Remote detection of radioactive hotspot using a Compton camera mounted on a moving multi-copter drone above a contaminated area in Fukushima

Sato, Yuki; Ozawa, Shingo*; Terasaka, Yuta; Minemoto, Kojiro*; Tamura, Satoshi*; Shingu, Kazutoshi*; Nemoto, Makoto*; Torii, Tatsuo

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(6), p.734 - 744, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1720845

IRDFF-II; A New neutron metrology library

Trkov, A.*; Griffin, P. J.*; Simakov, S. P.*; Greenwood, L. R.*; Zolotarev, K. I.*; Capote, R.*; Aldama, D. L.*; Chechev, V.*; Destouches, C.*; Kahler, A. C.*; et al.

Nuclear Data Sheets, 163, p.1 - 108, 2020/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nds.2019.12.001

The version II of the International Reactor Dosimetry and Fusion File (IRDFF-II) has been released as a consistent set of nuclear data for fission and fusion neutron metrology applications up to 60 MeV neutron energy. The library is intended to support: (a) applications in research reactors; (b) safety and regulatory applications in the nuclear power generation in commercial fission reactors; and c) material damage studies in support of the research and development of advanced fusion concepts. The paper describes the contents of the library, documents the thorough verification process used in its preparation, and provides an extensive set of validation data gathered from a wide range of neutron benchmark fields. The new library is expected to become the international reference in neutron metrology for multiple applications.

The Deposition densities of radiocesium and the air dose rates in undisturbed fields around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant; Their temporal changes for five years after the accident

Mikami, Satoshi; Tanaka, Hiroyuki*; Matsuda, Hideo*; Sato, Shoji*; Hoshide, Yoshifumi*; Okuda, Naotoshi*; Suzuki, Takeo*; Sakamoto, Ryuichi*; Ando, Masaki; Saito, Kimiaki

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 210, p.105941_1 - 105941_12, 2019/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.03.017

The deposition densities of radiocesium and the air dose rates were repeatedly measured in a large number of undisturbed fields within the 80km zone that surrounds the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant site between 2011 and 2016, and features of their temporal changes were clarified. The average air dose rate excluding background radiation in this zone decreased to about 20% of the initial value during the period from June 2011 to August 2016, which was essentially a result of the radioactive decay of Cs with a half-life of 2.06y. The air dose rate reduction was faster than that expected from the decay of radiocesium by a factor of about two, with most of this reduction being attributed to the penetration of radiocesium into the soil. The average deposition densities of Cs and Cs in fields that were not decontaminated were found to have decreased nearly according to their expected radioactive decay, which indicated that the movement of radiocesium in the horizontal direction was relatively small. The effect of decontamination was apparently observed in the measurements of air dose rates and deposition densities. Nominally, the average air dose rates in the measurement locations were reduced by about 20% by decontamination and other human activities, of which accurate quantitative analysis is and continue to be a challenge.

Enhancement of element production by incomplete fusion reaction with weakly bound deuteron

Wang, H.*; Otsu, Hideaki*; Chiga, Nobuyuki*; Kawase, Shoichiro*; Takeuchi, Satoshi*; Sumikama, Toshiyuki*; Koyama, Shumpei*; Sakurai, Hiroyoshi*; Watanabe, Yukinobu*; Nakayama, Shinsuke; et al.

Communications Physics (Internet), 2(1), p.78_1 - 78_6, 2019/07

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-019-0165-1

Searching for effective pathways for the production of proton- and neutron-rich isotopes through an optimal combination of reaction mechanism and energy is one of the main driving forces behind experimental and theoretical nuclear reaction studies as well as for practical applications in nuclear transmutation of radioactive waste. We report on a study on incomplete fusion induced by deuteron, which contains one proton and one neutron with a weak binding energy and is easily broken up. This reaction study was achieved by measuring directly the cross sections for both proton and deuteron for Pd at 50 MeV/u via inverse kinematics technique. The results provide direct experimental evidence for the onset of a cross-section enhancement at high energy, indicating the potential of incomplete fusion induced by loosely-bound nuclei for creating proton-rich isotopes and nuclear transmutation of radioactive waste.

Annual report on the environmental radiation monitoring around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant FY 2017

Nakano, Masanao; Fujita, Hiroki; Mizutani, Tomoko; Nemoto, Masashi; Tobita, Keiji; Kono, Takahiko; Hosomi, Kenji; Hokama, Tomonori; Nishimura, Tomohiro; Matsubara, Natsumi; et al.

JAEA-Review 2018-025, 171 Pages, 2019/02

JAEA-Review-2018-025.pdf:3.81MB

Environmental radiation monitoring around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant has been performed by the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories, based on "Safety Regulations for the Reprocessing Plant of Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Chapter IV - Environmental Monitoring". This annual report presents the results of the environmental monitoring and the dose estimation to the hypothetical inhabitant due to the radioactivity discharged from the plant to the atmosphere and the sea during April 2016 to March 2017. In this report, some data include the influence of the accidental release from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. in March 2011. Appendices present comprehensive information, such as monitoring programs, monitoring methods, monitoring results and their trends, meteorological data and discharged radioactive wastes. In addition, the data which were influenced by the accidental release and were exceeded the normal range of fluctuation in the monitoring, were evaluated.

Local structure study of the iron-based systems of BaFeAs and LiFeAs by X-ray PDF and XAFS analyses

Li, S.*; Toyoda, Masayuki*; Kobayashi, Yoshiaki*; Ito, Masayuki*; Ikeuchi, Kazuhiko*; Yoneda, Yasuhiro; Otani, Akira*; Matsumura, Daiju; Asano, Shun*; Mizuki, Junichiro*; et al.

Physica C, 555, p.45 - 53, 2018/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physc.2018.10.003

-dependence of local distortions in BaFeAs and LiFeAs by X-ray PDF and XAFS methods. Although PDF data exhibit anomaly at the structure transition temperature, EXAFS data exhibit no anomaly. Data supporting the local orthorhombicity at 300 K in the tetragonal phase for BaFeAs. Arguments on the origins of the 4-fold symmetry breaking in the ground average structure of the tetragonal phase.

Establishment of a novel detection system for measuring primary knock-on atoms

Tsai, P.-E.; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Hagiwara, Masayuki*; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Satoh, Daiki; Abe, Shinichiro; Ito, Masatoshi*; Watabe, Hiroshi*

Proceedings of 2017 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC 2017) (Internet), 3 Pages, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.1109/NSSMIC.2017.8532975

The energy spectra of primary knock-on atoms (PKAs) are essential for radiation damage assessment in design of accelerator facilities. However up to date the experimental data are still limited, due to the poor mass resolution and the high measurement threshold energies in the conventional setup of nuclear physics experiments using solid state detectors, which are typically above a few MeV/nucleon. In this study, a novel detection system consisting of two time detectors and one dE-E energy detector is proposed and being constructed to measure the PKA spectra. The system and detector design was based on Monte Carlo simulations by using the PHITS code. The PHITS simulations show that the system is able to distinguish the PKA isotopes above 0.2-0.3 MeV/nucleon for A=2030 amu; the PKA mass identification thresholds decrease to 0.1 MeV/nucleon for PKAs lighter than 20 amu. The detection system will be tested in the summer of 2017, and the test results will be presented at the conference.

Influence of Zn injection on PWSCC crack growth rates and oxide film properties of Alloy 600

Chimi, Yasuhiro; Sato, Kenji*; Kasahara, Shigeki; Umehara, Ryuji*; Hanawa, Satoshi

Proceedings of Contribution of Materials Investigations and Operating Experience to Light Water NPPs' Safety, Performance and Reliability (FONTEVRAUD-9) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2018/09

To investigate the influence of Zinc (Zn) injection on primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) growth behavior, crack growth tests of 10% cold-worked Alloy 600 were performed in simulated primary water environment of pressurized water reactor (PWR) at 320C with a low-concentration (5-10 ppb) Zn injection under dissolved hydrogen (DH) conditions of 5, 30, and 50 cc/kgHO. As a result of the crack growth tests, DH-dependence of crack growth rate (CGR) showed a similar tendency to the predicted CGR based on the CGR data without Zn injection, indicating almost no effect of a low-concentration Zn injection on the crack growth behavior. Moreover, the microstructural analyses of oxide films formed inside the crack and on the specimen surface were conducted, and the intake of Zn in the oxides was detected on the specimen surface, but not detected inside the crack. This result was considered to be the cause of no Zn injection effect on the crack growth behavior.

Annual report on the environmental radiation monitoring around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant FY 2016

Nakano, Masanao; Fujita, Hiroki; Mizutani, Tomoko; Nemoto, Masashi; Tobita, Keiji; Hosomi, Kenji; Nagaoka, Mika; Hokama, Tomonori; Nishimura, Tomohiro; Koike, Yuko; et al.

JAEA-Review 2017-028, 177 Pages, 2018/01

JAEA-Review-2017-028.pdf:3.61MB

Environmental radiation monitoring around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant has been performed by the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories, based on "Safety Regulations for the Reprocessing Plant of Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Chapter IV - Environmental Monitoring". This annual report presents the results of the environmental monitoring and the dose estimation to the hypothetical inhabitant due to the radioactivity discharged from the plant to the atmosphere and the sea during April 2016 to March 2017. In this report, some data include the influence of the accidental release from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. in March 2011. Appendices present comprehensive information, such as monitoring programs, monitoring methods, monitoring results and their trends, meteorological data and discharged radioactive wastes. In addition, the data which were influenced by the accidental release and were exceeded the normal range of fluctuation in the monitoring, were evaluated.

ENDF/B-VIII2 benchmark test with shielding experiments at QST/TIARA

Kwon, Saerom*; Konno, Chikara; Ota, Masayuki*; Sato, Satoshi*; Ochiai, Kentaro*

JAEA-Conf 2017-001, p.123 - 128, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.11484/jaea-conf-2017-001

The -version of ENDF/B-VIII, ENDF/B-VIII2, was released in August, 2016. Thus we studied whether the overestimation problems due to the O and Fe data of ENDF/B-VII.1 were corrected in the iron and concrete shielding experiments with 40 and 65 MeV neutrons at TIARA. We produced the ACE files of ENDF/B-VIII2 with the NJOY2012.50 code and used the MCNP-5 code for this analysis. The nuclear data libraries, ENDF/B-VII.1, FENDL-3.1b and JENDL-4.0/HE, were also used for comparison. The following results were obtained; (1) the drastic overestimation of around 40 MeV due to the 5Fe data was improved, (2) the overestimation for around 65 MeV due to the Fe data was also slightly improved, though it was worse than that with FENDL-3.1b, (3) the drastic overestimation due to the O data was not improved. The final version of ENDF/B-VIII should also be modified based on these results.