Japan Atomic Energy Agency; Contribution to the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and the reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture at the Naraha center for Remote Control technology development

Morimoto, Kyoichi; Ono, Takahiro; Kakutani, Satomi; Yoshida, Moeka; Suzuki, Soichiro

Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 36(1), p.125 - 133, 2024/02

https://doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2024.p0125

The Naraha Center for Remote Control Technology Development was established for the purpose of developing and verifying remote control equipment for promoting the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and the external use of this center was started in 2016. The mission of this center is to contribute to the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and for the reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture. In this review, we describe the equipment related to the full-scale mock-up test, the component test for a remote-control device and the virtual reality system in this center. In addition, the case examples for usage of these equipment are introduced.

Deuterium content and site occupancy in iron sulfide at high pressure and temperature determined using in situ neutron diffraction measurements

Abeykoon, S.*; Howard, C.*; Dominijanni, S.*; Eberhard, L.*; Kurnosov, A.*; Frost, D. J.*; Boffa Ballaran, T.*; Terasaki, Hidenori*; Sakamaki, Tatsuya*; Suzuki, Akio*; et al.

Journal of Geophysical Research; Solid Earth, 128(9), p.e2023JB026710_1 - e2023JB026710_17, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB026710

Small amounts of iron sulphide minerals are found in most rocks from the Earth's mantle and as inclusions trapped in natural diamonds. Hydrogen may dissolve into iron sulphide minerals under high pressures and temperature, but is most likely lost once pressure and temperature are removed. In this study, we determined deuterium contents in iron sulphide, held under high pressure and temperature conditions, using neutron diffraction measurements with 6-ram multi-anvil press at PLANET, J-PARC. Deuterium contents in iron sulphide were measured at high-P, up to 11.4 GPa and high-T to 1300 K in in situ neutron diffraction experiments. The total deuterium content increases with both P and T. The results are used to estimate hydrogen contents of iron sulphide minerals in the deep continental lithospheric mantle, which are found to be in the range 1700-2700 ppm. This corresponds to approximately 2-3 ppm of hydrogen in the bulk mantle.

Multiple mechanisms in proton-induced nucleon removal at 100 MeV/nucleon

Pohl, T.*; Sun, Y. L.*; Obertelli, A.*; Lee, J.*; Gmez-Ramos, M.*; Ogata, Kazuyuki*; Yoshida, Kazuki; Cai, B. S.*; Yuan, C. X.*; Brown, B. A.*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 130(17), p.172501_1 - 172501_8, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.172501

We report on the first proton-induced single proton- and neutron-removal reactions from the neutron deficient O nucleus with large Fermi-surface asymmetry at 100 MeV/nucleon. Our results provide the first quantitative contributions of multiple reaction mechanisms including the quasifree knockout, inelastic scattering, and nucleon transfer processes. It is shown that the inelastic scattering and nucleon transfer, usually neglected at such energy regime, contribute about 50% and 30% to the loosely bound proton and deeply bound neutron removal, respectively.

High spatial resolution neutron transmission imaging using a superconducting two-dimensional detector

Shishido, Hiroaki*; Nishimura, Kazuma*; Vu, TheDang*; Aizawa, Kazuya; Kojima, Kenji M*; Koyama, Tomio*; Oikawa, Kenichi; Harada, Masahide; Oku, Takayuki; Soyama, Kazuhiko; et al.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 31(9), p.2400505_1 - 2400505_5, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2021.3111396

In this study, we employed a superconducting detector, current-biased kinetic-inductance detector (CB-KID) for neutron imaging using a pulsed neutron source. We employed the delay-line method, and high spatial resolution imaging with only four reading channels was achieved. We also performed wavelength-resolved neutron imaging by the time-of-flight method. We obtained the neutron transmission images of a Gd-Al alloy sample, inside which single crystals of GdAl were grown, using the delay-line CB-KID. Single crystals were well imaged, in both shapes and distributions, throughout the Al-Gd alloy. We identified Gd nuclei via neutron transmissions that exhibited characteristic suppression above the neutron wavelength of 0.03 nm. In addition, the Gd resonance dip, a dip structure of the transmission caused by the nuclear reaction between an isotope and neutrons, was observed even when the number of events was summed over a limited area of 15 m 12 m. Gd selective imaging was performed using the resonance dip of Gd, and it showed clear Gd distribution even with a limited neutron wavelength range of 1 pm.

Rapid analysis of Sr in cattle bone and tooth samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Koarai, Kazuma; Matsueda, Makoto; Aoki, Jo; Yanagisawa, Kayo*; Terashima, Motoki; Fujiwara, Kenso; Kino, Yasushi*; Oka, Toshitaka; Takahashi, Atsushi*; Suzuki, Toshihiko*; et al.

Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 36(8), p.1678 - 1682, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1039/D1JA00086A

Rapid analysis of Sr in bone and tooth samples of cattle were achieved by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) coupled with mass shift and solid phase extraction techniques. Limit of detection (LOD) in the ICP-MS measurement of 0.1 g samples was lower than that of the radioactivity measurement. Analytical time of the ICP-MS method was reduced from 20 days to 11 hours, compared with the radiometric method. Therefore, the ICP-MS method can be rapid and useful procedure of Sr in small bone and tooth samples derived from terrestrial animals.

Nanoscale heterogeneity induced by nonmagnetic Zn dopants in the quantum critical metal CeCoIn; In NQR/NMR and Co NMR study

Sakai, Hironori; Tokunaga, Yo; Kambe, Shinsaku; Zhu, J.-X.*; Ronning, F.*; Thompson, J. D.*; Ramakrishna, S. K.*; Reyes, A. P.*; Suzuki, Kohei*; Oshima, Yoshiki*; et al.

Physical Review B, 104(8), p.085106_1 - 085106_12, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.104.085106

Antiferromagnetism in a prototypical quantum critical metal CeCoIn is known to be induced by slight substitutions of non-magnetic Zn atoms for In. In nominally 7% Zn substituted CeCoIn, an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state coexists with heavy fermion superconductivity. Heterogeneity of the electronic states is investigated in Zn doped CeCoIn by means of nuclear quadrupole and magnetic resonances (NQR and NMR). Site-dependent NQR relaxation rates indicate that the AFM state is locally nucleated around Zn substituents in the matrix of a heavy fermion state, and percolates through the bulk at the AFM transition temperature . At lower temperatures, an anisotropic superconducting (SC) gap below the SC transition temperature , and the SC state permeates through the AFM regions via a SC proximity effect. Applying an external magnetic field induces a spin-flop transition near 5 T, reducing the volume of the AFM regions. Consequently, a short ranged inhomogeneous AFM state survives and coexists with a paramagnetic Fermi liquid state at high fields.

Thermally altered subsurface material of asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Kitazato, Kohei*; Milliken, R. E.*; Iwata, Takahiro*; Abe, Masanao*; Otake, Makiko*; Matsuura, Shuji*; Takagi, Yasuhiko*; Nakamura, Tomoki*; Hiroi, Takahiro*; Matsuoka, Moe*; et al.

Nature Astronomy (Internet), 5(3), p.246 - 250, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01271-2

Here we report observations of Ryugu's subsurface material by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS3) on the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Reflectance spectra of excavated material exhibit a hydroxyl (OH) absorption feature that is slightly stronger and peak-shifted compared with that observed for the surface, indicating that space weathering and/or radiative heating have caused subtle spectral changes in the uppermost surface. However, the strength and shape of the OH feature still suggests that the subsurface material experienced heating above 300 C, similar to the surface. In contrast, thermophysical modeling indicates that radiative heating does not increase the temperature above 200 C at the estimated excavation depth of 1 m, even if the semimajor axis is reduced to 0.344 au. This supports the hypothesis that primary thermal alteration occurred due to radiogenic and/or impact heating on Ryugu's parent body.

Discriminative measurement of absorbed dose rates in air from natural and artificial radionuclides in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture

Ogura, Koya*; Hosoda, Masahiro*; Tamakuma, Yuki*; Suzuki, Takahito*; Yamada, Ryohei; Negemi, Ryoju*; Tsujiguchi, Takakiyo*; Yamaguchi, Masaru*; Shiroma, Yoshitaka*; Iwaoka, Kazuki*; et al.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), p.978_1 - 978_16, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030978

A Unique high natural background radiation area; Dose assessment and perspectives

Hosoda, Masahiro*; Nugraha, E. D.*; Akata, Naofumi*; Yamada, Ryohei; Tamakuma, Yuki*; Sasaki, Michiya*; Kelleher, K.*; Yoshinaga, Shinji*; Suzuki, Takahito*; Rattanapongs, C. P.*; et al.

Science of the Total Environment, 750, p.142346_1 - 142346_11, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142346

The biological effects of low dose-rate radiation exposures on humans remains unknown. In fact, the Japanese nation still struggles with this issue after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Recently, we have found a unique area in Indonesia where naturally high radiation levels are present, resulting in chronic low dose-rate radiation exposures. We aimed to estimate the comprehensive dose due to internal and external exposures at the particularly high natural radiation area, and to discuss the enhancement mechanism of radon. A car-borne survey was conducted to estimate the external doses from terrestrial radiation. Indoor radon measurements were made in 47 dwellings over three to five months, covering the two typical seasons, to estimate the internal doses. Atmospheric radon gases were simultaneously collected at several heights to evaluate the vertical distribution. The absorbed dose rates in air in the study area vary widely between 50 nGy h and 1109 nGy h. Indoor radon concentrations ranged from 124 Bq m to 1015 Bq m. That is, the indoor radon concentrations measured exceed the reference levels of 100 Bq m recommended by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, the outdoor radon concentrations measured were comparable to the high indoor radon concentrations. The annual effective dose due to external and internal exposures in the study area was estimated to be 27 mSv using the median values. It was found that many residents are receiving radiation exposure from natural radionuclides over the dose limit for occupational exposure to radiation workers. This enhanced outdoor radon concentration might be as a result of the stable atmospheric conditions generated at an exceptionally low altitude. Our findings suggest that this area provides a unique opportunity to conduct an epidemiological study related to health effects due to chronic low dose-rate radiation exposure.

Two-step-pressurization method in pulsed electric current sintering of MoO for production of Tc radioactive isotope

Suematsu, Hisayuki*; Sato, Soma*; Nakayama, Tadachika*; Suzuki, Tatsuya*; Niihara, Koichi*; Nanko, Makoto*; Tsuchiya, Kunihiko

Journal of Asian Ceramic Societies (Internet), 8(4), p.1154 - 1161, 2020/12

https://doi.org/10.1080/21870764.2020.1824326

Pulsed electric current sintering of molybdenum trioxide (MoO) was carried out by one- and two-step pressuring methods for fabrication of irradiation target using production of Mo and Tc nuclear medicine. At 550C by the two-step pressurizing method, a relative density of 93.1% was obtained while, by the one-step pressurization method, the relative density was 76.9%. Direct sample temperature measurements were conducted by inserting a thermocouple in a punch. By the two-step pressurizing method, the sample temperature was higher than that by the one-step pressurizing method even almost the same die temperature. From voltage and current waveforms, it was thought that the conductivity of the sample increased by the two-step pressurizing method to increase the sample temperature and the relative density. The two-step pressurization method enables us to prepare dense targets at a low temperature from recycled and coarse-grained Mo enriched MoO powder.