CHEM-160-krista_nishida-2026-09-25-11-17-17

Nuclear Safety

CHEM 160

Fall Semesters

Number of Credit Hours: 1

Prerequisites: CHEM 101 or CHEM 105, or concurrent enrollment

Course Details

LECTURE, Dodgen 150: Wednesdays 12:10 - 1:00 pm

Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name: Prof. Zachariah Heiden

Instructor Contact Information: email: zachariah.heiden@wsu.edu, phone: 509-335-0936

Office: Dodgen 250C Office hours: by appointment

Course Description

Chem 160 : Nuclear Safety 1 Course Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in Chem 101, 105, or instructor permission. Fundamental, practice, and key issues about nuclear safety. Focuses on introducing students to a nuclear safety culture, radiation safety, obtaining dosimetry, and the basic principles of nuclear safety and working/learning in a nuclear environment. Typically offered Fall. Cooperative: Open to UI degree-seeking students.

Course Materials

Books: None Required

Below is a list of textbooks you may find useful as general references, Recommended.

“Nuclear Technology and Safety” by Lei Yu, Jianli Hao, Wenzhen Chen (ISBN: 978-9819528561)
“Nuclear Safety” 2^nd Edition by Gianni Petrangeli (ISBN: 978-0128183267)

Other Materials: None

Fees: None

Learning Goals, Course Objectives:

Chemistry 160 is designed to advance students toward the WSU Learning Goals, especially Scientific Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Quantitative Reasoning, Communication, and Information Literacy. This course will provide undergraduate students with the understanding of the safety requirements and what entails to working/learning in a nuclear environment. The objective is introduce students to a nuclear safety culture that is utilized in all of the nuclear science courses offered through the Nuclear Science Center.

**Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) [add more lines if necessary]**
Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:)	Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes	Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Understand the concept of “nuclear safety culture”	Lectures 1 & 2	Homework Sets Exams
Complete building training for the Nuclear Science Center	Lecture 1	Homework Sets Exams
Obtain dosimetry	Lecture 7	Homework Sets Exams
Understand how to complete a risk assessment	Lecture 8	Homework Sets Exams
Understand the regulations and safety required for learning/working in a nuclear environment	Lectures 9 - 14	Homework Sets Exams
Understand applications of nuclear science	Lectures 2 & 3	Homework Sets Exams
Understand potential careers in nuclear science	Lecture 15	Homework Sets Exams

**Course Schedule**

**[Please note that a WSU semester is 15 weeks + Thanksgiving/Spring Break. The schedule below does not include the break.]**
Dates	Lesson Topic	Assignment	Assessment
Week 1 [dates]	Nuclear Science Center Building Training
Week 2 [dates]	Nuclear Safety Culture
Week 3 [dates]	Applications of Nuclear in Medicine, Agriculture, and the Environment
Week 4 [dates]	Nuclear Power and its Applications	Homework #1
Week 5 [dates]	Radiation Safety (ALARA)
Week 6 [dates]	Radiation Safety
Week 7 [dates]	Dosimetry	Homework #2
Week 8 [dates]	Risk Assessments in Nuclear
Week 9 [dates]	Nuclear Safety Regulations: NRC
Week 10 [dates]	Nuclear Safety Regulations: IAEA	Homework #3
Week 11 [dates]	Nuclear Reactor Safety Issues and Safety Design
Week 12 [dates]	Nuclear Reactor Safety Issues and Safety Design
Week 13 [dates]	Safety Evaluation of Nuclear Reactors	Homework #4
Week 14 [dates]	Criticality Safety
Week 15 [dates]	Careers in Nuclear
Finals Week			Final Exam

Expectations for Student Effort

For each hour of lecture equivalent, students should expect to have a minimum of one hour of work outside class.

Grading

The grading scale will be administered in accordance to the policies of the WSU university registrar. There will be no midterm exams given in this course. The student's final grade will be based on homework sets and a final exam.

Assignment Breakdown
Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc)	Points	Percent of Overall Grade
Homework Sets	300	60
Final Exam	200	40

Grading Schema
Grade	Percent	Grade	Percent
A	92	C	72
A-	90	C-	70
B+	87	D+	67
B	82	D	62
B-	80	F	below 62
C+	77

HOMEWORK SETS: The homework sets will be assigned every three weeks and typically be due the following Wednesday at 11:59 pm the following week. Late homework sets will not be accepted. There will be four homework sets. Homework sets are designed to extend the knowledge of a student beyond the material discussed in class.

FINAL EXAM: Final exams are scheduled for last week of the semester; the Final Exam Schedule is posted on the Registrar’s website (www.registrar.wsu.edu).

LECTURES: Lectures will be presented in person at the scheduled class time in Dodgen 150. A copy of the slides presented during a particular lecture will be available on Canvas within twenty-four hours after the lecture.

ONLINE CONTENT: Information of the current and upcoming experiments, course lectures, announcements, and literature will be available on the Canvas course page (http://canvas.wsu.edu) for CHEM 160.

Attendance and Make-Up Policy

Students should make all reasonable efforts to attend all class meetings. However, in the event a student is unable to attend a class, it is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor as soon as possible, explain the reason for the absence (and provide documentation, if appropriate), and make up class work missed within a reasonable amount of time, if allowed. Missing class meetings may result in reducing the overall grade in the class.

Academic Integrity Statement

All members of the university community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. Students are responsible for understanding the full Academic Integrity Statement.

You are responsible for reading WSU’s Academic Integrity PolicyLinks to an external site., which is based on Washington State lawLinks to an external site.. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:

Fail the assignment without the option for a retake.
Be reported to the Center for Community StandardsLinks to an external site..
Have the right to appeal my decision.
Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished.

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the formLinks to an external site. at the Center for Community StandardsLinks to an external site. website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.”