Development of quick and remote analysis for severe accident reactor; Focus on the application of LIBS to zirconium in aqueous solution

Ruas, A.; Oba, Hironori  ; Akaoka, Katsuaki ; Wakaida, Ikuo  

The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is used for the real-time, in situ and remote elemental analysis without any pretreatment. These advantages are very interesting for the post-accident environment analysis inside Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and for monitoring the contaminated aqueous solutions in decommissioning process. Despite the difficulty of using LIBS with liquid samples, the thin-sheet liquid jet can cost-effectively counter balance this issue. The accurate determination of the zirconium concentration, including in aqueous medium, is of prime interest for waste management. In this context, the present study focuses on the zirconium determination in aqueous solutions. The LIBS experimental conditions were optimized, in particular the laser energy and the acquisition delay, to determine the most suited parameters for zirconium analysis in aqueous solution.