I work (some people might dispute that) at Vallecitos Nuclear Center. It is a General Electric
nuclear research facility, where testing is performed on various reactor fuels and structural materials,
radioactive isotopic sources are processed and sold, and neutron radiography is performed. Let me see
if I can break that down for you a little.
The next three paragraphs might be a little technical (read: confusing).
Fortunately, I don't know enough about this stuff to make it overly technical.
General Electric builds, sells, and services nuclear power reactors throughout the world. In order to
ensure that our reactors outlast and outperform all others, we must ensure that we use the best materials.
However, many of these materials tend to change when blasted by zillions of neutrons and subjected to
differing conditions of temperature and pressure and water chemistry. So we've got some scientists
that do all kinds of tests on these materials before and after they sit inside a nuclear reactor (the materials,
not the scientists). Many times these materials are so highly radioactive that they must be worked on
through three feet thick lead walls.
As far as the isotope processing, There are three major products that we work with. One is Xenon-133, which
is sent to various hospitals throughout the country. It is used as a tracer for lung and respiratory system scans.
The patient breathes in the radioactive Xenon gas, which is then traced by special monitors to check the
functioning of the lungs. Also, we sell cobalt-60 sources for use in the "gamma knife", a helmet-type device worn
on the head to direct strong beams of radiation directly at a brain tumor with little effect on the rest of the
brain. The third is Californium-252, which is used in a variety of applications as a high intensity neutron emitter.
Neutron radiography is kinda like X-rays, except instead of using x-rays, we use neutrons. X-Rays pass through low
density stuff (like your skin and muscle) and interact with denser material (like your bones). Neutrons, on the other hand,
pass through the denser material and interact with materials of lesser density. This is convenient if you want to
look at explosive powder inside of a metal casing. Applications include aerospace stuff, like rocket parts (exploding bolts
for quick release systems et. al.) and others. I wouldn't suggest trying this with your body, the neutrons would have too much fun interacting with your body, and probably cause some major malfunctions.
So what does a simple-minded person like myself do in a high-tech place like this? I am the Radiological Engineer (and no, I don't glow in the dark!). I have auditing oversight for the reactors, and administrate and oversee radiological instrument inventory and calibration, the bioassay program (where we check personnel for internal contamination - of which we have none), hazardous chemical inventory, among other things.
So is it safe? Well, the amount of radiation we receive here is so far below legal limits (and mine is among the lowest here) that any effects from it are totally negligable. Of course, some anti-nuclear activist will tell you that it doesn't matter how much you get, any little bit will have an effect. But seeing that I get nearly as much from natural sources (the earth, my own body, cosmic radiation) as from working here, I could assure you that it's safe.
Some links I found regarding Vallecitos Nuclear Center:
