• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.175-182
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• 2010

As part of a fundamental study on the volume reduction of contaminated concrete wastes, the separation characteristics of the aggregates and the distribution of the radioactivity in the aggregates were investigated. Radioisotope $^{60}Co$ was artificially used as a model contaminant for non-radioactive crushed concrete waste. Volume reduction for radioactively contaminated dismantled concrete wastes was carried out using activated heavy weight concrete taken from the Korea Research Reactor 2 (KRR-2) and light weight concrete from the Uranium Conversion Plant (UCP). The results showed that most of the $^{60}Co$ nuclide was easily separated from the contaminated dismantled concrete waste and was concentrated mainly in the porous fine cement paste. The heating temperature was found to be one of the effective parameters in the removal of the radionuclide from concrete waste. The volume reduction rate achieved was above 80% for the KRR-2 concrete wastes and above 75% for the UCP concrete wastes by thermal and mechanical treatment.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.237-242
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• 2011

The 2011 Japanese Society of Turfgrass Science was divided in oral presentation, sectional meeting and small symposium, and the total 55 subject was announced. The oral presentation was reported physiological ecology of turf, disease and weed; field management; pesticidal activity and spectrum of new turf pesticides. Above all, there was presentation that investigated control method of necrotic ring spot of new turf disease and Cyperus brevifolius, annual bluegrass and mouse-ear chickweed. In addition, the control effect of new registration fungicide (Furametpyr) and herbicides (S-metolachlor, Flucetosulfuron and Foramsulfuron) were announced. There was various information interchange through 4 kinds of subjects of a golf course, ground turf, a urban park greens and ground cover plants greening by the sectional meeting, and the genetic resource of turfgrass discussed by small symposium. Specially, park greens sectional meeting was announced about the radioactive material contaminated on mechanism and effectively removal method of the radioactivity contaminant from public park, school ground and domestic lawn.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2003

The measurement of radium ($^{226}Ra$) in the groundwater was established using ${\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy without sample preparation. The background interference by air borne radon daughter nuclides was reduced by $N_2$ gas flow into the counting chamber. Leakage of radon gas produced in the radioactive equilibrium with radium and its daughter nuclides was prevented by use of the air-tighted aluminium container. We investigated the effect of air layer in the counting container. Radioactivity variation due to emanation of radon into the air layer was within the counting error range 5%. When the nitrogen gas was flowed around the detector, peak counts of ${\gamma}$-rays from the daughters of airborne radon was decreased and detection limit was decreased to 0.02 Bq/L. The detection limit of detector was lower than 0.74 Bq/L, the $^{226}Ra$ Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) in the groundwater proposed by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It was confirmed that $^{226}Ra$ radioactivity in the groundwater could be determined by the ${\gamma}$-ray spectroscopy.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.234-240
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• 2016

We examined the diffusion of contaminants released from the southern coast around Fukushima, Japan, during the passage of typhoons using a three-dimensional numerical model (POM) to track diffusing radioactivity (RA) released from the nuclear power plant at Fukushima following the accident caused by the giant tsunami event in March 2011. Radioactive contaminants released during the passage of typhoons may have significantly affected not only Japanese but also Korean coastal waters. The model domain covered most of the northwestern Pacific including marginal seas such as the East/Japan Sea and the Yellow Sea. Several numerical experiments were conducted case studies focusing on the westward diffusion from the southern coast of Japan of contaminants derived from the source site (Fukushima) according to various attributes of the typhoons, such as intensity, track, etc. The model produced the following results 1) significant amounts of contaminants were transported in a westward direction by easterly winds favorable for generating a coastal air stream along the southern Japanese coast, 2) the contaminants reached as far as Osaka Bay with the passage of typhoons, forced by a 5-day positive sinusoidal form with a (right-) northward track east of Fukushima, and 3) the range of contamination was significant, extending to the interior of the East/Japan Sea around the Tsugaru Strait. The model suggests that contaminants and/or radioactivity released from Fukushima with the passage of typhoons can affect Korean waters including the northeastern East/Japan Sea around the Tsugaru Strait, especially when the typhoon tracks are favorable for generating a westward coastal air stream along the southern Japanese coast.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2003

Manufacturing facilities of the pharmaceuticals must meet certain level of the cleanness required so that foreign substances such as dust, moisture, heat, microorganism, or virus do not contaminate the product. In case of radiopharmaceuticals for medical treatment and diagnosis, not only should the operators and environment be protected from radiation but also need to be isolated from the foreign contaminant. Therefore, manufacturing facilities for radiopharmaceuticals must satisfy the design standards of both hot cell and clean room which are specified by GMP. However, standards of maintaining negative pressure for preventing spread of radioactive contaminant in isolated facilities conflict with the standards of maintaining positive pressure for keeping cleanness. To solve this problem, air pressure of hot cell was designed lower than in the adjacent area to meet standards of the radiation safety. To keep higher cleanness in certain part of the hot cell for filling, minimal relative positive pressure allows. In order to effectively maintain the cleanness that is required for production of Tc-99m generator, which takes 70% of whole demand of radiopharmaceuticals, the rooms placed in each side of production room are used as a buffer area and three lead hot cells are installed in production room. In this research, we established the appropriate engineered design concept for Tc-99m generator manufacturing facility, which satisfies both GMP cleanness standard for preventing particles, bacteria, other contaminants and the regulations of radiation safety for supervising and controlling the amount of radiation exposure and exhausted radioactivity. And the concept of multi-barrier buffer zones is introduced to apply negative air pressure for hot cell with first priority and to continue relative positive air pressure for clean room.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.261-276
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• 2016

The occurrence of natural radioactive materials such as uranium and radon-222 in groundwater was examined with hydrogeochemistry and geology at ○○ village in the Yongin area. Two rounds of 19 groundwater and 5 surface water sampling were collected for analysis. The range of pH value in groundwaters was 5.81 to 7.79 and the geochemical types of the groundwater were mostly Ca(Na)-HCO₃ and Ca(Na)-NO₃(Cl)-HCO₃. Uranium and radon-222 concentrations in the groundwater ranged from 0.06 to 411 μg/L and from 5.56 to 903 Bq/L, respectively. Two deep groundwaters used as common potable well-water sources exceeded the maximum contaminant levels of the uranium and radon-222 proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Three groundwater samples from residential areas contained unsuitable levels of uranium, and 12 groundwater samples were unsuitable due to radon-222 concentrations. Radioactive materials in the unsuitable groundwater are naturally occurring in a Jurassic amphibole- and biotite-bearing granitic gneiss. High uranium and radon-222 groundwater concentrations were only observed in two common wells; the others showed no relationship between bedrock geology and groundwater geochemical constituents. With such high concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials in groundwater, the affected areas may extend tens of meters for uranium and even farther for radon-222. Therefore, we suggest the radon-222 and the uranium did not originate from the same source. Based on the distribution of radon-222 in the study area, zones of higher radon-222 concentrations may be the result of diffusion through cracks, joint, or faults. Surface radioactivity and uranium concentrations in the groundwater show a positive relationship, and the impact areas may extend for ~200m beyond the well in the case of wells containing high concentrations of uranium. The highest uranium and thorium concentrations in rock samples were detected in thorite and monazite.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.557-576
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• 2015

Groundwaters in granite, gneiss, and two-mica granite formations, including faults, in the Hoengseong area are examined to determine the relationship between their uranium and radon-222 contents and rock types. The chemical compositions of 38 groundwater samples and four surface water samples collected in the study area were analyzed. Sixteen of the samples showing high uranium and radon-222 contents were repeatedly analyzed. Surface radioactivities were measured at 30 points. The uranium and radon-222 concentrations in the groundwater samples were in the ranges of 0.02-49.3 μg/L and 20-906 Bq/L, respectively. Four samples for uranium and 35 samples for radon had concentrations exceeding the alternative maximum contaminant level of the US EPA. The chemical compositions of groundwaters indicated Ca(Na)-HCO₃ and Ca(Na)-NO₃(HCO₃+Cl) types. The pH values ranged from 5.71 to 8.66. High uranium and radon-222 contents in the groundwaters occurred mainly at the boundary between granite and gneiss, and in the granite area. The occurrence of uranium did not show any distinct relationship to that of radon-222. The radon-222, an inert gas, appeared to be dissolved in the groundwater of the aquifer after wide diffusion along rock fractures, having been derived from the decay of uranium in underground rocks. The results in this study indicate that groundwater of neutral or weakly alkaline pH, under oxidizing conditions and with a high bicarbonate content is favorable for the dissolution of uranium and uranium complexes such as uranyl or uranyl-carbonate.