Development of a radioactive substance detection system integrating a Compton camera and a LiDAR camera with a hexapod robot

Sato, Yuki; Kakuto, Takeshi*; Tanaka, Takayuki*; Shimano, Hiroyuki*; Morohashi, Yuko; Hatakeyama, Tomoyoshi*; Nakajima, Junsaku; Ishiyama, Masahiro

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1063, p.169300_1 - 169300_7, 2024/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.169300

Challenge to advancement of debris composition and direct isotope measurement by microwave-enhanced LIBS (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; i-Lab*

JAEA-Review 2023-029, 77 Pages, 2024/05

JAEA-Review-2023-029.pdf:3.98MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2022. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Challenge to advancement of debris composition and direct isotope measurement by microwave-enhanced LIBS" conducted from FY2020 to FY2022. The present study aims to increase the emission intensity of LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) by superimposing MW (microwave) and apply it to uranium isotope measurement. In FY2022, we improved the cooling method and reduce unnecessary functions in of the semiconductor microwave oscillator, and apply the optimized conditions obtained from simulations to the LIBS experiment for the microwave antenna gave better results.

Investigation of sorption behavior of Cs in a river-sea system boundary area after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Takata, Hyoe*; Wakiyama, Yoshifumi*; Wada, Toshihiro*; Hirao, Shigekazu*; Aono, Tatsuo*; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Misono, Toshiharu; Shiribiki, Takehiko; Aoyama, Michio*

Marine Chemistry, 262, p.104384_1 - 104384_6, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2024.104384

Development of a practical tritiated water monitor to supervise the discharge of treated water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Sanada, Yukihisa; Oshikiri, Keisuke*; Kanno, Marina*; Abe, Tomohisa

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1062, p.169208_1 - 169208_7, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.169208

As part of the decommissioning work at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), the release of stored treated water began in 2023. In this study, we developed a practical tritium monitor to continuously monitor the concentration of tritiated water, as confirmed by batch sampling measurements at the FDNPP. The monitor is arranged with a flow cell detector comprising inexpensive plastic scintillator pellets and incorporating simultaneous measurements by three detectors, a veto detector, and lead shielding to reduce the influence of environmental -rays. The system reached a detection limit of 911 Bq L-1 with a measurement time of 30 min, which is lower than the discharge standard for tritiated water of 1,500 Bq L-1. The system can also qualitatively distinguish the presence of disturbances due to interfering radionuclides other than tritium or background radiation using the -ray spectrum.

Rail DRAGON: Long-reach Bendable Modularized Rail Structure for Constant Observation inside PCV

Yokomura, Ryota*; Goto, Masataka*; Yoshida, Takehito*; Warisawa, Shinichi*; Hanari, Toshihide; Kawabata, Kuniaki; Fukui, Rui*

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (Internet), 9(4), p.3275 - 3282, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2024.3366022

To reduce errors in the remote control of robots during decommissioning, we developed a Rail DRAGON, which enables continuous observation of the work environment. The Rail DRAGON is constructed by assembling and pushing a long rail structure inside the primary containment vessel (PCV), and then repeatedly deploying several monitoring robots on the rails to enable constant observation in a high-radiation environment. In particular, we have developed the following components of Rail DRAGON: bendable rail modules, straight rail modules, a basement unit, and monitoring robots. Concretely, this research proposes and demonstrates a method to realize an ultralong articulated structure with high portability and workability. In addition, it proposes and verifies the feasibility of a method for deploying observation equipment that can be easily deployed and replaced, while considering disposal.

Radiation monitoring via manned helicopter around the nuclear power station in the fiscal year 2022 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Nagakubo, Azusa; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Akutsu, Yuichiro*; Arai, Yoshinori*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2023-027, 146 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Technology-2023-027.pdf:18.12MB

By the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO's) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), caused by tsunami triggered by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, a large amount of radioactive material was released into the surrounding environment. After the accident, Airborne Radiation Monitoring (ARM) via manned helicopter has been applied as a method to quickly and extensively measure the distribution of radiation. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has continuously conducted ARM via manned helicopter around FDNPS. In this report, we summarize the results of the ARM around FDNPS in the fiscal year 2022, evaluate the changes of ambient dose rates and other parameters based on the comparison to the past ARM results, and discuss the causes of such changes. In order to contribute to improve the accuracy of ambient dose rate conversion, we analyzed the ARM data taking into account undulating topography, and evaluated the effect of this method. Furthermore, the effect of radon progenies in the air on the ARM was evaluated by applying the discrimination method to the measurement results.

Investigations on distribution of radioactive substances owing to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident in the fiscal year 2022 (Contract research)

Group for Fukushima Mapping Project

JAEA-Technology 2023-024, 176 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Technology-2023-024.pdf:22.16MB

This report presents results of the investigations on the distribution-mapping project of radioactive substances owing to TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) conducted in FY2022. Car-borne surveys, a measurement using survey meters, a walk survey and an unmanned helicopter survey were carried out to obtain air dose rate data to create their distribution maps, and temporal changes of the air dose rates were analyzed. Surveys on depth profile of radiocesium and in-situ measurements as for radiocesium deposition were performed. Based on these measurement results, effective half-lives of the temporal changes in the air dose rates and the deposition were evaluated. Score maps to classify the importance of the measurement points were created, and the factors causing changes in the score when monitoring data from multiple years were used were discussed. The range of fluctuation of past tritium concentration data in seawater was determined, and the causes of the fluctuation were discussed. Monitoring data in coastal area performed in 2022 owing to the comprehensive radiation monitoring plan was summarized, and temporal changes in cesium-137 were analyzed. Using the Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach, we obtained maps that integrated air dose rate distribution data acquired through surveys such as car-borne and walk surveys with respect to the region within 80 km from the FDNPS and Fukushima Prefecture. The measurement results for FY2022 were published on the "Database for Radioactive Substance Monitoring Data", and measurement data were stored as CSV format. Radiation monitoring and analysis of environmental samples owing to the comprehensive radiation monitoring plan were carried out.

Embedded system using a radiation-hardened processor (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Okayama University*

JAEA-Review 2023-038, 48 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Review-2023-038.pdf:2.58MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2022. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2022, this report summarizes the research results of the "Embedded system using a radiation-hardened processor" conducted in FY2022. The present study aims to be developing a radiation-hardened optoelectronic processor with a 10 MGy total-ionizing-dose (TID) tolerance, a radiation-hardened processor without any optical component with a 4 MGy TID tolerance, a radiation-hardened memory with a 4 MGy TID tolerance, and a radiation-hardened power supply unit with a 1 MGy TID tolerance. Moreover, Japanese research group will support radiation- hardened field programmable gate arrays, power supply units, and radiation-hardened optical systems for radiation-hardened robot systems and radiation sensor systems developed by UK team.

Establishment of 3-D dose dispersion forecasting method and development of in-structure survey using the transparency difference of each line gamma-ray (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Kyoto University*

JAEA-Review 2023-028, 54 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Review-2023-028.pdf:3.81MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2022. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2022, this report summarizes the research results of the "Establishment of 3-D dose dispersion forecasting method and development of in-structure survey using the transparency difference of each line gamma-ray" conducted in FY2022. We realized an electron track detecting Compton camera (ETCC) that can measure -ray images (linear images) with the bijective projection. In the "Quantitative analysis of radioactivity distribution by imaging of high radiation field environment using gamma-ray imaging spectroscopy" (hereinafter referred to as the previous project) adopted in FY2018, the 1 km square area including the reactor buildings was imaged at once.

Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2023-025, 117 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Review-2023-025.pdf:7.29MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2022. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis" conducted in FY2022. Understanding the properties of fuel debris is necessary for handling, criticality control, storage control, etc. A key technique is the chemical analysis of actinide nuclides. We develop sample pretreatment technology and separation / analysis process required for chemical analysis. The purpose of this study is to streamline future planned fuel debris analysis. To promote 1F decommissioning, we will train human resources through on-the-job training.