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Hello, and welcome to the 
Afterpop, where we take the big,

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weird and wonderful world of 
nuclear energy and break it down

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into something your brain can 
actually understand. 

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I'm your host, Danielle, and 
today we're diving into 

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something that sounds like a 
radioactive prison cell, but is 

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actually one of the most 
fascinating mission critical 

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technologies, nuclear science. 
Today we're talking hot cells. 

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These are shielded enclosures 
where radioactive magic happens.

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Their robotic labs, concrete 
fortresses, and life saving 

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assembly lines all rolled into 
one. 

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So buckle up, we're cracking 
open the leaded glass window on 

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these mysterious nuclear 
chambers. 

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Just kidding, that would be very
bad and impossible. 

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So what is a hot cell? 
A hot cell is essentially A 

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shielded room or box built with 
super thick walls of lead, 

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concrete, or even stainless 
steel that lets humans safely 

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interact with highly radioactive
materials. 

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They exist because radiation is 
invisible and at high levels, 

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deadly. 
And if you need to handle 

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materials like spent fuel rods, 
cancer treating isotopes, or 

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radioactive waste, you need a 
space that can contain the 

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danger without halting the work.
You can picture a hot cell as a 

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secure glass aquarium, but for 
plutonium. 

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Inside, robotic arms delicately 
move samples, slice metals or 

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mixed solutions while operators 
stand safely outside watching 

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through shielded lead glass 
windows that can be up to 1 foot

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thick. 
Inside, it's science fiction 

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made real bright lighting, 
robotic manipulators, ventilated

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glove ports and surfaces you can
scrub to a surgical level of 

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sterility. 
Outside, calm, focused 

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technicians working the 
controls. 

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So what do they look like? 
Let's paint the picture. 

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A standard hot cell might be the
size of a kitchen cabinet, 

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though some are room size or 
even building size depending on 

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their use. 
The walls, they could be up to 

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three to five feet thick. 
For reference I am 5 feet. 

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The viewing windows, golden or 
greenish hued lead glass 

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designed to absorb camera 
radiation while still letting 

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enough light for visibility. 
Inside you might see long 

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articulated robotic arms 
dangling like mechanical squids,

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racks holding capsules of 
radioactive material, 

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instruments for heating, 
separating or sampling, and 

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everything bolted down to 
prevent any shaking, spilling or

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braking. 
Some cells even have cameras, 

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infrared sensors and robotic 
retrieval system so fine-tuned 

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they can pick up a single screw 
and slide it into place. 

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Outside the cell there's usually
a control panel, often with 

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joysticks or manipulator handles
and monitors showing what's 

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going on inside. 
It might seem self-explanatory, 

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but why do we need these? 
Hot cells Solve a fundamental 

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problem. 
How do you interact with nuclear

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materials that could otherwise 
kill you? 

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Their uses are vast and vital. 1
Radiopharmaceutical production 

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Hot cells are the beating heart 
of nuclear medicine. 

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Isotopes like technetium 99, 
used for imaging the heart, 

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lungs, and bones, are produced 
and packaged inside of these 

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cells with near surgical 
precision. 

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From cancer treatments to 
diagnostic scans, hot cells help

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create millions of doses of 
medicine every year. 2 Nuclear 

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fuel reprocessing After fuel 
rods are removed from a reactor,

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they're still radioactive. 
Hot cells let scientists chop, 

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dissolve, and separate 
components like uranium and 

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plutonium for reuse without 
anyone getting fried in the 

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process. 
This is exactly what Marcellus 

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was talking about #3 reactor 
safety testing. 

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Want to simulate a core meltdown
or test how new materials hold 

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up in extreme conditions? 
You're doing that in a hot cell.

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Number four, materials of 
radiation and testing engineers 

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can expose new alloys or ceramic
coatings to intense radiation 

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and then pull them back into the
hot cell to study their 

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performance. 
This is critical for the next 

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generation of advanced reactors 
#5 radioactive source recovery. 

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Ever find a stray cobalt 60 
source in a scrap yard or a 

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banded lab? 
Someone has to safely pick that 

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up and lock it away. 
Hot cells, especially mobile 

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units, make that possible. 
So are all hot cells the same or

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are they built different? 
No, not all hot cells are the 

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same. 
Like trucks or tool boxes, they 

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come in different sizes and 
flavors. 

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Standard hot cells. 
These are your everyday nuclear 

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work horses. 
Made of steel, shielded with 

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lead and often lined with PVC or
Koran for easy cleaning. 

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GMP hot cells. 
Built to meet good manufacturing

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practice standards. 
They're cleaned, sterile and 

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used to create 
radiopharmaceuticals that go 

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directly into the human body. 
Production hot cells or mini 

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cells. 
Compact and design for single 

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step synthesis, they're the 
especial machines of isotope 

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production. 
Mobile hot cells. 

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Yes, they can be built into 
trailers or shipping containers 

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ready to deploy to sites for 
source recovery, cleanup, and 

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field testing. 
Each cell is custom built for 

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its task, but they are all 
designed around one idea. 

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Keep radiation in, keep people 
safe. 

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So what's it like to work one? 
It's kind of like being an 

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arcade claw game champion. 
Instead of plush toys, you're 

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moving radioactive isotopes, and
instead of a joystick, you're 

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using articulated mechanical 
arms that mirror your every 

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movement. 
Hot cell operators often train 

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for months, learning to work 
precisely under pressure, read 

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radiation levels on multiple 
instruments, maintain sterile, 

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controlled environments, and 
follow safety protocols down to 

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the millimeter. 
Some labs are even using VR 

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simulations now to train hot 
cell workers before they go 

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live. 
And why does this matter again? 

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Hot cells are the backstage crew
of the nuclear world. 

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They don't power cities, but 
they enable medicine, keep lab 

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safe, recover dangerous 
materials, and support 

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innovation across space tech, 
clean energy, and material 

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science. 
As we build smaller reactors, 

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launch space based power, and 
expand medical isotope 

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production, hot cells will 
become even more important, and 

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they'll likely be more 
automated, more mobile, and even

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more miniaturized. 
In short, if we're going to 

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scale up the nuclear age 
responsibly, we're going to need

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a whole lot more hot cells. 
So next time you hear hot cell, 

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picture it for what it really 
is, a steel and lead vault where

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humans meet radiation at a very,
very safe distance. 

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Thanks again to Marcellus Boykin
for being the inspiration to 

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this episode. 
And if you want to listen to 

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more After Pops, make sure to 
follow, subscribe and shoot me 

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your questions. 
Until next time, stay curious.