A suite of robust radioanalytical techniques for the determination of tritium and other volatile radionuclides in decommissioning wastes and environmental matrices
A suite of robust radioanalytical techniques for the determination of tritium and other volatile radionuclides in decommissioning wastes and environmental matrices
Tritium is ubiquitous in and around nuclear plants, being formed via neutron capture by 2H, 6Li, 10B and 14N and via ternary fission. The highly mobile nature of 3H species results in widespread distribution of the radionuclide. Predictive modeling of 3H activity concentrations is challenging and direct measurement of 3H activities in materials is the preferred approach to underpin waste and environmental assessments. For well over a decade, the UK nuclear industry has engaged in a significant program of site decommissioning of its first generation reactors. This has resulted in a high demand for the rapid characterization of 3H in a diverse range of matrices, including concretes, metals, plastics, sludges, resins, soils and biota. To support such assessments, it has been necessary to develop dedicated instrumentation in parallel with robust radioanalytical methodologies; namely a multi-tube furnace and a high-capacity, closed (pressurized) oxygen combustion system. Data are presented on the development and validation of these instruments, designed specifically to enable the quantitative extraction of 3H (and other volatile radionuclides) from diverse sample types. Furthermore the furnace system has been employed as a tool to gain insights into the 3H association in decommissioning and environmental matrices exposed to 3H arising from nuclear power plant operations through tritium evolution with temperature profiling. The impact of the chemical speciation of 3H on analytical strategy is discussed. A major benefit of the multi-sample furnace is its ease of use and applicability to 3H determination in virtually any sample type. The complementary HBO2 oxygen combustion system has been developed for the quantitative oxidation of organic-rich samples (e.g. wood, plastic, oil, biota) and analytical data prove its effectiveness.
290-295
Croudace, I.W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Warwick, P.E.
f2675d83-eee2-40c5-b53d-fbe437f401ef
Marsh, Richard
8c2a9fb4-23dc-439c-a27f-e1b4e123c0f9
27 April 2017
Croudace, I.W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Warwick, P.E.
f2675d83-eee2-40c5-b53d-fbe437f401ef
Marsh, Richard
8c2a9fb4-23dc-439c-a27f-e1b4e123c0f9
Croudace, I.W., Warwick, P.E. and Marsh, Richard
(2017)
A suite of robust radioanalytical techniques for the determination of tritium and other volatile radionuclides in decommissioning wastes and environmental matrices.
Fusion Science and Technology, 71 (3), .
(doi:10.1080/15361055.2017.1293450).
Abstract
Tritium is ubiquitous in and around nuclear plants, being formed via neutron capture by 2H, 6Li, 10B and 14N and via ternary fission. The highly mobile nature of 3H species results in widespread distribution of the radionuclide. Predictive modeling of 3H activity concentrations is challenging and direct measurement of 3H activities in materials is the preferred approach to underpin waste and environmental assessments. For well over a decade, the UK nuclear industry has engaged in a significant program of site decommissioning of its first generation reactors. This has resulted in a high demand for the rapid characterization of 3H in a diverse range of matrices, including concretes, metals, plastics, sludges, resins, soils and biota. To support such assessments, it has been necessary to develop dedicated instrumentation in parallel with robust radioanalytical methodologies; namely a multi-tube furnace and a high-capacity, closed (pressurized) oxygen combustion system. Data are presented on the development and validation of these instruments, designed specifically to enable the quantitative extraction of 3H (and other volatile radionuclides) from diverse sample types. Furthermore the furnace system has been employed as a tool to gain insights into the 3H association in decommissioning and environmental matrices exposed to 3H arising from nuclear power plant operations through tritium evolution with temperature profiling. The impact of the chemical speciation of 3H on analytical strategy is discussed. A major benefit of the multi-sample furnace is its ease of use and applicability to 3H determination in virtually any sample type. The complementary HBO2 oxygen combustion system has been developed for the quantitative oxidation of organic-rich samples (e.g. wood, plastic, oil, biota) and analytical data prove its effectiveness.
Text
FST16-226R1Finalpaper - Accepted Manuscript
Text
Cundy and Croudace 2017 EST final accepted version
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 8 August 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 April 2017
Published date: 27 April 2017
Organisations:
Ocean and Earth Science, Geochemistry, Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 411945
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/411945
ISSN: 1536-1055
PURE UUID: 76df9edc-25e6-4c87-bcfa-f229bf819587
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Date deposited: 03 Jul 2017 16:31
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:49
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