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14C in Radioactive Waste for Decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

Violeta Vaitkevičiene ,
Jonas Mažeika ,
Žana Skuratovič ,
Stasys Motiejūnas ,
Algirdas Vaidotas ,
Aleksandr Oryšaka  and
Sergej Ovčinikov
Violeta Vaitkevičiene*
Affiliation:
Lithuanian Energy Institute, Laboratory of Nuclear Engineering, Breslaujos 3, 03219 Kaunas, Lithuania Vytautas Magnus University, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnologies, Vileikos 8, LT-44404 Kaunas, Lithuania
Jonas Mažeika
Affiliation:
Nature Research Centre, Institute of Geology and Geography, T. Ševčenkos 13, 03223 Vilnius, Lithuania
Žana Skuratovič
Affiliation:
Nature Research Centre, Institute of Geology and Geography, T. Ševčenkos 13, 03223 Vilnius, Lithuania
Stasys Motiejūnas
Affiliation:
Radioactive Waste Management Agency, P. Lukšio 5, 08221 Vilnius, Lithuania
Algirdas Vaidotas
Affiliation:
Radioactive Waste Management Agency, P. Lukšio 5, 08221 Vilnius, Lithuania
Aleksandr Oryšaka
Affiliation:
Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, Visaginas municipality, 31500, Lithuania
Sergej Ovčinikov
Affiliation:
Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, Visaginas municipality, 31500, Lithuania
*
2Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Radiocarbon is one of the most significant radionuclides affecting the safety margins of near-surface repositories for the disposal of low- and intermediate-level, short-lived radioactive waste, arising from the operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs). One of the goals of the present study was to characterize radioactive waste from Ignalina NPP (Lithuania) (storage tanks TW18B01 and TW11B03) from the spent ion-exchange resins/perlite stream to determine the 14C-specific activity of inorganic and organic carbon compounds. The approach applied is based on classical radiochemical separation methods, including acid-stripping techniques and wet oxidation with subsequent catalytic combustion. The suitability of the method for 14C-specific activity determination in ion-exchange resin samples with a minimum detectable activity of 0.5 Bq/g by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) was demonstrated. The extraction efficiency of inorganic and organic carbon compounds based on model samples with known 14C activity was estimated. The fraction of 14C associated with organic compounds ranged from 42% to 63% for storage tank TW18B01 and from 30% to 63% for storage tank TW11B03. The specific activity of inorganic 14C was estimated as 12.6 Bq/g with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 29% for storage tank TW18B01, and 177.5 Bq/g with a RSD of 35% for storage tank TW11B03. Based on volume and density data, the total 14C activity for radioactive waste stored in tanks TW18B01 and TW11B03 was estimated as 3.59E + 10 Bq (±32%) and 4.15E + 11 Bq (±28%), respectively.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 2: Proceedings of the 21st International Radiocarbon Conference (Part 1 of 2) , 2013 , pp. 783 - 790
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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