Study on decontamination of steel surface contaminated with uranium hexafluoride by acidic electrolytic water

Nakayama, Takuya  ; Nomura, Mitsuo; Mita, Yutaka; Yonekawa, Hitoshi*; Bunbai, Misako*; Yaita, Yumi*; Murata, Eiichi*; Hosaka, Katsumi*; Sugitsue, Noritake

Clearance of contaminated metal is important for recycling and volume reduction of radioactive waste. Among applicable decontamination technologies, immersion method with ultrasonic cleaning is considered to be effective for metal materials having various shapes. in this study is to demonstrate decontamination of carbon steel contaminated by uranium hexafluoride to the target level for clearance (less than 0.04 Bq/cm), and minimize secondary waste. In this test, acidic electrolytic water, dilute hydrochloric acid, dilute sulfuric acid and ozone water with various pH and redox potential were used as decontamination solutions to be tested. We found that acidic electrolytic water is effective solution for decontamination of carbon steel contaminated by uranium hexafluoride. It could be decontaminate less than target level for clearance, and reduced secondary waste relatively.