Bulk and localized oxygen concentration measurements of steam-oxidized zircaloy-4 using nuclear analysis techniques

Quantitative measurement of both bulk and localized oxygen concentrations is of importance in the study of oxidation kinetics. We describe the combined application of two nuclear techniques, fast neutron activation analysis and (d, p) nuclear microprobe, to the determination of oxygen concentrations and surface profiles for steam-oxidized Zircaloy-4 cladding specimens. Results of measurements using these techniques are presented. Work partially supported by Electric Power Research Institute Contract T.S.A. No. 20.     

Radiation measurements and radioecological aspects of fallout from the Fukushima nuclear accident

Fallout from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident has been monitored for about 1 month in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. Three different radionuclides, one short-lived, one relatively long-lived and one long-lived fission product were identified in air, precipitation, soil, grass and milk samples. The ¹³¹I, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs activity concentrations in air reached 497, 145 and 126 μBq m⁻³, respectively on 4 April, 2011. The external exposure dose rate to humans of the order of 14.4 pSv per day due to ¹³⁷Cs deposited on the ground was very small compared to the normal background level. The accumulated dose equivalent to the adult thyroid from inhaled ¹³¹I varied from 0.4 to 3.5 nSv per day was insignificant and there was not any problem for the Greek population and no preventive measures were needed to be provided against the nuclear accident according to the Greek Atomic Energy Commission, the official agent of the Greek Government. Some special radioecological aspects in the air-grass-cow-milk-man pathway for ¹³¹I were particularly studied.     

Aerosol and gaseous radioidine concentration in the air of Prague after the Chernobyl accident

Data on¹³¹I concentration in the atmosphere of Prague observed during the first days after the Chernobyl accident are presented. The sampling device enabling the differentiation between aerosol-fixed and gaseous form of¹³¹I is briefly described. The highest total¹³¹I concentration, 63 Bq.m^–3, was observed between 30 April and 1 May. Until 9 May the level of¹³¹I activity ranged between 14 and 1 Bq.m^–3 and then dropped below 1 Bq.m^–3. The content of gaseous¹³¹I was found to be a significant and represented on average 60–80% of its total activity.     

CO(2) concentration measurements on air samples by mass spectrometry

A new technique for measuring CO(2) concentration in air samples, based on mass spectrometry, is described as an alternative to the common gas chromatographic method. Using a dual inlet isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS), the ratio of the abundances of the m/z peaks 44 and 28 is determined. The precision of measurements (standard deviation <3 ppmv) is generally as good as the analysis with gas chromatography for small air samples (<1 ml STP of air). A major advantage of this new method is the possibility of parallel elemental and isotopic measurements of many air components. The technique is further improved by new wide mass range mass spectrometers allowing simultaneous intensity measurements of several m/z values between 28 and 44, resulting in an uncertainty of <0.5 ppm. The precision is somewhat limited by the production of N(2)O and NO(2) from N(2) and O(2) in the ion source, which accounts for about half of the signal strength at m/z 44. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Uncertainty estimation in chemical measurements: carbon dioxide determination at atmospheric concentration

The present work deals with the evaluation of measurement uncertainty in the determination of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in atmosphere, given the high relevance of this greenhouse gas that influences earth climate. In order to carry out CO2 measurements, non dispersive infrared (NDIR) analysers are usually employed as they are stable and scarcely affected by interferences from other air components or pollutants. Typical uncertainty sources are the resolution of the analyser, its time drift and the contributions due to instrument calibration, which is required in order to produce traceable measurement results. The calibration uncertainty takes into account the uncertainty of the composition of the calibration gas mixtures, the instrument repeatability and the possible or residual lack of fit of the adopted mathematical model.     

Measurement of benzene concentration in urban air using passive sampling

The concentration of benzene in urban air in the Tri-City area of Poland (Gdańsk–Sopot–Gdynia, and Tczew) was assessed using diffusive passive samplers (Radiello). Samples were collected during a four-year monitoring campaign (2007–2010) at selected monitoring stations managed by the Agency of Regional Air Quality Monitoring in the Gdańsk Metropolitan Area (ARMAAG) Foundation. The performance of the passive samplers was investigated in a field study that measured the benzene concentration in urban air. The results obtained by the Radiello samplers were compared with the results obtained using an on-line monitor (Chrompack CP 7001). Statistical analysis of the results obtained by the two different techniques (passive and on-line) was performed by a linear regression method (Student’s t-test). The influence of temperature fluctuations on the uptake rate behavior of the passive samplers was also investigated.     

Burn-up measurements on nuclear reactor fuels using high performance liquid chromatography

Burn-up measurements on thermal as well as fast reactor fuels were carried out using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A column chromatographic technique using di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) coated column was employed for the isolation of lanthanides from uranium, plutonium and other fission products. Ion-pair HPLC was used for the separation of individual lanthanides. The atom percent fissions were calculated from the concentrations of the lanthanide (neodymium in the case of thermal reactor and lanthanum for the fast reactor fuels) and from uranium and plutonium contents of the dissolver solutions. The HPLC method was also used for determining the fractional fissions from uranium and plutonium for the thermal reactor fuel.     

Uncertainty estimation of ethanol concentration in simulated breath using enzyme-based biosensors

Exhaled breath (EB) contains volatile and nonvolatile compounds that are correlated with physiological processes in the body, and these breath biomarkers hold enormous diagnostic potential when they are adequately measured and monitored. Thus, the development of instrumentation, including enzyme-based biosensors, for breath monitoring applications has been expanding rapidly. In this paper, the process of estimating the overall combined uncertainty in predicting ethanol concentration, u(C _v)_pred, using a calibrated alcohol oxidase-based amperometric biosensor is presented. Components that contributed to u(C _v)_pred were the standard uncertainties associated with simulation of a breath sample with trace ethanol concentration, sampling temperature, biosensor instrumentation, and regression analysis. In both EB and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) sensing, the largest contributor to overall uncertainty was the random effects captured by the regression model at 38.2 % and 39.8 %, respectively, for EB and EBC. This was followed by biosensor instrumentation (34.5 %) and simulation (25.3 %) in EB sensing. The trend was reversed in EBC sensing with EB simulation having a larger contribution (33.8 %) than biosensor instrumentation (25.5 %) owing to a better repeatability of amperometric measurements with aqueous samples. The remaining 2.0 % and 0.9 % were due to breath sampling temperatures in EB and EBC sensing, respectively. This study provides a framework for how to incorporate uncertainty estimation in both breath monitoring and is applicable to biosensing of other breath biomarkers.     

Environmental radiation detected at Lin Shin hospital in Taichung during the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

This work is the first evaluation of environmental gamma exposure rates by the Nuclear Medicine Department at Lin Shin Hospital (LSH) in Taichung with Thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD-100H) during the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident. After the 9.0 M_W strong earthquake hit northern Japan on March 11, 2011, a TLD-100H was used to monitor environmental kerma rate at Taichung (2,500 km away from northern Japan) from Mar-08 to Apr-09, 2011 and evaluated kerma rate due to global fallout of the sever FNPP accidents. Exposure rates varied widely among positions close to the PET/CT facility. Observed kerma rates of up to 4.12 ± 0.62 mSv mo⁻¹ indicated an explicit, heavy leakage of photon through the PET/CT facility. No significant contributions were detected at Taichung, Taiwan. Hence, the health effect cause by the “extra radiation” from FNPP accidents is negligible. As this was a rare case of environmental monitoring during a nuclear power plant accident, its findings are of considerable significance.     

Interdiffusion measurements of modified poly(arylether sulfone)s using nuclear reaction analysis

The interdiffusion and miscibility behavior of three different types of modified poly(arylether sulfone)s with deuterated poly(arylether sulfone) is studied by depth profiling using the nuclear reaction D(³He, α)p. The diffusion coefficients are found to be in the range of 10⁻¹⁵ and 10⁻¹⁴ cm²/s at 195°C. A random copolymer of poly(arylether sulfone) containing 4,4-bis-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)valeric acid units is only partially miscible with deuterated poly(arylether sulfone) when the comonomer content is 8.8 mol %, whereas blends with comonomer contents of 1.7 and 4.5 mol % are miscible as indicated by complete interdiffusion. The transition from miscibility to immiscibility is caused by repulsive interactions of copolymer segments and can be explained in terms of a mean-field theory of random copolymer blends. Also, poly(arylether sulfone)s grafted with 0.4 wt % maleic anhydride or having pyromellitic anhydride endgroups are miscible with deuterated poly(arylether sulfone)s. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 2083–2091, 1997     

A proposal for the estimation of binary mixture activity coefficients from surface tension measurements throughout the entire concentration range

A method to estimate the concentration dependence of the bulk activity coefficients of both binary mixture components from experimental surface tension data covering the whole concentration range is presented. To this end, high-quality experimental surface tension data as a function of the concentration, paying special attention to the diluted regions, are needed. The method is based on the application of equilibrium conditions to the surface chemical potential arisen from the Volmer equation (the simplest non-ideal surface EOS) and to the bulk chemical potential coming from the three-suffix Margules equation for activity coefficients. It can be applied provided that positive aneotropy is not present and the second derivative of the surface pressure as a function of the mole fraction is not positive in any composition region, which means rather unrestrictive conditions. In order to test the method, a compilation of 25 systems for which surface tension and activity coefficient data are simultaneously available in the literature was performed, turning out that most of them involved water. It was found that surface tension data with enough concentration coverage and good quality are really scarce, which makes the development of this kind of methods difficult.     

Mechanism for nuclear excitation during positron annihilation using Coulomb wave functions

We have calculated cross sections for the process of nuclear excitation during positron annihilation on any bound electron. We used Coulomb wave functions for the electron and positron.     

Uranium concentration measurements in human blood for some governorates in Iraq using CR-39 track detector

The sensitive and simple technique of fission track etch has been applied to determine trace concentration of uranium in blood samples for occupational and non-occupational workers, male and female, using CR-39 track detector that is employed for registration of induced fission tracks. The results show that the highest recorded uranium concentration in human blood of workers in the ministry of Science and Technology were 1.90 ppb (male, 36 years old, 12 years' work experience, and living in Basrah governorate) and minimum concentration 0.26 ppb (female, 40 years old, 10 years' work experience, and living in Baghdad), while for non-occupational worker, the maximum uranium concentration was 1.76 ppb (female, 63 years old, and living in Al-Muthana) and minimum concentration was 0.28 ppb (female, 20 years old, and living in Baghdad). It has also been found that the uranium concentration in human blood samples of workers in the ministry of Science and Technology are higher than those of non-occupational workers, and the uranium concentrations for female workers and for non-occupational workers were higher than those for male workers and non-occupational workers.     

Evaluation of radionuclide concentration in agricultural food produced in Fukushima Prefecture following Fukushima accident using a terrestrial food chain model

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Ingestion of radionuclide contaminated food is one of the major concerns in long-term exposure following a nuclear accident. A terrestrial food...     

Quantitative measurements of the concentration polarisation layer thickness in membrane filtration of oil-water emulsions using NMR micro-imaging

In this paper we report measurements of the thickness of the concentration polarisation layers formed during crossflow membrane filtration of an oil-water emulsion. The formation and development of the oil polarisation layers was visualised non-invasively using NMR chemical shift selective micro-imaging. A series of images was acquired during the transient state of the filtration, (i.e. while the polarisation layer was forming and the flux of filtrate was changing), prior to the establishment of steady state conditions. An estimate of the specific resistance of the concentration polarisation layers was then obtained by determining the average oil layer thicknesses and concentration at a given time from the resulting images and measuring the corresponding (length averaged) flux of filtrate gravimetrically. After the establishment of steady state conditions, the dependence of the steady state filtrate flux on crossflow Reynolds number was found to be consistent with Brownian diffusion being the main mechanism controlling the build-up of the oil polarisation layers, at least under our range of operating conditions.     

Monitoring the atmospheric stability by using radon concentration measurements: A study in a Central Italy site

Summary Meteorological and radon concentration data referring to a measurement campaign carried out in Urbino, Central Italy, are reported and discussed. This study presents a method allowing monitoring of the vertical atmospheric stability using continuous measurements of radon gas near ground. In particular radon evidences the presence of temperature inversion such as the formation of the nocturnal stable layer and gives information on the vertical turbulence and the motion of air masses. This technique is very useful in describing the temporal evolution of the pollutants in the atmosphere.     

Semi-quantitative analysis of leaf surface contamination by radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident using HPGe and imaging plate

After the nuclear power plant accident at Fukushima Daiichi on 11 March 2011, green-leaves from trees, dead-leaves and grass on ground were collected from March to June 2011 in Japan. Radioactive concentrations were measured by a high purity germanium detector. Five radionuclides including ^129mTe, ¹³²Te, ¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs were detected. The fission product concentration of the dead-leaves was higher than those of the green-leaves in many cases. The highest concentration observed was found on the dead-leaves collected at Iwaki, 60 km far from Fukushima Daiichi. A total activity of 2,000 Bq g^?1 was measured for all 5 radionuclides. Clear images of radioactivity of the highly contaminated leaves were obtained with an imaging plate (IP) after <24 h exposure time without using a shielded box. The photostimulated luminescence values (PSL) of leaves arranged on half size of IP were roughly in proportion to their activities except for the low activity samples. Semi-quantitative analysis was possible by using PSL values with a large region of interest of half size of IP, because the radioactivity released in the case of the nuclear power plant accident was uniform in the early days.