Impact of fluvial discharge on Cs in the ocean following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident

Tsumune, Daisuke*; Tsubono, Takaki*; Misumi, Kazuhiro*; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Onda, Yuichi*

Pure and Applied Chemistry, 16 Pages, 2024/00

https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2023-0902

Twelve years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (F1NPS) accident, Cs activity concentrations have not yet decreased to pre-accident levels because of direct release from the site and fluvial discharges of Cs deposited on land. It is necessary to consider dispersion processes in the coastal area to understand the impact of multiple river discharges and direct release. To achieve this goal, we carried out oceanic dispersion simulations that considered direct release and fluvial discharges and compared the results with the annual averages of observed data. We assumed that particulate Cs discharged from rivers to the ocean quickly resuspended and re-leached after coagulation and precipitation and that all of the Cs were dispersed. The reproducibility of results was improved by considering fluvial discharges of particulate Cs at all sites between 2013 and 2016, except near the F1NPS. In other words, particulate Cs discharged from rivers was found to influence the results of ocean surface activity concentrations within a relatively short period of time. The impact of direct release was dominant for the observed Cs activity concentrations adjacent to the F1NPS, which was used to estimate direct releases.

A Simple correlation to estimate agglomerated debris formation based on experiments of melt jet-breakup using a metallic melt

Iwasawa, Yuzuru; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Kaneko, Akiko*

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 409, p.112348_1 - 112348_15, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112348

Observation of proton-transfer-coupled spin transition by single-crystal neutron-diffraction measurement

Nakanishi, Takumi*; Hori, Yuta*; Shigeta, Yasuteru*; Sato, Hiroyasu*; Wu, S.-Q.*; Kiyanagi, Ryoji; Munakata, Koji*; Ohara, Takashi; Sato, Osamu*

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 25(17), p.12394 - 12400, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CP00527E

Changes in sulfur metabolism in mouse brains following radon inhalation

Kanzaki, Norie; Sakoda, Akihiro; Kataoka, Takahiro*; Sun, L.*; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Otsu, Iwao*; Yamaoka, Kiyonori*

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), p.10750_1 - 10750_14, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710750

Reactive sulfur species (RSS) involve oxidative stress deeply and contribute anti-inflammatory effect, but no studied have focused on RSS changes after irradiation. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the metabolites, focusing on RSS in mouse brain following radon inhalation. The ratio of oxidized glutathione to reduced glutathione and proportion of RSS in GSH or cysteine increased by radon inhalation. The sulfur ion might bind to GSH or cysteine chemically under conditions of oxidative stress, even at very low-dose exposure. We performed the overall assessment of high-dimensional data by applying machine learning and showed the specific characteristics of the effects by the exposure conditions. Our results suggested that RSS could produce a biological defense against oxidative stress following radon inhalation.

Acid dissociation constant of bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate impregnated in a polymer layer coated on silica microparticles

Miyagawa, Akihisa*; Takeuchi, Masayuki; Arai, Tsuyoshi*; Watanabe, So; Sano, Yuichi; Nakatani, Kiyoharu*

Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 95(4), p.566 - 568, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1246/bcsj.20220011

We demonstrate that pKa of extractant impregnated in a polymer phase varies with the cross-linking degree and the coexistence of other extractants, which induces a change in the hydrophobicity of the polymer phase. The results presented herein will be beneficial for the development of novel solid-extraction adsorbents.

Mechanisms responsible for adsorption of molybdate ions on alumina for the production of medical radioisotopes

Fujita, Yoshitaka; Niizeki, Tomotake*; Fukumitsu, Nobuyoshi*; Ariga, Katsuhiko*; Yamauchi, Yusuke*; Malgras, V.*; Kaneti, Y. V.*; Liu, C.-H.*; Hatano, Kentaro*; Suematsu, Hisayuki*; et al.

Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 95(1), p.129 - 137, 2022/01

https://doi.org/10.1246/bcsj.20210249

In this work, the mechanisms responsible for the adsorption of molybdate ions on alumina are investigated using in-depth surface analyses carried out on alumina specimens immersed in solutions containing different molybdate ions at different pH values. The obtained results reveal that when alumina is immersed in an acidic solution containing molybdate ions, the hydroxyl groups present on the surface are removed to generate positively charged sites, and molybdate ions (MoO or AlMoOH) are adsorbed by electrostatic interaction. Alumina dissolves slightly in an acidic solution to form AlMoOH, which is more easily desorbed than MoO. Furthermore, the enhancement in the Mo adsorption or desorption property may be achieved by enriching the surface of the alumina adsorbent with many -OH groups and optimizing Mo solution to adsorb molybdate ions on alumina as MoO ions. These findings will assist researchers in engineering more efficient and stable alumina-based adsorbents for molybdenum adsorption used in medical radioisotope (Mo/Tc) generators.

Upgrading of recovery method for radioactive microparticles by heavy liquid separation aiming to volume reduction of contaminated soil (Contract research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; University of Tsukuba*

JAEA-Review 2021-023, 49 Pages, 2021/12

JAEA-Review-2021-023.pdf:2.39MB

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 "Upgrading of recovery method for radioactive microparticles by heavy liquid separation aiming to volume reduction of contaminated soil" 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 develop a novel method to reduce the volume of contaminated soil caused by an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The heavy liquid separation method, which was optimized in the previous year, was applied to nine soils collected in Fukushima Prefecture.

Radiological estimation and validation for the Accelerator-Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy Facility at the Ibaraki Neutron Medical Research Center

Nakashima, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Takemi; Kobayashi, Hitoshi*; Tanaka, Susumu*; Kumada, Hiroaki*

NEA/NSC/R(2021)2 (Internet), p.142 - 151, 2021/12

Aiming of development of facilities for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) that can be installed in hospitals, an accelerator-based BNCT facility is being developed at the Ibaraki Neutron Medical Research Center under a collaboration among the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, the University of Tsukuba, and other institutions. It consists of a proton accelerator, having a maximum beam power of 80 kW, and a target, moderator, collimator and shield (TMCS) system. For the design concept, to satisfy the BNCT beam conditions and achieve a low activation, the radiation behavior in the TMCS system was simulated by the Monte Carlo method and this system configuration was optimized accordingly. In addition, the radiation estimation of the TMCS system was verified via several experiments and its applicability for BNCT was proved. This report reviews the estimation and validation studies for the development of the accelerator-based BNCT facility.

Chemical characterization of a volatile dubnium compound, DbOCl

Chiera, N. M.*; Sato, Tetsuya; Eichler, R.*; Tomitsuka, Tomohiro; Asai, Masato; Adachi, Sadia*; Dressler, R.*; Hirose, Kentaro; Inoue, Hiroki*; Ito, Yuta; et al.

Angewandte Chemie; International Edition, 60(33), p.17871 - 17874, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202102808

The formation and the chemical characterization of single atoms of dubnium (Db, element 105), in the form of its volatile oxychloride, was investigated using the on-line gas phase chromatography technique, in the temperature range 350 - 600 C. Under the exact same chemical conditions, comparative studies with the lighter homologs of group-5 in the Periodic Table clearly indicate the volatility sequence being NbOCl TaOCl DbOCl. From the obtained experimental results, thermochemical data for DbOCl were derived. The present study delivers reliable experimental information for theoretical calculations on the chemical properties of transactinides.

Droplet-entrainment phenomena affected by interfacial behavior of a high-speed gas jet into a liquid pool

Saito, Masafumi*; Kaneko, Akiko*; Abe, Yutaka*; Uchibori, Akihiro; Kurihara, Akikazu; Takata, Takashi*; Ohshima, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 28th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 28) (Internet), 7 Pages, 2021/08

In order to provide the data for validation and improvement of the sodium-water reaction analysis code, a visualization experiment on liquid droplet entrainment in a high-pressure air jet submerged in a water pool was conducted. Diameter and velocity of entrained liquid droplets were successfully measured. The effect of a nozzle shape was elucidated.