A localised area, typically at a pipe low point, elbow, valve body, dead leg or weld, where crud or radioactive particles collect and dose rates jump well above the general area. Plants label hot spots with stickers showing contact and 30 cm dose rates, track them on a hot spot list, and reduce them by flushing, chemical cleaning, shielding or redesigning the dead leg. New workers learn to keep out of the line of sight of tagged hot spots.
Hot spot on the drain valve reads 800 millirem contact, don't sit on that pipe while you wait.
Also heard as
- hotspot
Related terms
Crud
Corrosion products that deposit on fuel and in reactor piping, become radioactive and drive most plant dose.
Shielding
Material placed between a radiation source and people to absorb radiation and reduce dose rate.
ALARA
As low as reasonably achievable: the principle of keeping doses as low as practical, not just below limits.
Shine
Radiation reaching a spot from a nearby source, through a gap or by scattering, rather than from what is being worked on.
Hot
Radioactive, contaminated or giving a high dose rate, in plant speech; the opposite of clean.
Same word, different worlds
Localized area of active corrosion on a pipeline, or the targeted anodes installed to protect just that spot.
Refractories & Furnace LiningsArea of a vessel or kiln shell running hotter than normal because the lining behind it is thin or gone.
Lighting & Color ScienceA distractingly bright patch in a beam or on a lit surface, brighter than its surroundings.
Photonics & LasersA small region of a beam with much higher intensity than the rest, a common cause of optic damage.