Evaluation of the production amount of Ac and its uncertainty through the Ra(n,2n) reaction in the experimental fast reactor Joyo

Sasaki, Yuto*; Sano, Aaru; Sasaki, Shinji; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Ouchi, Kazuki; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro; Takaki, Naoyuki*; Maeda, Shigetaka

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 61(4), p.509 - 520, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2243941

Ac is attracting attention as an alpha-emitting medical radioisotope. Since its demand is expected to increase, domestic production of Ac is required from the viewpoint of Japan's medical research and economic security. To establish the technical bases for the Ac production, JAEA has evaluated the radioactivity that can be produced in the experimental fast reactor Joyo and designed the concept that upgrades the existing facilities for transporting the irradiated target from Joyo to a neighboring PIE facility rapidly. Efficient Ac Separation from Ra irradiated in a fast reactor was studied. Ba and La were used as alternatives to Ra and Ac, respectively. By using DGA resin as an adsorbent, it can be expected that Ra and impurities generated by irradiation will be removed and Ac will be isolated. This study has revealed that Joyo can sufficiently produce Ac as a raw material for pharmaceuticals.

Status of the Ra nuclear data library and its impact on the production amount of Ac via the Ra (n,2n) reaction

Sasaki, Yuto; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Takaki, Naoyuki*; Maeda, Shigetaka

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 61(2), p.251 - 260, 2024/02

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2295018

Ac is a promising alpha emitter for targeted alpha therapy. However, the current capability of Ac supply is limited to approximately 63 GBq/y, primarily relying on the natural source of Th stocked at a few institutes. Therefore, alternative Ac production methods are highly desired. The research and development of Ac and its parent nuclide production methods using accelerators and reactors to target Ra and Th are actively pursued worldwide. Hence, the authors focused on the Ra(n,2n) Ra method using fast neutron spectra as an application of the experimental fast reactor Joyo. This study investigated the status of nuclear data libraries for Ra, an essential target for Ac production, and evaluated the impact of different nuclear data libraries on the amount of Ac produced. Consequently, cross-sections with covariance data were stored in TENDL-2021, JEFF-3.3, and EAF-2010 but not in ENDF or JENDL, the major nuclear data libraries. Furthermore, no consistency occurred among the respective nuclear data, and the Ra production amount varied.

JAEA's action on medical RI production using research reactor

Arai, Masaji; Maeda, Shigetaka

Rinsho Hoshasen, 68(10), p.963 - 970, 2023/10

Ac-225 is attracting attention as an alpha-emitting medical radioisotope. Since its demand is expected to increase, domestic production of Ac-225 is required from the viewpoint of Japan's medical research and economic security. To establish the technical bases for the Ac-225 production, JAEA has evaluated the radioactivity that can be produced in the experimental fast reactor Joyo and designed the concept that upgrades the existing facilities for transporting the irradiated target from Joyo to a neighboring PIE facility rapidly. Efficient Actinium-225 Separation from Ra-226 irradiated in a fast reactor was studied. This study has revealed that Joyo can sufficiently produce Ac-225 as a raw material for pharmaceuticals.

Production of Ac for Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT) using the experimental fast reactor Joyo

Maeda, Shigetaka; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro

Enerugi Rebyu, 42(10), p.19 - 22, 2022/09

Ac-225 is attracting attention as an alpha-emitting medical radioisotope. Since its demand is expected to increase, domestic production of Ac-225 is required from the viewpoint of Japan's medical research and economic security. To establish the technical bases for the Ac-225 production, JAEA has evaluated the radioactivity that can be produced in the experimental fast reactor Joyo and designed the concept that upgrades the existing facilities for transporting the irradiated target from Joyo to a neighboring PIE facility rapidly. Efficient Actinium-225 Separation from Ra-226 irradiated in a fast reactor was studied. Ba and La were used as alternatives to Ra and Ac, respectively. By using DGA resin as an adsorbent, it can be expected that Ra and impurities generated by irradiation will be removed and Ac will be isolated. This study has revealed that Joyo can sufficiently produce Ac-225 as a raw material for pharmaceuticals.

Measurement of niobium reaction rate for material surveillance tests in fast reactors

Ito, Chikara; Maeda, Shigetaka; Inoue, Toshihiko; Tomita, Hideki*; Iguchi, Tetsuo*

Radiation Protection, 40(6), p.491 - 495, 2020/11

A highly accurate and precise technique for measurement of the Nb(n,n')Nb reaction rate was established for the material surveillance tests, etc. in fast reactors. The self-absorption effect on the measurement of the characteristic X-rays emitted by Nb was decreased by the solution and evaporation to dryness of niobium dosimeter. A highly precise count of the number of Nb atoms was obtained by measuring the niobium solution concentration using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. X-rays of Nb were measured accurately by means of comparing the X-ray intensity of irradiated niobium solution with that of the solution in which stable Nb was added. The difference between both intensities indicates the effect of Ta, which is generated from an impurity tantalum, and the intensity of X-rays from Nb was evaluated. Measurement error of the Nb(n,n')Nb reaction rate was reduced to be less than 4%, which was equivalent to the other reaction rate errors of dosimeters used for Joyo dosimetry. In addition, an advanced technique using Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry was proposed for the precise measurement of Nb yield, and Nb will be resonance-ionized selectively by discriminating the hyperfine splitting of the atomic energy levels between Nb and Nb at high resolution.

Prototype fast breeder reactor Monju; Its history and achievements

Tsuruga Comprehensive Research and Development Center

JAEA-Technology 2019-007, 159 Pages, 2019/07

JAEA-Technology-2019-007.pdf:19.09MB
JAEA-Technology-2019-007-high-resolution1.pdf:42.36MB
JAEA-Technology-2019-007-high-resolution2.pdf:33.56MB
JAEA-Technology-2019-007-high-resolution3.pdf:38.14MB
JAEA-Technology-2019-007-high-resolution4.pdf:48.82MB
JAEA-Technology-2019-007-high-resolution5.pdf:37.61MB

This report summarizes the history and achievements of the prototype fast breeder reactor Monju. The development of Monju started in 1968 as a prototype reactor following the experimental fast reactor Joyo. The development covers all the activity related to the fast reactor; plant design, mockup tests, construction, operation, and plant management. This report summarizes the history and achievements for 11 technical areas: history and principal achievements, design and construction, operation test, plant safety, core physics, fuel, plant system, sodium technology, materials and mechanical design, plant management, and trouble management.

Evaluation of decay heat used for effectiveness evaluations of countermeasures against severe accidents in the prototype FBR Monju

Usami, Shin; Kishimoto, Yasufumi*; Taninaka, Hiroshi; Maeda, Shigetaka

JAEA-Technology 2018-003, 97 Pages, 2018/07

JAEA-Technology-2018-003.pdf:12.54MB

The decay heat used for effectiveness evaluation of the prevention measures against severe accidents in the prototype fast breeder reactor Monju was evaluated by applying the updated nuclear data libraries based on JENDL-4.0, reflecting the realistic core operation pattern, and setting the rational extent of uncertainty. The decay heats of fission products, the actinide nuclides such as Cm-242, and radioactive structural materials were calculated by FPGS code. The decay heat of U-239 and Np-239 was evaluated based on ANSI/ANS-5.1-1994. The calculation uncertainty of each decay heat was evaluated based on summation of uncertainty factors, C/E values of reaction rates obtained in Monju system startup test, and so on. Furthermore, the decay heat evaluation method based on the FPGS90 was verified by the comparison of the results of the decay heat measurement of the two spent MOX fuel subassemblies in the experimental fast reactor Joyo MK-II core.

Inspection and repair techniques in reactor vessel of the experimental fast reactor JOYO; Development of devices for retrieving bent MARICO-2 subassembly and completion of retrieval work

Ashida, Takashi; Nakamura, Toshiyuki*; Ito, Hideaki

JAEA-Technology 2017-024, 198 Pages, 2017/11

JAEA-Technology-2017-024.pdf:55.8MB
JAEA-Technology-2017-024-appendix(CD-ROM)-1.zip:298.09MB
JAEA-Technology-2017-024-appendix(CD-ROM)-2.zip:210.77MB

In the experimental fast reactor Joyo, the disconnecting of an irradiation test subassembly MARICO-2 (Material Testing Irradiation Rig with Temperature Control) from its holding mechanism was conducted in May 2007. After the operation, the rotating plug was rotated despite the fact that the test subassembly was not disconnected completely. Consequently, top of wrapper tube of the MARICO-2 subassembly was bent onto the in-vessel storage rack. Since the overhanging part of the subassembly was in the height in which contacts with the upper core structure, it had damaged the bottom surface of the upper core structure. As the result, it was necessary to replace the damaged upper core structure and to retrieve the bent MARICO-2 subassembly for Joyo restart. Retrieval devices for MARICO-2 subassembly consist of a gripper mechanism to lift subassembly together with transfer pot, a guide tube built-in a pantograph mechanism to adjust lifting axis and safety mechanisms to prevent or mitigate falling of MARICO-2 subassembly, a retrieval cask and so on. Design of the retrieval devices have been verified in ex-vessel partial or full-scale mock-up tests and in-vessel function tests. In 2014, MARICO-2 subassembly was successfully retrieved from the reactor vessel by applying these retrieval devices. Then, retrieved subassembly was transported to a hot-cell facility for post-irradiation examinations. Devices have demonstrated expected performance under the actual environmental conditions of a sodium cooled fast reactor. This is a synthetic report about the retrieval work of the deformed and irradiated test subassembly in Joyo. This report includes the detail design and fabrication of the special retrieval device, results of tests for confirmation including the mock-up tests in manufacturer's factory, and results of MARICO-2 retrieval work from the reactor vessel.

Development of inspection and repair techniques in reactor vessel of experimental fast reactor "Joyo"; Retrieval of the bent test subassembly

Ashida, Takashi; Ito, Hideaki; Miyamoto, Kazuyuki*; Nakamura, Toshiyuki; Koga, Kazuhiro*; Ohara, Norikazu*; Ino, Hiroichi*

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai Wabun Rombunshi, 15(4), p.210 - 222, 2016/12

https://doi.org/10.3327/taesj.J15.032

In the experimental fast reactor Joyo, it was confirmed that the top of the irradiation test sub-assembly of material testing rig named "MARICO-2" had been broken and bent onto the in-vessel storage rack as an obstacle and had damaged the upper core structure (UCS). As the result, for Joyo restart, it was necessary to replace the damaged UCS and to retrieve the bent sub-assembly. This paper describes in-vessel repair techniques performed in the retrieval work of the obstacle inside of the reactor vessel. The devices which were prepared for this work demonstrated expected performance under the environmental conditions of an SFR such as high temperature and radiation dose, and the work was completed in 2014. The successful operation of this retrieval work of the damaged component inside of a reactor vessel will contribute to the development of in-service inspections and repair technics in an SFR.

Inspection and repair techniques in the reactor vessel of the experimental fast reactor Joyo; Replacement of upper core structure

Ito, Hiromichi*; Ota, Katsu; Kawahara, Hirotaka; Kobayashi, Tetsuhiko; Takamatsu, Misao; Nagai, Akinori

JAEA-Technology 2016-008, 87 Pages, 2016/05

JAEA-Technology-2016-008.pdf:18.11MB

In the experimental fast reactor Joyo, as a part of the restoration work of a partial dysfunction of fuel handling, the replacement of the upper core structure (UCS) was started from March 2014, and was completed in December 2014. In the jack-up test, the UCS was jacked-up to 1000 mm without significant sodium shearing resistance and interference. In the replacement of the UCS, a procedure was prepared with the use of wire-jack equipment assuming the interference. As a result, with the procedure and wire-jack were effectively functioned, the work was successfully completed.