Determination of 63Ni and 55Fe in nuclear waste samples using radiochemical separation and liquid scintillation counting
TL;DR: In this paper, an analytical method for the determination of 63 Ni and 55 Fe in nuclear waste samples such as graphite, heavy concrete, aluminium and lead was developed, where different decomposition methods (i.e. ashing, acid digestion and alkali fusion) were investigated for the decomposition of the samples and for the separation of Fe and Ni from the matrix.
About: This article is published in Analytica Chimica Acta.The article was published on 2005-04-11. It has received 70 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Liquid scintillation counting & Extraction (chemistry).
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TL;DR: These methods are critically compared for the determination of long-lived radionuclides important for radiation protection, decommissioning of nuclear facilities, repository of nuclear waste, tracer application in the environmental and biological researches.
314 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a broad assessment of recent developments, improvements in capability and describes the advantages and drawbacks of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with regards to sample introduction and instrument design.
Abstract: The efficient characterization of nuclear waste materials represents a significant challenge during nuclear site decommissioning, with a range of radionuclides requiring measurement in varied and often complex sample matrices. Of the available measurement techniques, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has traditionally been applied to long-lived radionuclides, particularly in the actinide series. With recent advances in the technique, both the sensitivities achievable and number of radionuclides potentially measurable has expanded, with the reduced procedural time offering significant economic benefits to nuclear site waste characterization compared with traditional radiometric (typically alpha and beta spectrometry) techniques. This review provides a broad assessment of recent developments, improvements in capability and describes the advantages and drawbacks of ICP-MS with regards to sample introduction and instrument design. The review will be of interest to international agencies concerned with nuclear decommissioning as well as nuclear site laboratories, project managers and sites involved in environmental monitoring and nuclear forensics.
60 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an analytical method is briefly described, which is used for the determination of 3H and 14C in steel and aluminum by combustion using commercial oxidizer, and a simple distillation method is presented for the determined 3H, 14C, 36Cl, 55Fe, 63Ni, 41Ca and 129I.
Abstract: Some radiochemical analytical methods for the determination of important beta-radionuclides for decommissioning are presented. An analytical method is briefly described, which is used for the determination of 3H and 14C in steel and aluminum by combustion using commercial oxidizer. A leaching method was developed for the determination of 3H in the contaminated silica gel. A simple distillation method is presented for the determination of 14C in heavy water and wastewater sample. A method developed for the simultaneous determination of 3H, 14C, 36Cl, 55Fe, 63Ni, 41Ca and 129I in concrete, graphite, aluminium, lead, and steel is presented. The developed methods have been successfully used to analyse various materials for characterization of the waste during the decommissioning of Danish nuclear reactors.
57 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: A comprehensive treatment of quench effects and quench correction in liquid scintillation counting, including the internal standard method, sample spectrum, and external standard quench-indicating parameters is provided in this paper.
Abstract: The chapter begins with a treatment of the basic theory of liquid scintillation and the interactions of alpha, beta, and gamma rays in liquid scintillator. A description of the basic design and concepts of operation of a liquid scintillation counter is provided. This is followed by a comprehensive treatment of quench effects and the methods of quench correction in liquid scintillation counting, including the internal standard method, sample spectrum, and external standard quench-indicating parameters. A detailed treatment of the preparation and use of quenched standards and quench-correction curves is provided. A discussion of direct DPM methods is also included. This is followed with a treatment on the analysis of X-ray, gamma ray, Auger electron, and positron emitters by liquid scintillation counting (LSC). A detailed discussion of the interferences encountered in liquid scintillation analysis (LSA) including background, quench, radionuclide mixtures, luminescence, and static and wall effects are described, and methods for their correction are discussed. The chapter continues with a treatment on the LSA of multiple radionuclides including dual- and triple-radionuclide analysis techniques and the analysis of more complex mixtures by spectral fitting, unfolding, and interpolation techniques. A detailed discussion of radionuclide standardization by the CIEMAT/NIST efficiency tracing and the triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) methods is provided. Neutron/gamma-ray measurement and discrimination by LSC are discussed. The use of LSC for the detection and measurement of double beta ( ββ ) decay is provided. A treatment of liquid scintillation schemes for the detection and measurement of neutrinos includes inverse beta decay and charged current interactions. Other liquid scintillation methods that are discussed include microplate scintillation and luminescence counting, PERALS and liquid scintillation alpha-spectrometry with large-area avalanche photodiodes (LAAPD), and simultaneous α / β analysis. Other methods described are the use of plastic scintillators in LSC, scintillation counting in noble liquids, radionuclide identification by LSC, and air luminescence counting. The chapter concludes with a treatment of the methods of assessment of liquid scintillation counter performance and optimization.
51 citations
TL;DR: The analytical results of IaeA soil 6 and IAEA-367 in this work are in a good agreement with the values reported in the literature or reference values, revealing that the developed method for plutonium determination in environmental samples is reliable.
45 citations
References
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TL;DR: A rapid oxidizing combustion method using a commercial Sample Oxidizer has been investigated to determine separately the 14C and 3H activities in graphite and concrete and shows good agreement for graphite samples.
81 citations
TL;DR: The procedure developed has been successfully applied for the production of no-carrier-added 64Cu from enriched 64Ni generated by the reaction 64Ni(p,n)64Cu using a cyclotron.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, four artificially produced radionuclides (99 Tc, t 1 2 = 2·15 × 10 5 y; 63 Ni, t 2 2 = 93 y; 121m+126 Sn, t 3 2 = 55·5 y ) have been analyzed in sediments and organisms from the marine environment.
25 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a method was developed for the determination of 63Ni in environmental samples, where the samples are ashed and leached with aqua regia whereafter hydroxides are precipitated with ammonia, leaving Ni in the aqueous phase.
Abstract: A method has been developed for the determination of63Ni in environmental samples. The samples are ashed and leached with aqua regia whereafter hydroxides are precipitated with ammonia, leaving Ni in the aqueous phase. Nickel is extracted as dimethyl glyoxime complex by chloroform and back-extracted with HCl. Finially, Ni is electroplated onto a copper disc from an ammonium sulphate medium at high pH. The radiochemical yield is determined by atomic absorption measurements of stable Ni before and after electrodeposition.
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the decontamination factors for all important artificially and naturally occurring radionuclides ranging from above 104 to 109 were determined for Ni2+ and the chemical yield adopted a value of (95±5)%.
Abstract: This procedure to determine Ni-63 contributes to a safe and economically resonable decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Co-60, Fe-55 and Ni-63 are the most abundant long-lived radionuclides associated with contaminated piping, hardware and concrete for a period of several decades of years after shutdown, Samples are carefully ashed, leached, or dissolved by suitable mixtures of acids. The analysis starts with the absorption of Ni2+ on the chelating resin CHELEX 100. The next purification steps include an anionic exchange column and a precipitation as Ni-dimethyl-glyoxime, which is extracted into chloroform. After reextraction with sulfuric acid the solution containing Ni2+ is mixed with a scintillation cocktail and counted in an anticoincidence shielded LSC. The decontamination factors are determined for all important artificially and naturally occurring radionuclides ranging from above 104 to 109. The chemical yield adopts a value of (95±5)%. up to maximum sample amounts of 0,4 g steel, 5 g concrete and about 100 g of environmental samples the detection limits are about 5 mBq per sample or 12 mBq/g steel, 1 mBq/g concrete and 0,05 mBq/g environmental sample at a counting time of 1000 minutes.
18 citations