Analysis of I in radioactive wastes by accelerator mass spectrometry

Katayama, Atsushi ; Kameo, Yutaka ; Nakashima, Mikio

Determination of the concentration of I in radioactive wastes is important according to waste management and environmental concern. In the present work, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was applied to measurement of I/I ratio to determine I concentration in radioactive waste. Solid-phase extraction disks (Anion-SR) for chemical separation of iodine from radioactive waste samples were used to prepare AMS targets. This method made it possible to swiftly separate iodide ions from sample solutions, compared with a conventional liquid-liquid extraction method. Considering contamination of a sample with I from a work site environment, we derived the suitable amount of the I carrier to keep the background value of the I/I ratio as low as possible. The present method was successfully applied to laboratory standards and liquid waste samples arising from nuclear facilities in Japan Atomic Energy Agency.