• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.604-608
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• 2006

Polymer composites for measuring the radioactive contamination are prepared by coating ZnS(Ag) powders as a scintillator on polysulfone base layer. The composites consist of the active layer for a scintillation reaction with radioactive wastes and the transparent support layer for transmittance of light photons emitted by scintillation in the active layer. The binding of the active layer, including ZnS(Ag), on the support layer is proceeded via coating with polysulfone as a binder, without any extra adhesive. The coating was obtained by either casting via a Doctor Blade as applicator or screen printing. The prepared composites feature a monolithic structure, resulting in the complete adhesion between two layers. The composite prepared by the casting technique using an applicator holds a good detection efficiency in measuring the alpha radionuclide, but its structure becomes fragile because of warping in morphology. On the contrary, the composite prepared by the screen printing shows a good detection capacity as well as a good stability in a mechanical shape.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.97-104
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• 2004

Double-layered polysulfone composite films, containing cerium activated yttrium silicate (CAYS) as a flour, were prepared from double casting of two polymeric solutions, and their morphology and physical strength were superior to those of single-layered composites. The prepared polymeric films consist of a dense bottom layer and a CAYS-holding top layer. The former is made of coagulating the polysulfone and methylene chloride binary solution and works as a supporter to improve the composite's physical strength, while the latter holding the inorganic fluor plays a role as an active site to detect the radioactive contamination. The prepared films revealed two distinguished, but tightly attached, double layers, their attachment being identified by morphology of the interface between two layers. As prepared by water immersion coagulation, the films have highly developed macropores, compared with a dense structure in the film prepared by evaporation. In the radionuclide detection test of the CAYS-impregnated composites, the films have reliable detection capacity at a radionuclide spotting test. The double-layered composites with the dense support layer show a better stability in holding the radionuclides spotted on the surface as well as an improvement in physical strength, compared with the single-layer composites having shortcomings such as being too porous or being brittle.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.244-249
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• 2005

In this study, radiation sensor tips are fabricated for remote sensing of X or gamma ray with inorganic scintillators and plastic optical fiber. The visible range of light from the inorganic scintillator that is generated by radiation source is guided by the plastic optical fiber and is measured by optical detector and power-meter. Two kinds of sensor tips are designed and fabricated such as film type and powder type. Many kinds of inorganic scintillators are used to fabricate both sensor tips, and the different wavelength of emitting lights from them are measured to determine the optimal inorganic scintillator which has maximum light output. As a radiation source X-ray generator and Ir-192 are selected to test a performance of sensor tip. It is expected that the fiber-optic radiation sensor is widely used in nuclear industry and medical applications due to its special characteristics such as good flexibility, easy in processing, long lengths and no interference to electro magnetic field.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.240-246
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• 2002

New polysulfone scintillation proximity membranes were prepared by impregnating Cerium Activated Yttrium Silicate (CAYS), an inorganic fluor, in a membrane structure. The membranes were applied to detect the radionuclide contamination directly without the aid of a scintillation cocktail. The preparation of membranes was divided into two processes. A supporting polymer film was made of casting solutions consisting of polysulfone and solvent, their cast film being solidified by vacuum evaporation. CAYS-dispersed polymer solutions were cast over the first, solidified polymer films and coagulated either by evaporating solvent or by exchanging solvent in the solution with nonsolvent in a coagulation bath. The prepared membranes had two distinguished, but tight1y attached, double layers: one is the supporting layer of dense polymer film and the other the detecting layer consisting of CAYS and polymer. The radionuclide counting results revealed that the prepared membranes were efficient to monitor radioactivity contamination with reliable counting ability.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.298-308
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• 2005

The methods for determining C-14 and tritium contents in the spent nuclear fuel sample were developed. The carbon-14($^{14}CO_2$) released during the dissolution of the spent fuel sample and $CaCO_3$ ($CO_2$ carrier) with 8 M $HNO_3$ at $90^{\circ}C$ was collected in trap containing 1.5 M NaOH. The volatile radioactive iodine evolved when the spent fuel was dissolved, was trapped on to Ag-silicagel (Ag-impregnated silicagel) adsorbent in column which is connected to two NaOH traps. The solutions which contain tritium as HTO after fuel dissolution were decontaminated by deionization with a mixture of cation and anion exchange resins and inorganic ionexchangers. The amount of C-14 in the trap solutions and the HTO concentration in the resulting deionization water were then determined by liquid scintillation counting.