Development of analytical methods for radioactive waste samples from TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station site at JAEA Okuma Analysis and Research Center

Sato, Soichi ; Iwasaki, Maho; Miura, Katsue; Furusho, Yoshiaki*; Nakayama, Shinichi 

JAEA is currently constructing the Okuma Analysis and Research Center near the TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F) site according to the Japanese Government's "Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap". The Okuma Analysis and Research Center (Okuma Center) analyzes radioactive samples from the 1F site. Laboratory-1 is for radioactive analysis of low and medium level radioactive rubbles and secondary wastes. Radiometric analysis is applied to measure the content of radio nuclides in the samples. The laboratory-1 starts operation with 200 samples per year at the beginning, and the number of samples will increase with time. Due to the large number of samples to be analyzed, the Okuma Center will face shortage of analytical engineers. JAEA has studied application of the triple quadrupole ICP-MS, ICP-QQQ-MS, for determination of long half-life nuclides which does not need pre-treatment. For short half-life nuclide determination, radiometric analysis has advantage in terms of sensitivity compared to ICP-QQQ-MS, and JAEA have developed automated sample preparation system to minimize complicated analytical process. Combination of ICP-QQQ-MS and the automated sample preparation system can be expected to promote the analytical operations efficient, leading to obtain precise analytical data and decrease in radiation exposure.