ASSESSMENT OF THE RADIONUCLIDE COMPOSITION OF "HOT PARTICLES" SAMPLED IN THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOURTH REACTOR UNIT
Fuel-containing materials sampled from within the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) 4th Reactor Unit Confinement Shelter were spectroscopically studied for gamma and alpha content. Isotopic ratios for cesium, europium, plutonium, americium, and curium were identified and the fuel burnup in these samples was determined. A systematic deviation in the burnup values based on the cesium isotopes, in comparison with other radionuclides, was observed. The conducted studies were the first ever performed to demonstrate the presence of significant quantities of {sup 242}Cm and {sup 243}Cm. It was determined that there was a systematic underestimation of activities of transuranic radionuclides in fuel samples from inside of the ChNPP Confinement Shelter, starting from {sup 241}Am (and going higher), in comparison with the theoretical calculations.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-08SR22470
- OSTI ID:
- 1024191
- Report Number(s):
- SRNL-STI-2011-00531; HLTPAO; TRN: US1104672
- Journal Information:
- HEALTH PHYSICS JOURNAL, Journal Name: HEALTH PHYSICS JOURNAL; ISSN 0017-9078
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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