In situ beta radiation monitoring system with enhanced efficiency for water samples from decommissioned nuclear environment.

A nuclear environment, including decommissioning activity contains various radioactive nuclides such as pure beta emitters. These radionuclides should be monitored to ensure radiological safety. In particular, beta radionuclides, such as 3H and 14C, can cause internal exposures and should be managed more strictly in terms of health physics. For beta radionuclides, the measurement is carried out in a laboratory through sampling rather than on-site because of the short range. This method is time consuming, laborious, and costly and can also generate secondary waste. In this study, a system for the in situ monitoring of beta radionuclides in water samples is proposed for nuclear facilities and decommissioned environments. A plastic scintillator with low sensitivity to gamma rays and good reactivity with beta radionuclides was used. The detection efficiency was increased by using a detection part, whereby the water sample is made to directly contact the scintillator by utilizing the characteristic of plastic scintillators (i.e., they do not react with water). A coincidence circuit was constructed by using multiple photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and applied to gross beta activity measurements. The values obtained from a single PMT were used in the spectral analysis to determine the effect of each beta radionuclide. Beta radionuclides in water samples in the field can be monitored by using plastic scintillators and multiple PMTs.

Radiological impact assessment for workers on treatment of radioactive spent resin from heavy water reactors.

In heavy water reactors, radionuclides are generated, then removed and treated by ion exchange resin. The disposal cost of spent resin is expected to increase because of the saturation of the existing storage capacity. In this study, a spent resin treatment process using microwaves is proposed, and a radiological safety assessment and cost evaluation of the spent resin treatment process are performed. A dose assessment was conducted by using the established exposure scenarios and the RESRAD-Build software. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the main contributory radionuclide of the dose according to each exposure pathway because a spent resin consists of various radionuclides. The main exposure pathway was identified, and sensitivity analysis was applied to the working time and radioactivity concentrations of 14C, 60Co and 137Cs to confirm their effect on the dose. Finally, an optimal shielding system for a safe work environment was proposed. The disposal cost of the spent resin is reduced by lowering its radioactivity level via a treatment process using microwaves. The treatment process can reduce the radioactivity level through the desorption of 14C and can also recycle the 14C nuclide. These characteristics have great economic advantages from the viewpoint of the entire nuclear energy cycle. Thus, this study evaluates the radiological safety of the spent resin treatment process for actual application in a heavy water reactor power plant.