Annual report on the effluent control of low level liquid waste in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories FY2021

Nakada, Akira; Kanai, Katsuta; Kokubun, Yuji; Nagaoka, Mika; Koike, Yuko; Yamada, Ryohei*; Kubota, Tomohiro; Hirao, Moe; Yoshii, Hideki*; Otani, Kazunori*; et al.

JAEA-Review 2022-079, 116 Pages, 2023/03

JAEA-Review-2022-079.pdf:2.77MB

Based on the regulations (the safety regulation of Tokai Reprocessing Plant, the safety regulation of nuclear fuel material usage facilities, the radiation safety rule, the regulation about prevention from radiation hazards due to radioisotopes, which are related with the nuclear regulatory acts, the local agreement concerning with safety and environment conservation around nuclear facilities, the water pollution control law, and by law of Ibaraki Prefecture), the effluent control of liquid waste discharged from the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories of Japan Atomic Energy Agency has been performed. This report describes the effluent control results of the liquid waste in the fiscal year 2021. In this period, the concentrations and the quantities of the radioactivity in liquid waste discharged from the reprocessing plant, the plutonium fuel fabrication facilities, and the other nuclear fuel material usage facilities were much lower than the limits authorized by the above regulations.

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.

Status of study of long-term assessment of transport of radioactive contaminants in the environment of Fukushima (FY2018) (Translated document)

Nagao, Fumiya; Niizato, Tadafumi; Sasaki, Yoshito; Ito, Satomi; Watanabe, Takayoshi; Dohi, Terumi; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Funaki, Hironori; et al.

JAEA-Research 2020-007, 249 Pages, 2020/10

JAEA-Research-2020-007.pdf:15.83MB

The accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. occurred due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sanriku offshore earthquake, of 9.0 magnitude and the accompanying tsunami. As a result, large amount of radioactive materials was released into the environment. Under these circumstances, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting "Long-term Assessment of Transport of Radioactive Contaminants in the Environment of Fukushima" concerning radioactive materials released in environment, especially migration behavior of radioactive cesium since November 2012. This report is a summary of the research results that have been obtained in environmental dynamics research conducted by JAEA in Fukushima Prefecture.

Status of study of long-term assessment of transport of radioactive contaminants in the environment of Fukushima (FY2018)

Nagao, Fumiya; Niizato, Tadafumi; Sasaki, Yoshito; Ito, Satomi; Watanabe, Takayoshi; Dohi, Terumi; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Funaki, Hironori; et al.

JAEA-Research 2019-002, 235 Pages, 2019/08

JAEA-Research-2019-002.pdf:21.04MB

The accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (hereinafter referred to 1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. occurred due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sanriku offshore earthquake, of 9.0 magnitude and the accompanying tsunami. As a result, large amount of radioactive materials was released into the environment. Under these circumstances, JAEA has been conducting Long-term Environmental Dynamics Research concerning radioactive materials released in environment, especially migration behavior of radioactive cesium since November 2012. This report is a summary of the research results that have been obtained in environmental dynamics research conducted by JAEA in Fukushima Prefecture.

Annual report on the effluent control of low level liquid waste in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories FY2017

Nakano, Masanao; Fujita, Hiroki; Mizutani, Tomoko; Nagaoka, Mika; Inoue, Kazumi; Koike, Yuko; Yamada, Ryohei; Yoshii, Hideki*; Hiyama, Yoshinori*; Otani, Kazunori*; et al.

JAEA-Review 2018-028, 120 Pages, 2019/02

JAEA-Review-2018-028.pdf:2.69MB

Based on the regulations (the safety regulation of Tokai Reprocessing Plant, the safety regulation of nuclear fuel material usage facilities, the radiation safety rule, the regulation about prevention from radiation hazards due to radioisotopes, which are related with the nuclear regulatory acts, the local agreement concerning with safety and environment conservation around nuclear facilities, the water pollution control law, and by law of Ibaraki Prefecture), the effluent control of liquid waste discharged from the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories of Japan Atomic Energy Agency has been performed. This report describes the effluent control results of the liquid waste in the fiscal year 2017. In this period, the concentrations and the quantities of the radioactivity in liquid waste discharged from the reprocessing plant, the plutonium fuel fabrication facilities, and the other nuclear fuel material usage facilities were much lower than the limits authorized by the above regulations.

Rapid separation of zirconium using microvolume anion-exchange cartridge for Zr determination with isotope dilution ICP-MS

Asai, Shiho; Hanzawa, Yukiko; Konda, Miki; Suzuki, Daisuke; Magara, Masaaki; Kimura, Takaumi; Ishihara, Ryo*; Saito, Kyoichi*; Yamada, Shinsuke*; Hirota, Hideyuki*

Talanta, 185, p.98 - 105, 2018/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2018.03.026

Estimating the risks associated with radiation from long-lived fission products (LLFP) in radioactive waste is essential to ensure the long-term safety of potential disposal sites. In this study, the amount of Zr, a LLFP, was determined by ICP-MS after separating Zr from a spent nuclear fuel solution using a microvolume anion-exchange cartridge (TEDA cartridge). The TEDA cartridge achieved highly selective separation of Zr regardless of its small bed volume of 0.08 cm. The time taken to complete the Zr separation was 1.2 min with a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min, which was 10 times faster than that for a conventional anion-exchange resin column. Almost all the other elements were removed, leading to accurate measurement of Zr. The result connects experimental value to theoretical prediction provided by ORIGEN2, which requires verification. With the measured value, we demonstrated that the theoretical value is reliable enough to estimate radiation risks.

Pyroelectric power generation with ferroelectrics (1-x)PMN-xPT

Kim, J.*; Yamanaka, Satoru*; Nakajima, Akira*; Kato, Takanori*; Kim, Y.*; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Yoshii, Kenji; Nishihata, Yasuo; Baba, Masaaki*; Takeda, Masatoshi*; et al.

Ferroelectrics, 512(1), p.92 - 99, 2017/08

https://doi.org/10.1080/00150193.2017.1349991

Preparation of microvolume anion-exchange cartridge for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry-based determination of Np content in spent nuclear fuel

Asai, Shiho; Hanzawa, Yukiko; Konda, Miki; Suzuki, Daisuke; Magara, Masaaki; Kimura, Takaumi; Ishihara, Ryo*; Saito, Kyoichi*; Yamada, Shinsuke*; Hirota, Hideyuki*

Analytical Chemistry, 88(6), p.3149 - 3155, 2016/03

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5b04330

Neptunium-237 (Np) is one of the major long-lived radionuclides found in spent nuclear fuel. To evaluate the long-term safety of a HLW repository, the Np content in spent nuclear fuel must be determined. In this study, micro-volume anion-exchange porous polymer disk-packed cartridges were prepared for Am-Np separation, which is required prior to the measurement of Np with ICP-MS. Disks with a volume of 0.08 cm were cut out from porous sheets having triethylenediamine (TEDA)-containing polymer chains densely attached on the pore surface. The resulting TEDA-introduced disk cartridge was applied to a spent nuclear fuel sample. The chemical yield of Np was 90.4%, which is sufficiently high for ICP-MS measurement of Np. Compared with the conventional separation technique using commercially available anion-exchange resin columns, the time required to adsorb, wash and elute Np using the TEDA-introduced disk cartridge was reduced by 75%.

Novel electrothermodynamic power generation

Kim, Y.*; Kim, J.*; Yamanaka, Satoru*; Nakajima, Akira*; Ogawa, Takashi*; Serizawa, Takeshi*; Tanaka, Hirohisa*; Baba, Masaaki*; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Yoshii, Kenji; et al.

Advanced Energy Materials, 5(13), p.1401942_1 - 1401942_6, 2015/07

https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201401942

An innovative electro-thermodynamic cycle based on temporal temperature variations using pyroelectric effect has been presented. Practical energy is successfully generated in both synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements under controlled conditions and real engine dynamometer experiments. The main generating origin is revealed as a combination of a crystal structure change and dipole change phenomenon corresponds to the temperature variation. In particular, the electric field induced 180 domain switching extremely improves generating power, and the true energy breakeven with temperature variation is firstly achieved.

Mathematical Modeling of Radioactive Contaminants in the Fukushima Environment

Kitamura, Akihiro; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Masaaki; Oda, Yoshihiro; Saito, Tatsuo; Kato, Tomoko; Niizato, Tadafumi; Iijima, Kazuki; Sato, Haruo; Yui, Mikazu; et al.

Nuclear Science and Engineering, 179(1), p.104 - 118, 2015/01

https://doi.org/10.13182/NSE13-89

The prediction of the distribution and fate of radioactive materials eventually deposited at surface in the Fukushima area is one of the main objectives and expected to be achieved in an efficient manner. In order to make such prediction, a number of mathematical models of radioactive contaminants, with particular attention on cesium, on the land and in rivers, lakes, and estuaries in the Fukushima area are developed. Simulation results are examined with the field investigations simultaneously implemented. The basic studies of the adsorption/absorption mechanism of cesium and soils have been performed to shed light on estimating distribution coefficient between dissolved contaminant and particulate contaminant.