Initialising ...
Initialising ...
Initialising ...
Initialising ...
Initialising ...
Initialising ...
Initialising ...
Tanigawa, Masafumi; Seya, Kazuhito*; Asakawa, Naoya*; Hayashi, Hiroyuki*; Horigome, Kazushi; Mukai, Yasunobu; Kitao, Takahiko; Nakamura, Hironobu; Henzlova, D.*; Swinhoe, M. T.*; et al.
JAEA-Technology 2024-014, 63 Pages, 2025/02
JAEA-Technology-2024-014.pdf:3.02MB
The liquid waste treatment process generated sludge items at the plutonium conversion development facility. They are highly heterogeneous and contain large amounts of impurities (Na, Fe, Ni etc.). Therefore, the sludge items have very large sampling uncertainty and so the total measurement uncertainty is very large (approximately 24%). The plutonium scrap multiplicity counter (PSMC) measurement technique for sludge items was developed by joint research between the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The technical validity for sludge items using the PSMC was evaluated using various types of sample measurements and Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code calculations. The PSMC measurement parameters were found to be valid for use with sludge items and the validity of multiplicity analysis was confirmed and demonstrated through comparisons with standard MOX powder and a standard sludge. As a result, the PSMC measurement values were shown to be consistent and reasonable and the large amount of impurity (Fe, Ni etc.) did not impact the results. Therefore, the measurement uncertainty of the improved nuclear material accountancy (NMA) procedure by combined PSMC and high-resolution gamma spectrometry was shown to be 6.5%. In addition, an acceptance test was conducted using PSMC/HRGS and IAEA benchmark equipment. Measured Pu mass by both equipment agrees within the measurement uncertainty of each method, and so the validity for Pu mass measurement by PSMC/HRGS was confirmed. The above results confirm the applicability of PSMC/HRGS as an additional NMA method for sludge and a newly designed NDA procedure based on this study is applied to sludge for NMA in PCDF.
Sato, Hinata; Mori, Amami; Kuno, Sorato; Horigome, Kazushi; Goto, Yuichi; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo
JAEA-Technology 2024-011, 56 Pages, 2024/10
JAEA-Technology-2024-011.pdf:2.5MB
Flush-out, which recovers remaining nuclear materials in the process and transfer it to a highly radioactive liquid waste storage tank, has been performed at main plant of Tokai Reprocessing Plant. The flush-out has been composed from three steps: first step is to remove of spent fuel sheared powder, second step is to collect plutonium solution stored in the process, and third step is to convert uranium solution into uranium trioxide powder. The first step of flush-out activity has been completed in 2022. Second and third steps of flush-out have been completed from March 2023 to February 2024. Process control analysis has been performed for operation of the facility, and material accountancy analysis has been performed to control the accountancy of nuclear materials. In addition, related analytical work such as pretreatment for transporting inspection samples for safeguards analysis laboratories in IAEA has been also performed. This report describes results of analytical work performed in collections of plutonium and uranium solutions in second and third steps of the flush-out, including calibration of analytical equipment, waste generation, and education and training of analytical operator.
Yamamoto, Masahiko; Horigome, Kazushi; Goto, Yuichi; Taguchi, Shigeo
Proceedings of International Conference on Nuclear Fuel Cycle (GLOBAL2024) (Internet), 4 Pages, 2024/10
Flush-out activities of Tokai Reprocessing Plant were completed in February, 2024. Since it contained remaining nuclear materials in main process of the facility, purpose of activities was to flush-out them and to rinse with nitric acid solution. This paper describes analysis of nuclear materials related to flush-out activities.
Tanigawa, Masafumi; Nakamura, Daishi; Asakawa, Naoya*; Seya, Kazuhito*; Omori, Fumio*; Koiso, Katsuya*; Horigome, Kazushi; Shimizu, Yasuyuki
JAEA-Technology 2024-001, 37 Pages, 2024/05
JAEA-Technology-2024-001.pdf:2.32MB
At plutonium conversion development facility, the neutralization sedimentation and the coagulation sedimentation (sludge) items are stored in a polyethylene container packed in the plastic bag. The neutralization sedimentation items and the coagulation sedimentation items are stored in the globe box and storage room in the facility, respectively. Some sludge items generate gases, that swelled the plastic bag. We should ensure whether the bag swelling by visual confirmation. When the swelling is confirmed, those containers are transferred to the glove box to exchange the plastic bag for new one. By keeping the above procedure, those items were stored safely in the facility since its founding. The stabilization work for enhance the safe storage was planned to reduce the gas generation of the sludge items caused by the radiolysis of water. Those sludge items have the containing a sodium nitrate that has moisture-absorption characteristic. Therefore, the stabilization method aimed to remove the sodium nitrate from the items. The work was conducted from August 2018 to August 2022. The sodium concentration in items were reduced to 3 wt% or lower. Each stabilized sludge item packed in plastic bag were confirmed its swelling for over one year in the storage place. No gas generation from all item has been observed for more than the one year. And while both the neutralization and the coagulation sedimentation items were stored they were not the increasing of the moisture in the items. As a result, those items were evaluated that will not generate gases any more and confirmed to be stabilized after this treatment. Then, those neutralization sedimentation items were stored in powder cans and transferred to powder storage room as a retained waste. Based on the above results, risks of the gas generation from sludge items were decreased enough. Therefore, the safety of the stored sludge item was improved and confirmed.
Aoya, Juri; Mori, Amami; Sato, Hinata; Kono, Soma; Morokado, Shiori; Horigome, Kazushi; Goto, Yuichi; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo
JAEA-Technology 2023-008, 34 Pages, 2023/06
JAEA-Technology-2023-008.pdf:1.92MB
Flush-out, by which nuclear materials in the Tokai Reprocessing Plant process are recovered, has been started in June 2022 as the first step of decommissioning. Flush-out consists of removal of spent fuel sheared powder, plutonium solution, uranium solution, and the other nuclear materials. Removal of spent fuel sheared powder has been completed in September 2022. During removal of spent fuel sheared powder, uranium concentration, plutonium concentration, acid concentration, radioactivity concentration, and solution density have been analyzed for process control. For nuclear material accountancy, uranium concentration, plutonium concentration, isotope ratio, and solution density have been analyzed. Analysis work including sample pretreatment before transportation to IAEA analytical facility for safeguards, and the other operations related to Flush-out such as calibration of analytical instruments, education, and training of operators are reported.
Yamamoto, Masahiko; Horigome, Kazushi; Kuno, Takehiko
Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 190, p.110460_1 - 110460_7, 2022/12
Times Cited Count：3 Percentile：31.89(Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear)Gravimetric measurement of U content in UO
with ignition in the air has been investigated. The ignition temperature, ignition time and aliquot sample mass are optimized as 900
C, 60 minutes, and 1 g, respectively. The method is validated by IDMS with uncertainty estimation. The obtained result by gravimetry is 0.78236
0.00051 g/g (k=2) and agreed with IDMS value within its uncertainty. It has been found that U in UO can be measured accurately and precisely by gravimetry.
Goto, Yuichi; Suzuki, Yoshimasa; Horigome, Kazushi; Miyamoto, Toshihiko*; Usui, Masato*; Mori, Eito*; Kuno, Takehiko
JAEA-Technology 2022-005, 42 Pages, 2022/07
JAEA-Technology-2022-005.pdf:4.48MB
Radioactive wastes were generated and stored in the hot cell of Operation Testing Laboratory of Tokai Reprocessing Plant due to the experiments related to the reprocessing technology development from 1974 to 2014. Waste removal work was strengthened by the shift work in the past, however another wastes were generated by the equipment dismantling. From 2006, an improved waste removal method was established by using bag-out technique and wastes were taken from the glove-box connected to the hot cell. The removal period, estimated from the conventional method using Cask No. 10, was reduced from 14 to 5 years. From 2016, upgrade of worker's awareness including related departments was performed by various software and hardware improvements. Also, the worker's skills were improved and equipment in Cask No.10 was checked for preventive maintenance. The prevention measures for past troubles were discussed with Radiation Control Department. In addition, transportation schedule including safety operation with Transportation Department and Waste Receiving Department was optimized to maintain the waste removal cycle. The removal period was reduced from 5 to 3 years by the above efforts. Finally, the work was completed in March 2020.
Taguchi, Shigeo; Miyauchi, Hironari*; Horigome, Kazushi; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Kuno, Takehiko
Bunseki Kagaku, 67(11), p.681 - 686, 2018/11
In thermal ionization mass spectrometry, de-gassing is one of the important treatments to release impurities of filaments and to minimize the influence of background. In this work, the effect of the surface change in the tungsten filament induced by the conductively heating treatment on uranium isotopic (
U/
U) measurement has been investigated. It was found that the conductively heating treatment of the filament has the effect of smoothing the surface of the filament and also has the effect of improving the deposition of the sample on the filament surface. As a result of either these effects, the precision of uranium isotopic (U/U) measurement was improved.
Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo; Horigome, Kazushi; Kuno, Takehiko
Proceedings of IAEA Symposium on International Safeguards; Building Future Safeguards Capabilities (Internet), 8 Pages, 2018/11
In this study, the single-column extraction chromatographic separation has been developed for analysis of U and Pu in highly active liquid waste by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS). The commercially available TEVA
resin is selected as an extraction chromatography resin. The U is chromatographically separated from fission products (FP) elements by nitric acid while Pu(IV) is adsorbed on the resin. After that, Pu is eluted by reducing to Pu(III). The method has been successfully achieved the separation with yielding the enough recovery and sufficient decontamination factors for subsequent IDMS analysis. The column dose rate after the FP removal is decreased to the background. The analytical results obtained by the developed method are in a good agreement with those of the conventional method. It provides simple and rapid separation and expected that the method can be applied to join IAEA/Japan on-site analytical laboratory.
Horigome, Kazushi; Taguchi, Shigeo; Nishida, Naoki; Goto, Yuichi; Inada, Satoshi; Kuno, Takehiko
Nihon Hozen Gakkai Dai-14-Kai Gakujutsu Koenkai Yoshishu, p.381 - 384, 2017/08
no abstracts in English
Horigome, Kazushi; Taguchi, Shigeo; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Kuno, Takehiko; Surugaya, Naoki
JAEA-Technology 2017-016, 20 Pages, 2017/07
JAEA-Technology-2017-016.pdf:1.68MB
Mixed spikes of uranium and plutonium have been prepared for the determination of uranium and plutonium in dissolved MOX solution by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Enriched uranium metal NBL CRM116 and plutonium metal NBL CRM126 were accurately weighed and then dissolved in nitric acid, respectively. Their dissolved solutions were mixed in a mass ratio of 1 to 2. The preparation values of uranium and plutonium were 1.0530 0.0008 mg/g (k=2) of uranium with a U relative mass fraction of 93.114 wt% and 2.0046 0.0019 mg/g (k=2) of plutonium with a 
Pu relative mass fraction of 97.934 wt%, respectively. The concentrations of uranium and plutonium in spike were confirmed by reverse isotope dilution mass spectrometry using tracer of 
U and 
Pu. Finally, the prepared spike was validated by parallel analysis of simulated sample of dissolved MOX solution. This spike was applied to measure the uranium and plutonium amount content of dissolved MOX solutions using isotope dilution mass spectrometry.
2016.10Horigome, Kazushi; Taguchi, Shigeo; Ishibashi, Atsushi; Inada, Satoshi; Kuno, Takehiko; Surugaya, Naoki
JAEA-Technology 2017-008, 14 Pages, 2017/05
JAEA-Technology-2017-008.pdf:1.15MB
The plutonium solution had been converted into MOX powder to mitigate the potential hazards of storage plutonium solution such as hydrogen generation at the Plutonium Conversion Development Facility. The plutonium conversion operations had been started in April, 2014, and had been finished in July, 2016. With respect to the samples taken from the conversion process, about 2,200 items of plutonium/uranium solutions and MOX powders had been analyzed for the operation control in the related analytical laboratories at the Tokai Reprocessing Plant. This paper describes the reports on analytical activities and related maintenance works in the analytical laboratories conducted from December, 2015 to October, 2016.
2015.12Horigome, Kazushi; Suzuki, Hisanori; Suzuki, Yoshimasa; Ishibashi, Atsushi; Taguchi, Shigeo; Inada, Satoshi; Kuno, Takehiko; Surugaya, Naoki
JAEA-Technology 2016-026, 21 Pages, 2016/12
JAEA-Technology-2016-026.pdf:1.14MB
In order to mitigate potential hazards of storage plutonium in solution such as hydrogen generation, conversion of plutonium solution into MOX powder has been carried out since 2014 in the Plutonium Conversion Development Facility. With respect to the samples taken from the conversion process, about 3500 items of plutonium/uranium solutions and MOX powders have been analyzed for the operation control in the related analytical laboratories at the Tokai Reprocessing Plant. This paper describes the reports on analytical activities and related maintenance works in the analytical laboratories conducted from April 2014 to December 2015.
Matsuki, Takuya; Masui, Kenji; Sekine, Megumi; Tanigawa, Masafumi; Yasuda, Takeshi; Tsutagi, Koichi; Ishiyama, Koichi; Nishida, Naoki; Horigome, Kazushi; Mukai, Yasunobu; et al.
Proceedings of INMM 57th Annual Meeting (Internet), 9 Pages, 2016/07
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has proposed in its long-term research and development (R&D) plan, development of a real-time measurement technology to monitor and verify nuclear material movement continuously as part of an advanced approach to effectively and efficiently conduct safeguards for reprocessing facilities. Since the Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP) has solutions containing both Pu and fission products (FP), a new detector development project to monitor Pu with FP is being carried out from 2015 to 2017. This project is mainly conducted in the High Active Liquid Waste Storage (HALWS) in the TRP. For the first step of this project, as the confirmation of composition of high active liquid waste (HALW) to evaluate neutron/
-ray emitted from solution in the selected HALW tank which has the most amount of Pu in HALW tanks at the TRP, we took HALW sample and conducted -ray spectrum measurement for HALW. As a study of detector setting location, to survey the available neutron/-ray (i.e. intensity) at the outside surface of the cell where HALW tank is located, we implemented continuous measurement by neutron/-ray detector. In this paper, we report three -ray peaks related with Pu and Pu measured in the composition research of HALW, which is needed to identify Pu amount by the new detector that we are developing and the result of radiation measurement on the surface of the cell.
Suzuki, Hisanori; Nagayama, Tetsuya; Horigome, Kazushi; Ishibashi, Atsushi; Kitao, Takahiko; Surugaya, Naoki
Nihon Hozen Gakkai Dai-11-Kai Gakujutsu Koenkai Yoshishu, p.214 - 219, 2014/07
The Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP) is developing the technology to recover uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. There is an analytical laboratory which was built in 1978, as one of the most important facilities for process and material control analyses at the TRP. Samples taken from each process are analyzed by various analytical methods using hot cells, glove boxes and hume-hoods. A large number of maintenance work have been so far done and different types of experience have been accumulated. This paper describes our achievements in the maintenance activities at the analytical laboratory at the TRP.
堀籠 和志; 後藤 雄一; 西田 直樹; 山本 昌彦
not registered
JP, 2020-048011 Patent licensing information Patent publication (In Japanese)
【課題】グローブボックス内の汚染物質の漏洩を防止したうえで、短時間且つ低コストでグローブポートを交換する方法を提供する。 【解決手段】グローブポートの交換方法は、グローブパネルに第1外側ボックス及び第1内側ボックスを取り付ける第1取付工程と、グローブポートを構成する複数の部品を第1外側ボックス側又は第1内側ボックス側に取り外すポート取外工程と、閉止板で取付開口を閉止する閉止工程と、第1外側ボックス及び第1内側ボックスを取り外す第1取外工程と、グローブパネルに第2外側ボックス及び第2内側ボックスを取り付ける第2取付工程と、取付開口を開放する開放工程と、第2外側ボックス及び第2内側ボックス内の部品で新たなグローブポートを構成するポート取付工程と、第2外側ボックス及び第2内側ボックスを取り外す第2取外工程とを含む。
Wada, Kazuma; Horigome, Kazushi; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo; Suzuki, Tatsuya*
no journal, ,
no abstracts in English
Pu and U for MOX analysis by isotope dilution mass spectrometry and application to actual sampleHorigome, Kazushi; Taguchi, Shigeo; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Inada, Satoshi; Kuno, Takehiko
no journal, ,
no abstracts in English
Yamamoto, Masahiko; Surugaya, Naoki; Taguchi, Shigeo; Ishibashi, Atsushi; Horigome, Kazushi; Yamazaki, Hitoshi; Ogura, Hiroshi; Watahiki, Hiromi; Watanabe, Masahisa; Kurosawa, Akira; et al.
no journal, ,
no abstracts in English
Horigome, Kazushi; Suzuki, Yoshimasa; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo; Kuno, Takehiko; Surugaya, Naoki
no journal, ,
no abstracts in English
