On the remote monitoring of gaseous uranium hexafluoride in the lower atmosphere using lidar

Shayeganrad, Gholamreza (2013) On the remote monitoring of gaseous uranium hexafluoride in the lower atmosphere using lidar. Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 51, 1192-1198. (doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2013.03.004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), a major material for uranium enrichment, is highly toxic and can have adverse effects on the environment and human health if it escapes into the atmosphere. This paper proposes a contactless enhanced remote-sensing system for spatial and temporal detection of gaseous UF₆ in the atmosphere and visualization of the leakage location. The system is composed of a combination of differential absorption lidar (DIAL) and Raman lidar for the simultaneous detection of gaseous UF₆ and HF. The DIAL provides information on the UF6 concentration using a frequency-quadrupled Nd:YAG laser at 266 nm for the off-wavelength and a Nd:YAG-pumped Coumarin 450 dye laser using a Littrow grating mounting operating in the frequency-doubled mode at 245 nm for the on-wavelength. The Raman scattering of molecular HF at a wavelength of 297.3 nm (with a Raman frequency shift of 3959 cm⁻¹) is a versatile technique used to identify the HF as a probe for real-time detection of the toxic UF₆ leakage location. Combining the simultaneous measurements of UF₆ and HF allows for a reduction of the uncertainty and an increase in the sensitivity of remote sensing of UF₆.

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