• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1273-1279
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• 2016

Production of iodine-131 by neutron activation of tellurium in tellurium dioxide ($TeO_2$) material requires a target that meets the safety requirements. In a radiopharmaceutical production unit, a new lid for a can was designed, which permits tight sealing of the target by using tungsten inert gaswelding. The leakage rate of all prepared targets was assessed using a helium mass spectrometer. The accepted leakage rate is ${\leq}10^{-4}mbr.L/s$, according to the approved safety report related to iodine-131 production in the TRIGA Mark II research reactor (TRIGA: Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics). To confirm the resistance of the new design to the irradiation conditions in the TRIGA Mark II research reactor's central thimble, a study of heat effect on the sealed targets for 7 hours in an oven was conducted and the leakage rates were evaluated. The results show that the tightness of the targets is ensured up to $600^{\circ}C$ with the appearance of deformations on lids beyond $450^{\circ}C$. The study of heat transfer through the target was conducted by adopting a one-dimensional approximation, under consideration of the three transfer modes-convection, conduction, and radiation. The quantities of heat generated by gamma and neutron heating were calculated by a validated computational model for the neutronic simulation of the TRIGA Mark II research reactor using the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code. Using the heat transfer equations according to the three modes of heat transfer, the thermal study of I-131 production by irradiation of the target in the central thimble showed that the temperatures of materials do not exceed the corresponding melting points. To validate this new design, several targets have been irradiated in the central thimble according to a preplanned irradiation program, going from4 hours of irradiation at a power level of 0.5MWup to 35 hours (7 h/d for 5 days a week) at 1.5MW. The results showthat the irradiated targets are tight because no iodine-131 was released in the atmosphere of the reactor building and in the reactor cooling water of the primary circuit.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.3
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• pp.353-358
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• 2010

In this study, we investigated the relationship of tree-ring growth with total nitrogen content, and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from the core samples of Pinus koraiensis (35-year-old). Annual ring width showed significant positive correlations with the ${\delta}^{13}C$ (P=0.003). The total nitrogen content (P=0.024), and the ${\delta}^{13}C$ content was also correlated with total nitrogen content (P=0.038), indicating that the growth of P. koraiensis was stimulated as the contents of both ${\delta}^{13}C$ and total nitrogen were increased. On the other hand, the less the ${\delta}^{15}N$ content and the C/N ratio were, the larger the annual ring width was. Moreover the families with relatively better growth performance contained the higher levels of ${\delta}^{13}C$ in the xylem compared to other families. These results suggest that the ${\delta}^{13}C$ and total nitrogen contents are the important determinants in the growth performance of P. koraiensis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.274-284
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to describe the spectrometric analysis of gaseous cloud formation over reactor mixed uranium-and-plutonium (UP) fuel $(U_{0.8}Pu_{0.2})O_2$ samples heated to a temperature $>2,000^{\circ}C$, and thus forecast and evaluate radiation hazards threatening humans who cope with the consequences of any accident at a fission reactor loaded by UP mixed oxide $(U_{0.8}Pu_{0.2})O_2$, such as a mixture of 80% U and 20% Pu in weight. Materials and methods: The UP nuclear fuel samples were heated up to a temperature of over $2,000^{\circ}C$ in a suitable assembly (apparatus) at out-of-pile experiments' implementation, the experimental in-depth study of metabolism of active materials in living organisms by means of artificial irradiation of pigs by plutonium. Spectrometric measurements were carried out on the different exposed organs and tissues of pigs for the further estimation of human internal exposure by nuclear materials released from the core of a fission reactor fueled with UP mixed oxide. Results: The main results of the research described are the following: (1) following the research on the influence of mixed fuel fission products (radioactive isotopes being formed during reactor operation as a result of nuclear decay of elements included into the fuel composition) on living organisms, the authors determined the quantities of plutonium dioxide ($PuO_2$) that penetrated into blood and lay in the pulmonary region, liver, skeleton and other tissues; and (2) experiments confirmed that the output speed of plutonium out of the basic precipitation locations is very small. On the strength of the experimental evidence, the authors suggest that the biological output of plutonium can be disregarded in the process of evaluation of the internal irradiation doses.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.52-64
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• 2016

The production of nuclear energy from thorium which is non-fissile material was a main issue until the middle of 1970's, because of the thorium's abundance as energy resources, its capability of breeding fissile material U233, and the reduction of long-lived actinides. However, to use thorium as nuclear fuel, some obstacles such as the necessities of external neutron source and long-term neutron irradiation for effective breeding, and the production of high radioactive isotopes in the course of thorium breeding cycle should be overcome. The difficulties to resolve these cons of thorium cycle became the reason of interruption of the related researches in the middle of 1970's. But in the 21st century, the change of societal perspective regarding nuclear energy and the appearance of accelerator-driven nuclear reactor shift those cons into pros and rehabilitate the study of thorium. The high activity of thorium cycle turned out to be a good option as higher resistance and easier detectibility of nuclear proliferation and the employment of subcritical accelerator-driven reactor as external neutron sources is considered to enhance the nuclear safety. In this study we compare the thorium cycle with the currently-used uranium cycle and analyze the technical status and perspective of thorium researches which use accelerator-driven reactors.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.167-179
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• 2016

Water quality of Oseepchun, Dogye area, was investigated quantitatively for its origin and hydrogeochemistry in relation to the influence of groundwater. Groundwater appears to be the principal source of Oseepchun from the water-quality monitoring data including redox potentials, composition of dissolved ions and their correlations, hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopic ratios, and the distribution and occurrence of contaminants. Water-quality type of the surface water was grouped by the water-rock interactions as $Ca-HCO_3$ type originated from carbonated bed-rocks in the Joseon Supergroup, (Ca, Mg)-$SO_4$ type related with dissolution of surfide minerals in coal beds of Pyeongan Supergroup, and (Ca, Mg)-($HCO_3$, $SO_4$) type of the mixed one. Locally water pollution occurs by high $SO_4$ from mine drainage and $NO_3$ from waste-treatment facility. Intensive precipitation in summer has no effect on the water type of Oseepchun, but increases the inflow of nitrate and chloride originated from land surface. Results of this study direct that groundwater-surface water interaction is intimate, and thus surface-water resource management should begin with groundwater characterization.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.146-151
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• 2012

An analytical method was developed for the measurement of uranium isotope in ground water using the liquid scintillation counting technique. A LKB Wallac Quantulus 1220 liquid scintillation counter (LSC) equipped with pulse shape analyzer (PSA) and a solvent extraction method were used for the measurement of uranium isotope in ground water samples. The effect of solution volume on the extraction efficiency was evaluated for 100 to 1000 mL solutions using a NIST standard reference material (NIST SRM 4321C). The effect of groundwater pH on the extraction efficiency was also investigated for pH ranging from 0.5 to 10. It was found that the extraction efficiency had a strong dependence on pH showing a maximum at pH 2. In contrast, the effect of groundwater volume on the extraction efficiency was negligible in the range investigated. According to the method, the extraction efficiency of uranium isotopes was near 96% and the lower detection limit for uranium was 0.018 Bq/L with the counting time of 300 min. The result of this study was also verified by the conventional ICP-MS measurement. It is demonstrated that the suggested method is valuable to the determination of the optimum extraction and measurement conditions for uranium in ground water. The method was successfully applied to the ground water at four locations near the Daejeon province. It was found that the uranium content and the isotopic ratio of $^{234}U/^{238}U$ at the locations ranged 0.59~6.69 Bq/L and 0.72~1.40, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.2689-2696
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• 2015

Radioactive isotopes which are manufactured using a cyclotron in a radioisotope used for radiation diagnosis is affected by the production yield according to size and shape of the beam and beam uniform degree from irradiated location when the proton beam investigated the target by cyclotron. Therefore, in this paper developed the BPM(Beam Profile Monitor) device capable of measuring the beam cross-section at the cyclotron beam line. It was configured so as to be able to remote control the BPM device in LabView and used the BPM program it was to be able to easily monitor and display to analyze the graph of two-dimensional graph and a three-dimensional beam distribution numerical information of the beam obtained while scanning the tungsten wire to the X and Y axis. The time it takes to measure the beam can be confirmed 37seconds when step motor driving speed was 2000pps. Through a beam readjusted based on the measured beam distribution information by optimizing the beam distribution it can be made to maximize the RI production yield and contribute supply stabilization.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.116-124
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• 2000

Geochemical and isotopic analyses were carried out to investigate hydrochemical characteristics, source of carbon species in the carbonated waters in South Korea. Most Korean carbonated waters from different geologic settings are characterized by a Ca-HCO$_3$type with a relatively low pH range from 5.3 to 6.3 (avg. 6.0). The concentrations of cations and anions in the carbonate waters are in the order of Ca$^{2＋}$>Na$^{＋}$>Mg$^{2＋}$>Si$^{4＋}$>Fe$^{2＋}$>K$^{＋}$ and HCO$_3$$^{－}$>SO$_4$$^{2－}$>Cl$^{－}$, respectively. The HCO$_3$$^{－}$ ion is more enriched in the carbonated water from the sedimentary rock and granitic rock of Mesozoic age in the Gyungsang basin(GII) and the Precambrian metamorphic rock and Jurassic granitic rocks of the Gyunggj massif in the Gangwon province(GⅠ) than those of the meta-sedimentary rock and granite in the Ogcheon zone(GⅢ). Based on the oxygen and hydrogen isotopic data, the carbonated waters are derived from the meteoric water, showing apparent latitude and altitude effects. The $delta$$^{13}$C values of carbon species in the carbonated water are in between -6.23 and 0.0 $textperthousand$, suggesting inorganic source of carbon originated from the carbonate mineral and carbonate rock in the aquifer.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2013

Origin authenticity of the animals used as food has always been a major concern to consumers around the world. In the past twenty years, a stable isotope ratio has been used for origin authentication. In this study, pork samples, both local and imported, were collected from the major markets from all around South Korea and analyzed for stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (${\delta}^{15}N$‰) and carbon (${\delta}^{13}C$‰), using Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IR-MS). A total of 599 samples with 335 Korean and 264 imported from 13 countries within America and Europe were investigated in accordance to the standard established methods for isotope ratio analysis. The results showed a significant variation related to the origin of the samples, explaining the difference in the feeding styles of the pork in each country. The stable isotope ratio values of carbon (${\delta}^{13}C$‰) were found in the decreasing order of: America ($-15.55{\pm}1.01$‰)>Korea ($-19.62{\pm}0.89$‰)>Europe ($-24.79{\pm}1.35$‰). Canada was having ${\delta}^{13}C$ ratio of $-22.87{\pm}0.92$‰, which is very low in the region of America and very close to Europe (-23.78 to -27.17‰). For nitrogen ${\delta}^{15}N$‰ the order was: America ($4.92{\pm}0.71$‰)>Europe ($4.54{\pm}0.66$‰)>Korea ($3.69{\pm}0.54$‰), with a slight variation among countries in each region studied. From the results it was concluded that the stable isotope ratio of the pork samples from different countries provide enough information about the origin and is therefore a potential tool which can be employed for origin authentication.

• Geosciences Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2019

We present data from the Mesozoic Keumkang, Palbong, and Baekhwa granites in Garorim Bay, in the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif, South Korea. Using major and trace element concentrations, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions, and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U-Pb ages, we aim to constrain the petrogenesis of the granites and explain their origin within a broader regional geological context. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages of $232.8{\pm}3.2$, $175.9{\pm}1.2$, and $176.8{\pm}9.8$ Ma were obtained from the Keumkang, Palbong and Baekhwa granites, respectively. The Late Triassic Keumkang granites belong to the shoshonite series and show an overall enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILE), a depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE) relative to primitive mantle, compared with neighboring elements in the primitive mantle-normalized incompatible trace element diagram with notable high Ba and Sr contents, and negligible Eu anomalies. The Keumkang granites are typified by highly radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions: $(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70931-0.70959$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511472-0.511484$ [$({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-17.0$ to -16.7], and $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.26-17.27$. The Middle Jurassic Palbong and Baekhwa granites belong to the medium- to high-K calc-alkaline series, and show LILE enrichment and HFSE depletion similar to the Keumkang granites, but exhibit significant negative anomalies in Ba, Sr, and Eu. Furthermore, they have elevated Y and Yb contents at any given $SiO_2$ content compared with other Jurassic granitoids from the Gyeonggi massif. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites have slightly less radiogenic Sr and more radiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions [$(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70396-0.70908$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511622-0.511660$, $({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-15.4$ to -14.7, $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.56-17.76$] relative to the Keumkang granites. The Keumkang granites are considered to have formed in a post-collisional environment following the Permo-Triassic Songrim orogeny that records continent-continent collision between the North and South China blocks, and may have formed by fractional crystallization of metasomatized lithospheric mantle-derived mafic melts. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites may have been produced from a gabbroic assemblage at pressures of less than ~15 kbar, associated with subduction of the paleo-Pacific (Izanagi) plate at the Eurasian continental margin. Elevated ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values in the granitoids from the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif relative to those of the central and northern parts, together with the comparatively shallow depth of origin, imply the presence of an exotic block in the Korean lithosphere.