Release of 3H and 14C during sampling and speciation in activated concrete

Characterisation of contaminated and activated decommissioning waste require sampling of the studied material for the analysis of different radionuclides. The volatility of 3 H and 14 C can lead to the loss of the analytes in sampling of solid materials since most often at least some heat is involve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry 2022, Vol.331 (2), p.859-865
Main Authors: Leskinen, Anumaija, Hokkinen, Jouni, Kärkelä, Teemu, Kekki, Tommi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Diagnostic Radiology
Hadrons
Heavy Ions
Inorganic Chemistry
Low temperature
Nuclear Chemistry
Nuclear Physics
Oxidation
Physical Chemistry
Radioisotopes
Sampling methods
Sampling techniques
Scintillation counters
Speciation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Characterisation of contaminated and activated decommissioning waste require sampling of the studied material for the analysis of different radionuclides. The volatility of 3 H and 14 C can lead to the loss of the analytes in sampling of solid materials since most often at least some heat is involved in the sampling technique. Especially 3 H can be lost in cases when it is present as tritiated water (HTO) due to the evaporation of water even at low temperatures. Therefore, in this study, the 3 H and 14 C speciations are discussed. Consequently, a drilling sampling technique was developed in order to capture the released 3 H and 14 C in absorption solutions and measured using liquid scintillation counting. The sampling technique was tested on an activated concrete core. The collected samples were analysed for 3 H and 14 C (activity concentration and speciation) using a thermal oxidation technique. The results showed that a significant amount of 3 H was released during sampling even though the majority of 3 H was strongly bound in the activated concrete. The studied activated concrete did not contain measurable amount of 14 C and therefore speciation studies were not possible.
ISSN:0236-5731
1588-2780
DOI:10.1007/s10967-021-08144-6