Analysis work report on removal of spent fuel sheared powder for decommissioning of main plant

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.

Development of a local exhaust device for removal of radioactive waste from glove-box for handling nuclear fuel materials

Ishibashi, Atsushi; Saegusa, Yu; Aoya, Juri; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo; Kuno, Takehiko

Nihon Hozen Gakkai Dai-18-Kai Gakujutsu Koenkai Yoshishu, p.241 - 244, 2022/07

no abstracts in English

Determination of alkali and alkaline earth elements in radioactive waste generated from reprocessing plant by liquid electrode plasma optical emission spectrometry

Yamamoto, Masahiko; Do, V. K.; Taguchi, Shigeo; Kuno, Takehiko; Takamura, Yuzuru*

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 327(1), p.433 - 444, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07490-1

A simple, practical, and reliable analytical method for determination of Na, K, Ca, Sr, and Ba by liquid electrode plasma optical emission spectrometry is developed. Appropriate emission lines for quantification, interferences from co-existing elements, and effect of measurement conditions with cell damage have been investigated. The spike and recovery tests using actual sample have been performed for method validation, and negligible sample matrix effect has been observed. Consequently, the method is successfully applied to several radioactive wastes. The obtained data have been agreed well with data from computer calculation and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry within 10% difference.

Spectrochemistry of technetium by liquid electrode plasma optical emission spectrometry and its applicability of quantification for highly active liquid waste

Yamamoto, Masahiko; Do, V. K.; Taguchi, Shigeo; Kuno, Takehiko; Takamura, Yuzuru*

Spectrochimica Acta, Part B, 155, p.134 - 140, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2019.03.014

The emission spectra of technetium (Tc) by liquid electrode plasma optical emission spectrometry have been investigated in this study. From the spectra, 52 emission peaks of Tc were observed in the 250-500 nm wavelength range. All peaks were assigned to the neutral state or singly ionized state. The relative intensities of these peaks were similar to those excited by an electric spark. The strongest intensity peaks were found at 254.3 nm, 261.0 nm, and 264.7 nm. Spectral interferences of coexisting elements in highly active liquid waste of reprocessing stream on those three strongest peaks were investigated using simulated sample. No spectral interferences were observed around the 264.7 nm Tc peak. Therefore, analytical performance using 264.7 nm peak was evaluated. The detection limit, estimated on standard and blank samples in 0.4 M nitric acid, was 1.9 mg/L. The relative standard deviation of Tc standard sample (12.0 mg/L) was 3.8% (N = 5, 1).

Separation technique using column chromatography for safeguards verification analysis of uranium and plutonium in highly-active liquid waste by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

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.

Quantitative determination of total cesium in highly active liquid waste by using liquid electrode plasma optical emission spectrometry

Do, V. K.; Yamamoto, Masahiko; Taguchi, Shigeo; Takamura, Yuzuru*; Surugaya, Naoki; Kuno, Takehiko

Talanta, 183, p.283 - 289, 2018/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2018.02.023

We develop a novel analytical method employing liquid electrode plasma optical emission spectrometry for measurement of total cesium in highly active liquid wastes. Limit of detection and limit of quantification are 0.005 mg/L and 0.02 mg/L, respectively. The method is validated and applied to the real samples.

Preparation of uranium and plutonium mixed spike optimized for MOX analysis by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

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.

Interactive visualization for singular fibers of functions :

Sakurai, Daisuke; Saeki, Osamu*; Carr, H.*; Wu, H.-Y.*; Yamamoto, Takahiro*; Duke, D.*; Takahashi, Shigeo*

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 22(1), p.945 - 954, 2016/01

https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2015.2467433

Scalar topology in the form of Morse theory has provided computational tools that analyze and visualize data from scientific and engineering tasks. Contracting isocontours to single points encapsulates variations in isocontour connectivity in the Reeb graph. For multivariate data, isocontours generalize to fibers inverse images of points in the range, and this area is therefore known as fiber topology. However, fiber topology is less fully developed than Morse theory, and current efforts rely on manual visualizations. This paper therefore shows how to accelerate and semi-automate this task through an interface for visualizing fiber singularities of multivariate functions : . This interface exploits existing conventions of fiber topology, but also introduces a 3D view based on the extension of Reeb graphs to Reeb spaces. Validation of the interface is performed by assessing whether the interface supports the mathematical workflow both of experts and of less experienced mathematicians.

Measurement of hydrogen generating from radiolysis of highly active liquid waste and its quantitative evaluation

Yamamoto, Masahiko; Surugaya, Naoki; Mori, Eito; Taguchi, Shigeo; Sato, Soichi

JAEA-Research 2015-013, 27 Pages, 2015/10

JAEA-Research-2015-013.pdf:2.84MB

The H concentration generating from Highly Active Liquid Waste (HALW) of Tokai Reprocessing Plant is measured in a closed experimental system. The experimental results show that H concentration gradually increases at first and then approaches a steady-state due to the H consumption reaction by Pd ions. The highest H concentration is 1200 ppm (0.1%) when the solution temperature is at 23C. It is found that H generating from HALW is equilibrated one order of magnitude lower than the H combustion lower limit. Moreover, a model based on H generation from HALW by the radiolysis and H consumption reaction by Pd ions is proposed and applied to evaluate H concentration behavior in the gas phase. The calculated H concentrations from proposed model agreed well with the experimental values. It is demonstrated that the behavior of H generating from HALW can be evaluated quantitatively by applying the proposed model in this study.

Annual report of Nuclear Emergency Assistance and Training Center (April 1, 2013 - March 31, 2014)

Sato, Takeshi; Muto, Shigeo; Akiyama, Kiyomitsu; Aoki, Kazufumi; Okamoto, Akiko; Kawakami, Takeshi; Kume, Nobuhide; Nakanishi, Chika; Koie, Masahiro; Kawamata, Hiroyuki; et al.

JAEA-Review 2014-048, 69 Pages, 2015/02

JAEA-Review-2014-048.pdf:13.91MB

JAEA was assigned as a designated public institution under the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act and under the Armed Attack Situations Response Act. Based on these Acts, the JAEA has the responsibility of providing technical support to the national government and/or local governments in case of disaster responses or response in the event of a military attack, etc. In order to fulfill the tasks, the JAEA has established the Emergency Action Plan and the Civil Protection Action Plan. In case of a nuclear emergency, NEAT dispatches specialists of JAEA, supplies the national government and local governments with emergency equipment and materials, and gives technical advice and information. In normal time, NEAT provides various exercises and training courses concerning nuclear disaster prevention to those personnel taking an active part in emergency response institutions of the national and local governments, police, fire fighters, self-defense forces, etc. in addition to the JAEA itself. The NEAT also researches nuclear disaster preparedness and response, and cooperates with international organizations. In the FY2013, the NEAT accomplished the following tasks: (1) Technical support activities as a designated public institution in cooperation with the national and local governments, etc. (2) Human resource development, exercise and training of nuclear emergency response personnel for the national and local governments, etc. (3) Researches on nuclear disaster preparedness and response, and sending useful information (4) International contributions to Asian countries on nuclear disaster preparedness and response in collaboration with the international organizations