Annual report on the environmental radiation monitoring around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant FY2022

Kokubun, Yuji; Nakada, Akira; Seya, Natsumi; Koike, Yuko; Nemoto, Masashi; Tobita, Keiji; Yamada, Ryohei*; Uchiyama, Rei; Yamashita, Daichi; Nagai, Shinji; et al.

JAEA-Review 2023-046, 164 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Review-2023-046.pdf:4.2MB

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories conducts environmental radiation monitoring around the reprocessing plant in accordance with the "Safety Regulations for Reprocessing Plant of JAEA, Part IV: Environmental Monitoring". This report summarizes the results of environmental radiation monitoring conducted during the period from April 2022 to March 2023 and the results of dose calculations for the surrounding public due to the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere and ocean. In the results of the above environmental radiation monitoring, many items were affected by radioactive materials emitted from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (changed to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. on April 1, 2016), which occurred in March 2011. Also included as appendices are an overview of the environmental monitoring plan, an overview of measurement methods, measurement results and their changes over time, meteorological statistics results, radioactive waste release status, and an evaluation of the data which deviated of the normal range.

Structural investigation of simulated waste glass surface drained in operation confirmation test of 3rd TVF glass melter

Nagai, Takayuki; Hasegawa, Takehiko*

JAEA-Research 2023-008, 41 Pages, 2023/12

JAEA-Research-2023-008.pdf:7.52MB

To reduce the risks posed by stored the high-level radioactive liquid waste (HAW), Tokai Vitrification Facility (TVF) is working to produce the HAW into vitrified bodies. With the aim of steady vitrification of HAW in TVF, the vitrification technology section has manufactured a new 3rd melter with an improved bottom structure and is working to verify the performance of this melter. In this study, solidified glass samples were taken from simulated vitrified bodies produced by flowing molten glass during the bottom drain-out test in the operation confirmation of the TVF 3rd melter. And the properties of the surface layer and fracture surface of the vitrified bodies were evaluated by using Raman spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation XAFS measurement, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (LA ICP-AES) analysis. As a result of measuring the surface layer and fracture surface of the solidified samples produced on an actual scale, a slight difference was confirmed between the properties of the surface layer and those of the fracture surface. Since the chemical composition of these simulated vitrified bodies does not contain platinum group elements, it is expected that the glass structure of solidified glass samples is different from that of the actual vitrified body. However, this sample measuring was a valuable opportunity to evaluate samples produced by using the direct energized joule heating method. The properties of cullet used the operation confirmation of the TVF 3rd melter and the cullet of another production lot were measured and analyzed in the same manner under the measuring conditions of solidified glass samples. As a result, it was confirmed that cullet with different producing histories have different glass structures even with the same chemical composition, and that differences in glass structures remain in the glass samples after melting these cullet.

Structural investigation of borosilicate glasses by using XAFS measurement in soft X-ray region, 3 (Joint research)

Nagai, Takayuki; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Yamagishi, Hirona*; Shibata, Daisuke*; Kojima, Kazuo*; Hasegawa, Takehiko*; Sato, Seiichi*; Fukaya, Akane*; Hatakeyama, Kiyoshi*

JAEA-Research 2023-004, 45 Pages, 2023/09

JAEA-Research-2023-004.pdf:6.07MB

The local structure of glass-forming elements and waste elements in borosilicate glasses varies with its chemical composition. In this study, simulated waste glass samples were prepared and the chemical state regarding boron (B), silicon (Si) and waste elements of iron (Fe), cesium (Cs) were estimated by using XAFS measurement in soft X-ray region. To understand the chemical stability of simulated waste glasses, XANES spectra of B K-edge, Fe L, L-edge, and Cs M, M-edge were measured on the glass surface exposed to the leachate. As a result, it was found that the glass surface exposed to the leachate was changed and it was difficult to obtain a clear XANES spectrum. From the B K-edge XANES spectra on glass surfaces exposed to the leachate, an increase in three-coordination of B-O (BO) and a decrease in four-coordination of B-O (BO) were observed compared to the glass surfaces before immersion. The XANES spectra of Fe L, L-edge, and Cs M, M-edge show that as the exposure time in the leachate increases, the Cs present on the glass surface dissolves into the leachate. The XANES spectra of Si K-edge were measured on simulated waste glass surfaces before immersion, and it was confirmed that the change in XANES spectra given by NaO concentration had a larger effect than the waste component concentration.

Decommissioning state of Plutonium Fuel Fabrication Facility; Dismantling the glove box W-9 and equipment interior, and a part of tunnel F1

Nagai, Yuya; Shuji, Yoshiyuki; Kawasaki, Takeshi; Aita, Takahiro; Kimura, Yasuhisa; Nemoto, Yasunori*; Onuma, Takeshi*; Tomiyama, Noboru*; Hirano, Koji*; Usui, Yasuhiro*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2022-039, 117 Pages, 2023/06

JAEA-Technology-2022-039.pdf:11.96MB

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) manages wide range of nuclear facilities. Many of these facilities are required to be performed adjustment with the aging and complement with the new regulatory standards and the earthquake resistant, since the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. It is therefore desirable to promote decommissioning of facilities that have reached the end of their productive life in order to reduce risk and maintenance costs. However, the progress of facility decommissioning require large amount of money and radioactive waste storage space. In order to address these issues, JAEA has formulated a "The Medium/Long-Term Management Plan of JAEA Facilities" with three pillars: (1) consolidation and prioritization of facilities, (2) assurance of facility safety, and (3) back-end countermeasures. In this plan, Plutonium Fuel Fabrication Facility has been selected as primary decommissioned facility, and dismantling of equipment in the facilities have been underway. In this report, size reduction activities of the glove box W-9 and a part of tunnel F-1, which was connected to W-9, are presented, and the obtained findings are highlighted. The glovebox W-9 had oxidation & reduction furnace, and pellet crushing machine as equipment interior. The duration of activity took six years from February 2014 to February 2020, including suspended period of 4 years due to the enhanced authorization approval process

Sparse modeling approach for quasiclassical theory of superconductivity

Nagai, Yuki; Shinaoka, Hiroshi*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 92(3), p.034703_1 - 034703_8, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.92.034703

no abstracts in English

Structural evaluation of coagulated surface of simulated waste glass by using Raman spectroscopy

Nagai, Takayuki

JAEA-Research 2022-014, 84 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Research-2022-014.pdf:22.26MB

Most of the simulated waste glasses used for physical property evaluation are processed into a shape suitable for the measurement method from glass gob obtained by slowly cooling molten glass to room temperature. However, the actual vitrified waste glass material is obtained by cooling and being coagulated the glass drained from the bottom of glass melter into the canister. In this study, Raman spectroscopy was performed on the coagulated surface of molten simulated waste glass in the depth direction to evaluate the state of the Si-O bridging structure near the coagulated glass surface. The Raman spectra measured from the surface to the depth direction near the surface of the glasses produced by several melting and coagulation conditions of molten simulated waste glass cullet in the air atmosphere, and it was confirmed that there were changes in these spectra. On the other hand, the raw material glass cullet and the surface of the glass solidified in argon gas atmosphere showed little change in the spectrum in the depth direction, and the Si-O bridging structure near the glass surface was similar. It was also confirmed that the spectrum change in the depth direction measurement was small for the cut surface of the glass, and that the change in the spectrum for the broken glass fracture surface was also small. For glasses with a large change in Raman spectra in the depth direction near the coagulated surface, the molten glass was cooled from the molten state to room temperature in a muffle furnace with air atmosphere. That is, the magnitude of the spectral change with respect to the depth direction depends on the time from the molten state to coagulation. In order to confirm the reason why the number of bridging oxygen in the Si-O bridging structure is small on the coagulated surface of glass, the XANES spectra of Si-K edge and Ce-L3 edge were measured by XAFS on the coagulated surface and the cutting face. As a result, the Si-K edge peak on the coagulated surface is

Synchrotron analysis of simulated waste glasses different in boron isotope ingredient

Nagai, Takayuki; Tone, Masaya; Katsuoka, Nanako; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Baba, Yuji*; Akiyama, Daisuke*

Photon Factory Activity Report 2022 (Internet), 3 Pages, 2023/00

https://pfwww.kek.jp/acr/2022pdf/u_reports/pf22b0056.pdf

no abstracts in English

Structural investigation of borosilicate glasses by using XAFS measurement in soft X-ray region, 2 (Joint research)

Nagai, Takayuki; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Yamagishi, Hirona*; Kojima, Kazuo*; Inose, Takehiko*; Sato, Seiichi*; Hatakeyama, Kiyoshi*

JAEA-Research 2022-008, 37 Pages, 2022/10

JAEA-Research-2022-008.pdf:5.27MB

The local structure of glass-forming elements and waste elements in borosilicate glasses varies with its chemical composition. In this study, borosilicate glass frit and simulated waste glass samples were prepared and the chemical state regarding boron (B), silicon (Si) and waste elements of iron (Fe), cesium (Cs) were estimated by using XAFS measurement in soft X-ray region. Following results were obtained by XAFS measurements of simulated waste glass surfaces after immersion test to investigate the long chemical stability. (1) As the leaching time of glass samples in immersion test passed, the Cs M, M-edge XANES spectra disappeared and the Fe L, L-edge spectra changed. (2) A new compound was formed on the sample surface after the immersion test, and these changes in the surface state were confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. However, it became difficult to obtain a clear B K-edge XANES spectrum by forming a compound on glass surfaces. The Si K-edge XANES spectra of borosilicate glass frits with different NaO content were measured, and following was confirmed. (1) As the NaO concentration increases in borosilicate glass frit, the K-edge peak of Si shifts to the low energy side. (2) The intensity of the Si K-edge peak is maximum when the NaO content in glass frits was about 7wt%.

Fast phase differentiation between liquid-water and ice by pulsed neutron imaging with gated image intensifier

Isegawa, Kazuhisa; Setoyama, Daigo*; Higuchi, Yuki*; Matsumoto, Yoshihiro*; Nagai, Yasutaka*; Shinohara, Takenao

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1040, p.167260_1 - 167260_10, 2022/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.167260

Zeeman effects on Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states

Machida, Tadashi*; Nagai, Yuki; Hanaguri, Tetsuo*

Physical Review Research (Internet), 4(3), p.033182_1 - 033182_12, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.033182

no abstracts in English