and extending the full length of the elongated member. Each passageway is slotted lengthwise along an outer wall defining each passageway to allow positrons emitted from decaying radioisotopes deeper in the ground than three feet to enter the interior of the passageways through the slots and be captured therein. The captured positrons will advance rapidly up the passageways to the top of the elongated tubular members as a result of being acted upon by an electromagnetic field created by the upwardly moving positively charged positrons as well as by the decay of plutonium and uranium radioisotopes which are the source of contamination of the soil to a depth of around three feet of the soil below the ground surface.
Each elongated tubular member is blocked at its top by a cap installed over the upper end of each member. The caps extend down along the upper end of the member for a short distance, i.e., seven inches, and also have lengthwise passageways formed in the exterior of the cap.
As noted, there are five passageways in the cluster equally spaced around the center of each member. This configuration has been determined to maximize the total number of positrons which are able to be captured by passing into one of the slots formed in the tubular elongated member. A narrower passageway is located at the center of the cluster disposed within the circle formed by the outer five passageways. The center passageway may also have an outer wall slot aligned with a slot of one of the outer passageways so that positron particles can enter into the center passageway from one of the outer passageways arranged around the center.
When the flow of positrons reach the inside end of the cap, they are constrained to reverse flow and are forced to pass down the length of the cap and thereafter out of the cap by encountering the flow of positrons coming up the passageways. The positrons also enter lengthwise slots defined on the exterior of the cap defining lengthwise flattened openings. The positrons ultimately diffuse up and pass out through the soil around the upper end of each elongated tubular member. This invention acts as a natural “particle accelerator” for lack of better words, creating space in the soil and collecting the positrons within the soil to circumvent this field into a narrow energy tube in the core of the elongated tubular member. This accumulation of energy is then accelerated and funneled towards the cap and released through the sides of the cap. With the force of the electromagnetic field created by the radioactive material, the positrons are attracted and directed towards unstable radioisotope nuclei and the collision break down the radioactive nuclei. The decay of the contamination is thereby greatly increased compared to the natural rate.
A relatively large number of elongated tubular members 10A-10F, made of a durable plastic such as polyethylene, and working as a passive system, are able to remain in contact with the soil for many years, are thereby arrayed within an area of the contaminated ground, i.e., 4849 members 10A-10F in a 100 meter square area (counting the boosters). A pattern of the elongated tubular members 10A-10F is formed by groupings of elongated tubular members of varying lengths and having upper ends disposed at varying distances below the surface of the ground to be decontaminated. The longer members have their upper ends correspondingly disposed further down from the ground surface and their lower ends further down into the ground. This allows a greater space for accommodating the greater number of positrons collected by the longer members.
As will be described below, the number of tubular members of each type generally increases as the length thereof decreases with the shortest length having by far the greatest numbers. This arrangement creates a substantially uniform distribution of positrons directed into the soil a short distance below the ground surface and also for a short distance above the ground surface to thereby reduce the number of contaminating radioisotope atoms in the soil and in the grasses and low growing weeds growing in the soil. A complete and substantially uniform treatment of the contaminated region is thereby obtained in as few as five years.
In addition to the elongated tubular members, a series of three much shorter elongated “booster” members are arranged around an upper end of a middle tubular member, the boosters are used to lower the energy of the unified magnetic field produced by the positrons upwardly flowing through elongated tubular members.
Two of the boosters in each set form a plane that extends at a right angle to the magnetic North pole. This slightly reduces the force of engagement of the positrons with the radioisotope nuclei. This has been found to increase the effectiveness of the contact of the positrons with the nuclei of the radioisotopes.
In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be employed for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.
According to the present invention this is done by collecting and concentrating a large number of emitted positrons present in the soil into a top layer of soil below the surface of the ground of a depth on the order of 3 feet of the soil at the ground surface as well as a short distance above the ground surface where plants are growing.
This is done by installing a large number of elongated tubular members 10 in vertically extending drilled holes. The elongated members are of varying configurations 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E and 10F as indicated in
The elongated tubular members 10A-10F are identical in diameter and have the same internal features, but vary in length and are installed so that the upper ends thereof are at varying depths in the soil.
A plurality of each configuration of the elongated tubular members is installed so as to create a pattern in the ground region being treated as described below.
All of the main portion members 12 and elongated tubular members 10 are straight and have uniform internal and external details for its entire length.
A cluster of five outer passages 14 are formed in each of the main portion members 12 which are each preferably circularly shaped and arranged around a center passage 16 thereof.
A radially extending slot 18 is formed in the outermost part of the walls 20 defining each of the outer passages 14.
A wall 14A defining the center passageway 16 also has a radially extending slot 22 aligned with one of the slots 18 in one of the outer passages.
The cap 24 has an upper end 26 which is molded into a radius which blocks all flow of the positrons particles out from the upper ends of both the elongated member main portion 12 and cap 24 as shown in
As seen in
At that point, the flow of positrons is reversed and will thus meet the continuing incoming flow up the passages 14, 16 and spill out to the sides, a cloud of positrons thereby directed out and up towards the ground surface. The dense cloud of positrons causes contact with a great number of unstable nucleuses in the contaminating radioisotopes of plutonium and uranium.
This creates a substantially uniform treatment of the soil in the treated layer below the ground surface and vegetation just above the ground.
The cap 24 is itself formed with external passages 28 which have slots 30 in the walls forming the passages 28 which receive some of the positron flows which are directed up toward the ground surface joining in the cloud of positrons passing through the soil, causing the unstable nucleuses of the uranium and plutonium to react so as to stabilize the nucleuses of radioisotope atoms and molecules of the uranium and plutonium radioisotopes in the three foot ground layer of soil.
Each of the elongated members 10A-10F are arranged in the combined pattern shown in
It should be noted here that positrons when emitted do not travel far before encountering an electron if in air and go no further.
However, soil does not normally contain air which slowly rises out of the ground to completely leave the soil unless it has been disturbed as by plowing, etc. The drilling necessary to install the members 10A-10g allows air to be reintroduced into the soil. Therefore, the soil has to be backfilled at the surface of the ground above the elongated tubular members after installing the members 10A-10F to prevent air from entering any space which is open. The air will slowly rise up and out of the soil. The absence of air allows the positrons to travel substantial distances within the elongated tubular members after being emitted to stabilize a radioisotope. This takes about five months to occur, so no increase in decaying occurs for about five months after the installation is completed.
It should be understood that a common intensity electromagnetic field is associated with respect to the area above all of the elongated tubular members 10A-10F since exposed to each other.
It is also noted that the present invention includes the tubular booster members 32 which have a series of circumferentially curving blades developed by the present inventor as described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,736,252, incorporated herein by reference.
The function of the booster members 10G as applied here acts to loosen the ground but more importantly by being aligned with the North magnetic pole the energy of the collective electromagnetic field generated by the flow of the positrons is reduced slightly by the weakening of the combined electromagnetic field by the earth's magnetic field involves installing a series of three tubular booster members 10G formed with curving blades as shown in a series of drilled holes within the ground region to be treated for a contamination. In that technology applied to the present invention, three booster members are inserted in drilled holes spaced around the upper end of each of the elongated tubular members 10D. The booster members are 0.46 m (18 inches) long with the tops thereof at a depth of 0.07 m (3 inches) below the ground surface.
The shallow depth of booster members 10G allows easy removal for reuse after the ground region has been treated.
Preparation
1. Walk the perimeter of the install zone marking the corners.
2. Once the perimeter of the zone has been laid out. trees, shrubs, and any other obstacles that will hinder drilling must be removed and disposed of in accordance with regulation.
3. Using the layout provided. the locations of the tubular members are marked starting with the deepest and using those as the reference for the rest of the tubular members.
Drilling
1. Position the drill rig over the location of the first 16.5 m.
2. Drilling to a depth of approximately 1 m, and continue rotating the drill and remove it from the bore hole, removing any loose soil with it. This soil should not be used for backfill and should be discarded in accordance with regulations.
3. Continue drilling until 18 m is reached, remove the drill and insert the 16.5 m tubular members.
4. Backfill using soil that was removed from the bore hole (not the soil that was taken from the first meter). Be sure to compact the backfill soil to prevent the hole from reopening.
5. Move the drill rig to the next location.
6. Repeat this drilling process with each of the various lengths of tubular members, always removing and discarding the first meter of soil no matter the depth of the hole drilled.
7. At the end of each day all bore holes should be closed, at no point should any hole be left open any longer than necessary.
8. All holes that have been drilled and back filled should also be checked periodically to ensure that none have reopened. If one has, backfill immediately.
A test of the effectiveness of the invention has been carried out in a sub region of a restricted contaminated area Chernobyl, Ukraine. That area is referred to as an exclusion zone, which covers about 2600 km2. This area is contaminated due to a disaster caused by a complete melt down of Reactor 4 of the Nuclear Power Plant Apr. 26, 1986.
A government body, SSE Ecocenter is responsible for restricting entry to the zone and monitoring exclusion zone and compiling research data regarding the contaminated area. The General Director is Serhii Kirietev, a Ukrainian scientist.
The present inventor Andrew Niemczyk approached SSE Ecocenter and had confidential discussions for the possibility of testing his invention in a sub region within the exclusion zone. The concept of the present invention was discussed in some detail. These discussions resulted in an agreement in which Ecocenter in complete confidence would install the Niemczyk invention within the sub-region with the help and guidance of Mr. Niemczyk and Mr. Frank Mueller, an associate of Mr. Niemczyk.
The agreement between the parties, which did not involve any payments or other compensation given to SSE Ecocenter, between the inventor and SSE Ecocenter indicated that that project might be of particular interest and might eliminate the contamination much sooner than by natural decay.
This test comprised two sets of measurements taken within a sub region of the exclusion zone. The first set of measurements carried out on Oct. 15, 2019 and the second on Nov. 20, 2020.
The inventor asked SSE Ecocenter to make an initial series of measurements of radiation characteristics at 49 points within the sub region of the contaminated zone prior to the installation application of an array of elongated tubular members in the manner set forth in the present patent application.
In an effort to maintain a controlled experimental environment, all variables were kept the same (types of measurements, depths of measurements, location of measurements, measurement tools) and the radiation levels were measured.
At the request of the inventor Andrew Niemczyk, SSE Ecocenter prepared a report reflecting the initial set of measurements carried out by SSE Ecocenter in which the results of the first set are tabulated below, reflecting the results of the preliminary measurements in the sub region (having an area of 100 m2).
The tabulation has columns. Table 1 has 3 Columns. Column 1, labeled No. c.p., is simply the physical location of the marker in the exclusion zone. There were 49 total markers —indicating 49 separate, specific data point areas. Column 2, Flux Density is a measure of the amount of power or radiation that is transmitted through a specific area (and therefore not lost to the atmosphere). Column 3 uses the Sievert (Sv) which is the unit for the dose of radiation that affects the human body. The unit milliSievert (mSv) that we see more often is 1 thousandth, and microSievert (μSv) its 1 millionth. For the impact of radiation on human health, what counts is the total amount of radiation (cumulative dose) the body is exposed to. The intensity of radiation, “air dose.” is expressed with the amount of radiation dose per each hour while the body is at the location. We use microSievert per hour (μSv/h for hourly exposure and milliSievert per year (mSv/y) for annual exposure. Cumulative dose and air dose are related: e.g., when exposed to 1 μSv/h for 1 year, the total cumulative dose for the year is: 1 μSv/h×24 hours×365 days ˜9 mSv. To put into simple terms:
Column 1—point of measurement
Column 2—measure of power or energy through a set area
Column 3—measure of microSieverts per hour at said location on October 2019 prior to the installation of the array of tubular members
Column 4—measure of microSieverts per hour at said location on October 2020. 1 month after the completion of the array of tubular members
As is needed in any controlled experiments, the flux density values remained unchanged between the initial readings on Oct. 15, 2019 and latest readings on Oct. 29, 2020.
The important and only variable that changed was the radioactivity values set out in columns 3 and 4 indicating a dramatic decrease in contamination at each of the 49 individual test points.
As it takes approximately 5 month for the newly installed systems to be acclimated, it should be noted that the effect of the invention only began about five months after the installation of the tubular members, hence the measured results of the reduction in radioactivity would be substantially greater than shown in the measurements here if the reduction began at a later date.
