Measurements of neutron capture cross-section for nuclides of interest in decommissioning (III); Er(n,)Er and Hf(n,)Hf reactions

Nakamura, Shoji  ; Shibahara, Yuji*; Endo, Shunsuke   ; Rovira Leveroni, G.   ; Kimura, Atsushi   

In the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, large amounts of radioactive waste are generated due to neutron activation. In that case, neutron capture cross-sections of nuclides targeted in decommissioning are required to evaluate their radioactivities produced. The present study selected two nuclides, Er and Hf, among objective ones for decommissioning, and thermal-neutron capture cross-sections for their parent nuclides were measured by the neutron activation method at the Kyoto University Research Reactor under 1-MW operation. The thermal-neutron capture cross-sections were derived on the basis of Westcott's convention. The present study obtained the results as follows: 8.190.35 barns for the Er(n,)Er reaction and 13.570.14 barns for the Hf(n,)Hf reaction. As a by-product, the measurements of the Hf sample also yielded 0.4270.006 barns for the Hf(n,)Hf reaction. This study revealed that some experimental and data evaluations differ from the present results by more than the experimental uncertainties.