Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting

Tritium extraction from radioactively contaminated cement mortar samples was performed using heating and liquid scintillation counting methods. Tritiated water molecules (HTO) can be present in contaminated water along with water molecules (H2O). Water is one of the primary constituents of cement mo...

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Main Authors: Ki Joon Kang, Jun Woo Bae, Hee Reyoung Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-11-01
Series:Nuclear Engineering and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573321003259
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author Ki Joon Kang
Jun Woo Bae
Hee Reyoung Kim
author_facet Ki Joon Kang
Jun Woo Bae
Hee Reyoung Kim
author_sort Ki Joon Kang
collection DOAJ
description Tritium extraction from radioactively contaminated cement mortar samples was performed using heating and liquid scintillation counting methods. Tritiated water molecules (HTO) can be present in contaminated water along with water molecules (H2O). Water is one of the primary constituents of cement mortar dough. Therefore, if tritium is present in cement mortar, the buildings and structures using this cement mortar would be contaminated by tritium. The radioactivity level of the materials in the environment exposed to tritium contamination should be determined for their disposal in accordance with the criteria of low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. For our experiments, the cement mortar samples were heated at different temperature conditions using a high-temperature combustion furnace, and the extracted tritium was collected into a 0.1 M nitric acid solution, which was then mixed with a liquid scintillator to be analyzed in a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). The tritium extraction rate from the cement mortar sample was calculated to be 90.91% and 98.54% corresponding to 9 h of heating at temperatures of 200 °C and 400 °C, respectively. The tritium extraction rate was close to 100% at 400 °C, although the bulk of cement mortar sample was contaminated by tritium.
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spelling doaj.art-5fd487469c74442c85b432aa20a656982022-12-21T21:28:37ZengElsevierNuclear Engineering and Technology1738-57332021-11-01531137983807Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation countingKi Joon Kang0Jun Woo Bae1Hee Reyoung Kim2Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of KoreaCorresponding author. Tel.: +82 10 4037 0450; fax: 0082 052 217 2429.; Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of KoreaTritium extraction from radioactively contaminated cement mortar samples was performed using heating and liquid scintillation counting methods. Tritiated water molecules (HTO) can be present in contaminated water along with water molecules (H2O). Water is one of the primary constituents of cement mortar dough. Therefore, if tritium is present in cement mortar, the buildings and structures using this cement mortar would be contaminated by tritium. The radioactivity level of the materials in the environment exposed to tritium contamination should be determined for their disposal in accordance with the criteria of low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. For our experiments, the cement mortar samples were heated at different temperature conditions using a high-temperature combustion furnace, and the extracted tritium was collected into a 0.1 M nitric acid solution, which was then mixed with a liquid scintillator to be analyzed in a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). The tritium extraction rate from the cement mortar sample was calculated to be 90.91% and 98.54% corresponding to 9 h of heating at temperatures of 200 °C and 400 °C, respectively. The tritium extraction rate was close to 100% at 400 °C, although the bulk of cement mortar sample was contaminated by tritium.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573321003259Cement mortarTritiated waterTritium contaminationTritium extractionHeating
spellingShingle Ki Joon Kang
Jun Woo Bae
Hee Reyoung Kim
Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting
Nuclear Engineering and Technology
Cement mortar
Tritiated water
Tritium contamination
Tritium extraction
Heating
title Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting
title_full Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting
title_fullStr Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting
title_full_unstemmed Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting
title_short Tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat-extraction and liquid scintillation counting
title_sort tritium radioactivity estimation in cement mortar by heat extraction and liquid scintillation counting
topic Cement mortar
Tritiated water
Tritium contamination
Tritium extraction
Heating
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573321003259
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AT junwoobae tritiumradioactivityestimationincementmortarbyheatextractionandliquidscintillationcounting
AT heereyoungkim tritiumradioactivityestimationincementmortarbyheatextractionandliquidscintillationcounting