Neutron-activation analysis of hot particles from the vicinity of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
- V.I. Vernadskii Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Moscow (Russian Federation)
A considerable portion of the radioactive contamination of the surface layers of soil after the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was caused by hot particles or aggregates with a diameter of several tens microns and a specific activity >n{center_dot}10{sup {minus}11} Ci. They consist of primary particles of the dispersed material of the nuclear fuel and secondary particles formed as a result of the interaction of the fuel and uranium fission products with the structural materials of the reactor and the destroyed active zone. The radionuclide composition of the hot particles characterizes the nuclear fuel used and the temperature conditions in the reactor during the first weeks after the accident and their chemical composition reflects the conditions and processes leading to their formation, which must be known in order; to ascertain the mechanism of the formation of the radioactive emission from the reactor and to evaluate the degree of ecological danger posed by the particles. All this promotes the urgency and importance of studying the radiation-chemical characteristics of such hot particles. Their small sizes and masses impose definite restrictions; on the investigative methods used, which must be highly sensitive and must offer the possibility of performing a nondestructive analysis. One such method is neutron-activation analysis. The purpose of the present investigation was to apply instrumental neutron-activation analysis to the simultaneous determination of the elemental composition of hot particles and establishment of the isotopic composition of the uranium in them.
- OSTI ID:
- 39254
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Analytical Chemistry Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 48; ISSN JACTE2; ISSN 1061-9348
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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