Decommissioning report for Wastewater Treatment Facility (Part 2); Chapter on contamination inspection section

Yamamoto, Keisuke; Nakagawa, Takuya; Shimojo, Hiroto; Kijima, Jun; Miura, Daiya; Onose, Yoshihiko*; Namba, Koji*; Uchida, Hiroaki*; Sakamoto, Kazuhiko*; Ono, Chika*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2024-019, 211 Pages, 2025/02

JAEA-Technology-2024-019.pdf:35.35MB

The uranium enrichment facilities at the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) were constructed sequentially to develop uranium enrichment technology with centrifugal separation method. The developed technologies were transferred to Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited until 2001. And the original purpose has been achieved. Wastewater Treatment Facility, one of the uranium enrichment facilities, was constructed in 1976 to treat radioactive liquid waste generated at the facilities, and it finished the role in 2008. In accordance with the Medium/Long-Term Management Plan of JAEA Facilities, interior equipment installed in this facility had been dismantled and removed since November 2021 to August 2023. This report summarizes the findings obtained through the work related to the contamination inspection methods cancellation the controlled area of Wastewater Treatment Facility from September 2023 to March 2024.

Three-dimensional electrical resistivity structure beneath a strain concentration area in the back-arc side of the northeastern Japan Arc

Usui, Yoshiya*; Ueshima, Makoto*; Hase, Hideaki*; Ichihara, Hiroshi*; Aizawa, Koki*; Koyama, Takao*; Sakanaka, Shinya*; Ogawa, Tsutomu*; Yamaya, Yusuke*; Nishitani, Tadashi*; et al.

Journal of Geophysical Research; Solid Earth, 129(5), p.e2023JB028522_1 - e2023JB028522_22, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB028522

We elucidated the crustal heterogeneities beneath a strain concentration area on the back-arc side of the northeastern Japan Arc based on electrical resistivity. By deploying magnetotelluric surveys, we revealed the three-dimensional electrical resistivity structure in the crust, suggesting the coexistence of two types of strain-concentration mechanisms in the strain-concentration area. The shallow conductive layers and lower-crustal conductors appear to act as low-elastic-modulus and low-viscosity areas, respectively, and are responsible for the strain concentration. We found a spatial correlation between the edges of the lower-crustal conductors and the epicenters of large intraplate earthquakes. Weak shear zones in the conductive lower crust may cause stress loading on faults in the brittle upper crust, resulting in large earthquakes. We also identified vertical conductors ranging from the lower crust to Quaternary volcanoes, which may indicate fluid paths to these volcanoes.

Environmental effects on layer-dependent dynamics of Dirac fermions in quasicrystalline bilayer graphene

Zhao, Y.*; Suzuki, T.*; Iimori, T.*; Kim, H.-W.*; Ahn, J. R.*; Horio, Masafumi*; Sato, Yusuke*; Fukaya, Yuki; Kanai, T.*; Okazaki, K.*; et al.

Physical Review B, 105(11), p.115304_1 - 115304_8, 2022/03

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.105.115304

no abstracts in English

Thermally altered subsurface material of asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Kitazato, Kohei*; Milliken, R. E.*; Iwata, Takahiro*; Abe, Masanao*; Otake, Makiko*; Matsuura, Shuji*; Takagi, Yasuhiko*; Nakamura, Tomoki*; Hiroi, Takahiro*; Matsuoka, Moe*; et al.

Nature Astronomy (Internet), 5(3), p.246 - 250, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01271-2

Here we report observations of Ryugu's subsurface material by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS3) on the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Reflectance spectra of excavated material exhibit a hydroxyl (OH) absorption feature that is slightly stronger and peak-shifted compared with that observed for the surface, indicating that space weathering and/or radiative heating have caused subtle spectral changes in the uppermost surface. However, the strength and shape of the OH feature still suggests that the subsurface material experienced heating above 300 C, similar to the surface. In contrast, thermophysical modeling indicates that radiative heating does not increase the temperature above 200 C at the estimated excavation depth of 1 m, even if the semimajor axis is reduced to 0.344 au. This supports the hypothesis that primary thermal alteration occurred due to radiogenic and/or impact heating on Ryugu's parent body.

Analysis of the radioactivity concentrations in low-level radioactive waste generated from JRR-2, JRR-3 and hot laboratory facilities

Tobita, Minoru*; Haraga, Tomoko; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Seki, Kotaro*; Omori, Hiroyuki*; Kochiyama, Mami; Shimomura, Yusuke; Ishimori, Kenichiro; Kameo, Yutaka

JAEA-Data/Code 2019-016, 72 Pages, 2020/02

JAEA-Data-Code-2019-016.pdf:2.67MB

In the future, radioactive wastes which generated from research and testing reactors in Japan Atomic Energy Agency are planning to be buried for the near surface disposal. Therefore, it is required to establish the method to evaluate the radioactivity concentrations of radioactive wastes by the time it starts disposal. In order to contribute to this work, we collected and analyzed the samples generated from JRR-2, JRR-3 and Hot laboratory facilities. In this report, we summarized the radioactivity concentrations of 25 radionuclides (H, C, Cl, Co, Ni, Sr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ag, Sn, I, Cs, Eu, Eu, U, U, U, Pu, Pu, Pu, Pu, Am, Am, Cm) which were obtained from radiochemical analysis of those samples.

Track structure study for energy dependency of electrons and X-rays on DNA double-strand break induction

Yachi, Yoshie*; Yoshii, Yuji*; Matsuya, Yusuke; Mori, Ryosuke*; Oikawa, Joma*; Date, Hiroyuki*

Scientific Reports (Internet), 9(1), p.17649_1 - 17649_8, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54081-6

Radiation weighting factor for photon and electron is defined as 1.0 independently these energies. However, it should be noted that the biological effects after 29 kVp X-rays is relative higher than standard 200 kVp X-rays at the endpoint of . And it is of importance to evaluate electrons generated via interaction of photons with matter. Here, we evaluated the energy concentration along electron track (dose-mean lineal energy) on chromosome (micron-meter) scales by Monte Carlo simulation, and measured the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induction. From the cell experiments, the DSBs induction after diagnostic X-rays exposure (60-100 kVp) is higher than those with therapeutic X-rays (6 MV). In the relation between the dose-mean lineal energy and the number of DSBs, it was shown that lower energy photons might induce more biological impact due to the interaction by low energy electron. This study implies that radiation weighting factor for photon and electron should not be unity.

Extraction behavior of Mo and W from HSO and HF/HCl solutions into toluene with Aliquat336; Sulfate and fluoride complex formation of Mo and W towards chemical studies of seaborgium (Sg)

Toyoshima, Atsushi; Mitsukai, Akina; Tsukada, Kazuaki; Oe, Kazuhiro*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Komori, Yukiko*; Murakami, Masashi; Kaneya, Yusuke*; Sato, Daisuke*; Asai, Masato; et al.

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 317(1), p.421 - 430, 2018/07

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-5882-5

We have studied extraction behavior of group-6 elements Mo and W to search for suitable conditions for an on-line extraction experiment of their heavier homolog, seaborgium (Sg). Batch-wise extraction of carrier-free radiotracers Mo and W were carried out from 0.10 - 8.6 M HSO and 1.010 - 5.0 M HF/1.0 M HCl into toluene with a quaternary ammonium compound, Aliquat336. Anionic sulfate complexes of Mo and W with charge - 2 were extracted with Aliquat336 from HSO solutions with concentrations of [HSO] 2 M. In HF/1.0 M HCl, oxyfluoro complexes of Mo and W with charge - 1 were interpreted to be formed and extracted with Aliquat336. From these results, favorable conditions for the extraction of Sg are discussed.

Knowledge discovery of suppressive effect of disease and increased anti-oxidative function by low-dose radiation using self-organizing map

Kanzaki, Norie; Kataoka, Takahiro*; Kobashi, Yusuke*; Yunoki, Yuto*; Ishida, Tsuyoshi*; Sakoda, Akihiro; Ishimori, Yuu; Yamaoka, Kiyonori*

Radioisotopes, 67(2), p.43 - 57, 2018/02

https://doi.org/10.3769/radioisotopes.67.43

We previously reported that low-dose radiation induces the anti-oxidative function in many organ systems of mice. This results in the suppression of several kinds of oxidative stress-induced damage. This study was conducted with the objective of revealing the health effects of low-dose radiation obtained from our previous reports and searching for a new treatment based on low-dose radiation, such as radon therapy. We extracted the characteristics of the effects of low dose radiation suppressing diseases and enhancing the anti-oxidative function using fuzzy answer by self-organizing map (SOM) based on mutual knowledge. The relationship between the suppressive effect and increased antioxidative function was shown in our result, and the concentration dependence of the effect against pain was shown on the output map. Although the effect against other organs depending on concentration was unpredictable, our results indicate that low-dose radiation may also be suitable for treatment of liver disease and brain disease.

Complex chemistry with complex compounds

Eichler, R.*; Asai, Masato; Brand, H.*; Chiera, N. M.*; Di Nitto, A.*; Dressler, R.*; Dllmann, Ch. E.*; Even, J.*; Fangli, F.*; Goetz, M.*; et al.

EPJ Web of Conferences, 131, p.07005_1 - 07005_7, 2016/12

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201613107005

In recent years gas-phase chemical studies assisted by physical pre-separation allowed for the productions and investigations of fragile single molecular species of superheavy elements. The latest highlight is the formation of very volatile hexacarbonyl compound of element 106, Sg(CO). Following this success, second-generation experiments were performed to measure the first bond dissociation energy between the central metal atom and the surrounding ligand. The method using a tubular decomposition reactor was developed and successfully applied to short-lived Mo(CO), W(CO), and Sg(CO).

Development of a new continuous dissolution apparatus with a hydrophobic membrane for superheavy element chemistry

Oe, Kazuhiro*; Attallah, M. F.*; Asai, Masato; Goto, Naoya*; Gupta, N. S.*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Huang, M.*; Kanaya, Jumpei*; Kaneya, Yusuke*; Kasamatsu, Yoshitaka*; et al.

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 303(2), p.1317 - 1320, 2015/02

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3469-3

A new technique for continuous dissolution of nuclear reaction products transported by a gas-jet system was developed for superheavy element (SHE) chemistry. In this technique, a hydrophobic membrane is utilized to separate an aqueous phase from the gas phase. With this technique, the dissolution efficiencies of short-lived radionuclides of Mo and W were measured. Yields of more than 80% were observed for short-lived radionuclides at aqueous-phase flow rates of 0.1-0.4 mL/s. The gas flow-rate had no influence on the dissolution efficiency within the studied flow range of 1.0-2.0 L/min. These results show that this technique is applicable for on-line chemical studies of SHEs in the liquid phase.