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Determination of Tritium in Spent Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Fuels  

Lee, Chang Heon (Nuclear Chemistry Research Team, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Suh, Moo Yul (Nuclear Chemistry Research Team, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Choi, Kwang Soon (Nuclear Chemistry Research Team, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Jee, Kwang Yong (Nuclear Chemistry Research Team, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Kim, Won Ho (Nuclear Chemistry Research Team, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
Publication Information
Analytical Science and Technology / v.17, no.5, 2004 , pp. 381-387 More about this Journal
Abstract
To characterize chemically a spent pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel, an analytical method for trace amounts of tritium ($^3H$) in it has been established. Considering the effective management of radioactive wastes generated through the whole experimental process and the radiological safety for analysts, a separation condition under which $^{14}C$ and $^3H$ can be sequentially recovered from a single fuel sample was optimized using simulated spent PWR fuel dissolved solutions. $^{14}CO_2$ evolved during dissolution of the spent PWR fuels with nitric acid was trapped in an aliquot of 1.5 M NaOH. $^{129}I_2$ which was volatilized along with $^{14}CO_2$ was removed using a silver nitrate-impregnated silica gel absorbent. $^3H$ remaining in the fuel dissolved solution as $^3H_2O$ was selectively recovered by distillation. Its recovery yield was 97.9% with a relative standard deviation of 0.9% (n=3). $^3H$ in a spent PWR fuel with burnup value of 37,000 MWd/MtU was analyzed, reliability of this analytical method being evaluated by standard addition method.
Keywords
Tritium; Spent Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Fuels; Liquid scintillation counting;
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