Aging of fuel-containing materials (fuel debris) in the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) Nuclear Power Plant and its implication for the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Kitagaki, Toru; Krasnov, V.*; Ikeda, Atsushi

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 576, p.154224_1 - 154224_14, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154224

Study on water stopping, repair and stabilization of lower PCV by geopolymer, etc. (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; The University of Tokyo*

JAEA-Review 2022-062, 121 Pages, 2023/03

JAEA-Review-2022-062.pdf:4.78MB

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 FY2021. 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 FY2021, this report summarizes the research results of the "Study on water stopping, repair and stabilization of lower PCV by geopolymer, etc." conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to propose a construction method to stop jet deflectors by improved geopolymer and ultra-heavy muddy water, and to repair the lower part of the dry well. In addition, in order to increase the options for on-site construction in unknown situations such as deposition conditions, we will examine a wide range of construction outside the pedestal, and evaluate the feasibility of the construction method by the latest thermal flow simulation method. When widely constructed, fuel debris and deposits discharged out of the pedestal are coated with water stop and repair materials and become waste

Fuel debris criticality analysis technology using non-contact measurement method (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2022-043, 52 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-043.pdf:3.48MB

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 FY2021. 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 FY2021, this report summarizes the research results of the "Fuel debris criticality analysis technology using non-contact measurement method" conducted in FY2021. The purpose of research was to improve the fuel debris criticality analysis technology using non-contact measurement method by the development of the fuel debris criticality characteristics measurement system and the multi-region integral kinetic analysis code. It was performed by Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) as the first year of four years research project. For the criticality characteristic measurement systems to be developed by the Japanese and Russian sides, both Japanese

Development of rapid and sensitive radionuclide analysis method by simultaneous analysis of , , and X-rays (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Japan Chemical Analysis Center*

JAEA-Review 2022-037, 118 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-037.pdf:6.92MB

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 FY2021. 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 rapid and sensitive radionuclide analysis method by simultaneous analysis of , , and X-rays" conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to enable rapid analysis of radionuclides in fuel debris and waste, we have established the latest measurement system, such as the multiple -ray detection methods, and the Spectral Determination Method (hereafter referred to "SDM") was developed. In the study, the -ray measuring device was installed, and the measurement system consisting of the Ge detector, CeBr detector, and NaI detector was completed in FY2021. In the SDM development, standard spectra of -ray singles, multiple -ray measurements, and -ray

Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2022-034, 135 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-034.pdf:8.5MB

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 FY2021. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), 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 FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis" conducted in FY2021. Understanding the properties of fuel debris is necessary for handling, criticality control, storage control, etc. A key technique is the chemical analysis of actinide nuclides. We develop sample pretreatment technology and separation / analysis process required for chemical analysis. The purpose of this study is to streamline future planned fuel debris analysis. To promote 1F decommissioning, we will train human resources through on-the-job training. In particular, we will apply the extremely small amount analysis (ICP-MS/MS), which has recently been successful in the fields of analytical chemistry

A Numerical simulation method to evaluate heat transfer of fuel debris in air cooling by JUPITER, 2; Validation of porous model for natural convective heat transfer

Uesawa, Shinichiro; Yamashita, Susumu; Shibata, Mitsuhiko; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 12th Japan-Korea Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS12) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2022/10

Structure, stability, and actinide leaching of simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized from UO, Zr, and stainless-steel

Kirishima, Akira*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Sato, Nobuaki*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 567, p.153842_1 - 153842_15, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153842

To understand the chemical structure and stability of nuclear fuel debris consisting of UO, Zr, and Stainless Steel (SUS) generated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan in 2011, simulated debris of the UO-SUS-Zr system and other fundamental component systems were synthesized and characterized. The simulated debris were synthesized by heat treatment for 1 to 12 h at 1600C, in inert (Ar) or oxidative (Ar + 2% O) atmospheres. Np and Am tracers were doped for the leaching tests of these elements and U from the simulated debris. The characterization of the simulated debris was conducted by XRD, SEM-EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and Mssbauer spectroscopy, which provided the major uranium phase of the UO -SUS-Zr debris was the solid solution of UO (s.s.) with Zr(IV) and Fe(II) regardless of the treatment atmosphere. The long-term immersion test of the simulated debris in pure water and that in seawater revealed the macro scale crystal structure of the simulated debris was chemically very stable in the wet condition for a year or more. Furthermore, the leaching test results showed that the actinide leaching ratios of U, Np, Am from the UO-SUS-Zr debris were very limited and less than 0.08 % for all the experiments in this study.

Identification of altered phases of fuel debris by laser fluorescence spectroscopy (Contract research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; The University of Tokyo*

JAEA-Review 2022-007, 59 Pages, 2022/06

JAEA-Review-2022-007.pdf:2.09MB

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 "Identification of altered phases of fuel debris by laser fluorescence spectroscopy" conducted from FY2018 to FY2021 (this contract was extended to FY2021). Since the final year of this proposal was FY2021, the results for four fiscal years were summarized. The present study aims to identify alteration phases occurring on the surface fuel debris at various conditions, using time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS), which is a selective analytical technique for U(VI), a major constituent of fuel debris and stable in oxidizing conditions. In particular, we pursue to improve its sensitivity and resolution by performing measurements at ultra-low temperature and identify multiple and heterogeneous U(VI)

Fluorination method for classification of the waste generated by fuel debris removal (Contract research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy*

JAEA-Review 2022-003, 126 Pages, 2022/06

JAEA-Review-2022-003.pdf:8.01MB

JAEA/CLADS had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project. Among the adopted proposals in FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Fluorination Method for Classification of the Waste Generated by Fuel Debris Removal" conducted in FY2020.

Development of an continuous air monitor for the measurement of highly radioactive alpha-emitting particulates (-aerosols) under high humidity environment

Tsubota, Yoichi; Honda, Fumiya; Tokonami, Shinji*; Tamakuma, Yuki*; Nakagawa, Takahiro; Ikeda, Atsushi

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1030, p.166475_1 - 166475_7, 2022/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.166475

In the long-lasting decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), the dismantling of nuclear fuel debris (NFD) remaining in the damaged reactors is an unavoidable but significant issue with many technical difficulties. The dismantling is presumed to involve mechanical cutting, generating significant concentrations of particulates containing -radionuclides (-aerosols) that pose significant health risk upon inhalation. In order to minimize the radiation exposure of workers with -aerosols during the dismantling/decommissioning process at 1F, it is essential to monitor the concentration of -aerosols at the point of initial generation, i.e. inside the primary containment vessels (PCV) of the damaged reactors. Toward this end, an monitoring system for -aerosols ( alpha air monitor: IAAM) was developed and its technical performance was investigated under the conditions expected for the actual environments at 1F. IAAM was confirmed to fulfill four technical requirements: (1) steady operation under high humidity, (2) operation without using filters, (3) capability of measuring a high counting rate of -radiation, and (4) selective measurement of -radiation even under high radiation background with /-rays. IAAM is capable of selectively measuring -aerosols with a concentration of 3.3 10 Bq/cm or higher without saturation under a high humid environment (100%-relative humidity) and under high background with /-radiation (up to 100 mSv/h of -radiation). These results demonstrate promising potential of IAAM to be utilized as a reliable monitoring system for -aerosols during the dismantling of NFD, as well as the whole long-lasting decommissioning of 1F.