Assessment of Radioecologically Relevant Radionuclides .sup.14C, .sup.99Tc, and .sup.129I in Vitrified High-Level Nuclear Wastes from Spent Fuel Reprocessing

A method is proposed for quantifying the specific activities of radioecologically significant radionuclides, including .sup.14C, .sup.99Tc, and .sup.129I, in vitrified high-level wastes. The conditions for the separation and purification of these radionuclides from potential interfering components a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of analytical chemistry (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2023-12, Vol.78 (12), p.1701
Main Authors: Chukhlantseva, E. V, Stepanova, O. V, Dichenko, O. Yu, Zaitseva, T. A, Dzhevello, K. A, Murashova, E. L, Tatarnikova, Yu. M, Belanova, E.A, Blokhin, P.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical properties
Environmental aspects
Methods
Radioactive wastes
Radioisotopes
Reactor fuel reprocessing
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Summary:A method is proposed for quantifying the specific activities of radioecologically significant radionuclides, including .sup.14C, .sup.99Tc, and .sup.129I, in vitrified high-level wastes. The conditions for the separation and purification of these radionuclides from potential interfering components are optimized and the yield coefficients and purification factors are determined. The quantification of .sup.14C entails a three-fold distillation in CO.sub.2 followed by the measurement of the .sup.14C counting rate in the purified solution by liquid scintillation spectrometry. .sup.129I was determined by dissolving a sample in HNO.sub.3, five-fold extraction, and the subsequent measurement of the .sup.129I counting rate in the purified solution using liquid scintillation spectrometry. The determination of .sup.99Ð¢Ñ included dissolving a sample in the presence of ClO.sup.-, double extraction-chromatographic separation of .sup.99Ð¢Ñ with an adsorbent impregnated with methyltrioctylammonium nitrate, followed by the determination of its activity by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. We have applied this approach to a simulator of vitrified high-level waste, labeled with radionuclides, and achieved satisfactory results. This approach will be instrumental in the analysis of the accumulated vitrified high-level wastes at the "Mayak" Production Association (Mayak PA). The results will be important for modeling the engineering safety barriers of a deep disposal site for radioactive wastes.
ISSN:1061-9348
DOI:10.1134/S1061934823120043