Durability of U-Zr oxide solid solution in aqueous HO solution

Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Takano, Masahide; Watanabe, Masayuki

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 625, p.156553_1 - 156553_7, 2026/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2026.156553

Uranium-zirconium oxide solid solution, (U, Zr)O, is a representative matrix phase found in fuel debris formed during severe nuclear reactor accidents. Understanding its chemical behavior in oxidative aqueous environments is important for evaluating the potential release of radionuclides during water contact. In this study, we investigated the reactivity of (U, Zr)O with hydrogen peroxide (HO) in pure water to assess its resistance to oxidative dissolution, because HO is the dominant oxidant produced by water radiolysis. The dissolution behavior of uranium and zirconium was monitored through repeated HO exposure experiments, and the solid phases were characterized using Raman micro-spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Kinetic modeling was performed to interpret experimental data. The results showed that uranium dissolution occurred initially but decreased significantly upon repeated HO exposure, while zirconium dissolution proceeded more slowly. Raman analysis revealed only minor surface changes, with limited formation of uranyl peroxide phases. The kinetic simulation reproduced the experimental trends by assuming a small fraction of redox-active surface sites. These findings suggest that the observed durability of (U, Zr)O against HO-induced oxidative dissolution is not due to the formation of a protective surface layer, but rather reflects the limited redox reactivity of most of the surface. This study provides a quantitative basis for understanding the HO-induced oxidation of (U, Zr)O in water, relevant to the long-term behavior of fuel debris.

Development of a new corrosion mitigation technology using nanobubbles toward corrosion mitigation in PCV system under the influence of //-rays radiolysis (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2024-019, 102 Pages, 2024/09

JAEA-Review-2024-019.pdf:4.4MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2022. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of a new corrosion mitigation technology using nanobubbles toward corrosion mitigation in PCV system under the influence of //-rays radiolysis" conducted from FY2020 to FY2022. The present study aims to corrosion, which is considered to be an important factor in the aging degradation of confinement functions (PCV, negative pressure maintenance system, etc.) during the fuel debris removal process. If the chemical species (especially HO) generated by radiolysis become locally concentrated in the areas where short-range - and -radiation emitting nuclides come into contact, the corrosion of steels may be greatly accelerated in those areas.

Urban factors and mental health symptoms in children of the Tokyo Early Adolescence Survey; Impact of proximity to railway stations

Davies, S. J. C.*; Bolea-Alamanac, B.*; Endo, Kaori*; Yamamoto, Yu*; Yamasaki, Shudo*; Malins, A.; Evans, J.*; Sullivan, S.*; Ando, Shuntaro*; Nishida, Atsushi*; et al.

Journal of Transport & Health, 28, p.101564_1 - 101564_11, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2022.101564

A Novel method to improve methane generation from waste sludge using iron nanoparticles coated with magnesium hydroxide

Eljamal, R.*; Maamoun, I.; Bensaida, K.*; Yilmaz, G.*; Sugihara, Yuji*; Eljamal, O.*

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 158, p.112192_1 - 112192_13, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112192

Interdisciplinary evaluation of biological effect of internal exposure by inhaling alpha-ray emitting nuclides represented by radon (Contract research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Okayama University*

JAEA-Review 2021-028, 57 Pages, 2021/11

JAEA-Review-2021-028.pdf:1.94MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2020. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Interdisciplinary evaluation of biological effect of internal exposure by inhaling alpha-ray emitting nuclides represented by radon" conducted from FY2018 to FY2020. Since the final year of this proposal was FY2020, the results for three fiscal years were summarized. The present study aims to evaluate the influence of radiation exposure to alpha-ray emitting dusts generated in decommissioning of the nuclear reactors. Radon is used here as a surrogate nuclide because it is an alpha-ray emitter and there have been extensive studies on it so far.

Radon inhalation decreases DNA damage induced by oxidative stress in mouse organs via the activation of antioxidative functions

Kataoka, Takahiro*; Shuto, Hina*; Naoe, Shota*; Yano, Junki*; Kanzaki, Norie; Sakoda, Akihiro; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Hanamoto, Katsumi*; Mitsunobu, Fumihiro*; Terato, Hiroaki*; et al.

Journal of Radiation Research (Internet), 62(5), p.861 - 867, 2021/09

AA2021-0401.pdf:0.73MB

https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rrab069

Effect of nitrogen oxides on decomposition behavior of gaseous ruthenium tetroxide

Yoshida, Naoki; Amano, Yuki; Ono, Takuya; Yoshida, Ryoichiro; Abe, Hitoshi

JAEA-Research 2020-014, 33 Pages, 2020/12

JAEA-Research-2020-014.pdf:3.66MB

Considering the boiling and drying accident of high-level liquid waste in fuel reprocessing plant, Ruthenium (Ru) is an important element. It is because Ru would form volatile compounds such as ruthenium tetroxide (RuO) and could be released into the environment with other coexisting gasses such as nitric oxides (NOx) such as nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO). To contribute to the safety evaluation of this accident, we experimentally evaluated the effect of NOx on the decomposition and chemical change behavior of the gaseous RuO (RuO(g)). As a result, the RuO(g) decomposed over time under the atmospheric gasses with NO or NO, however, the decomposition rate was slower than the results of experiments without NOx. These results showed that the NOx stabilized RuO(g).

Study on chemisorption model of cesium hydroxide onto stainless steel type 304

Nakajima, Kunihisa; Nishioka, Shunichiro*; Suzuki, Eriko; Osaka, Masahiko

Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 7(3), p.19-00564_1 - 19-00564_14, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1299/mej.19-00564

A large amount of cesium (Cs) chemisorbed onto stainless steel is predicted to be present especially in the upper region of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) during light water reactor severe accident (LWR SA) and a chemisorption model was developed for estimation of such amounts of Cs for stainless steel type 304 (SS304). However, this existing chemisorption model cannot accurately reproduce experimental results. Therefore, in this study, a modified Cs chemisorption model which accounts for silicon content in SS304 and concentration of cesium hydroxide (CsOH) in gaseous phases was constructed by combining penetration theory for gas-liquid mass transfer with chemical reaction and mass action law for CsOH decomposition at interface between gaseous and solid phases. As a result, it was found that the modified model was able to reproduce the experimental data more accurately than the existing model.

An Experimental investigation of influencing chemical factors on Cs-chemisorption behavior onto stainless steel

Nishioka, Shunichiro; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Suzuki, Eriko; Osaka, Masahiko

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 56(11), p.988 - 995, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2019.1633968

In order to contribute to improvement of Cs chemisorption model used in severe accident analysis codes, the influence of chemical factors (temperature, atmosphere, concentration of affecting chemical elements etc.) on the Cs chemisorption behaviour onto stainless steel was investigated experimentally. It was found that the surface reaction rate constant used in the current Cs-chemisorption model was influenced by not only temperature, as already known, but also atmosphere, cesium hydroxide (CsOH) concentration in the gas phase and silicon content in SS304. Such chemical factors should be considered for the construction of the improved Cs-chemisorption model. Another important finding is that the chemisorption behavior at lower temperatures, around 873 K, could differ from those above 1073 K. Namely, Cs-Fe-O compounds would form as the main Cs-chemisorbed compounds at 873 K while Cs-Si-Fe-O compounds at more than 1073 K.

Development of phosphate modified CAC cementitious systems with reduced water content for the immobilization of radioactive wastes

Garcia-Lodeiro, I.*; Irisawa, Keita; Meguro, Yoshihiro; Kinoshita, Hajime*

Proceedings of 15th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement (ICCC 2019) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2019/09

The immobilization of low or intermediate-level radioactive wastes in cements is a common practise. Grout, a mixture of Portland cement and supplemental cementitious materials, is commonly used to encapsulate the wastes. However, the conventional cementing process based on portland cement has the risk of hydrogen gas generation, due to the radiolysis of the water intrinsically present in the cement matrix both in the pore solution and the hydrated products. The addition of phosphates to calcium aluminate cement (CAC) is interesting because this system sets and hardens via the acid-based reaction, between the acid phosphate solution and the basic CAC cement. Due to this different mechanism of reaction, it would be possible to generate a solid cementitious product with a reduced water content, which can be beneficial to minimize the risk of hydrogen gas generation associated with the radiolysis of water by radioactive wastes. The present study investigates the effect of water reduction on a phosphate modified CAC systems at different temperatures (35C, 60C, 95C, 110C,180C) in the initial 7 days of curing. Experimental results indicate that these phosphate-based cements do not form the conventional CAC crystalline hydration products in the condition tested, but provide a structural integrity despite a significant amount of water loss. The results also suggest the formation of hydroxyapatite in samples cured at 95C.