Issue 7, 2023

Chemical species of cesium and iodine in condensed vaporized microparticles formed by melting nuclear fuel components with concrete materials

Abstract

In this study, we report chemical species of Cs and I in condensed vaporized particles (CVPs) produced by melting experiments using nuclear fuel components containing CsI with concrete. Analyses of CVPs by SEM with EDX showed the formation of many round particles containing Cs and I of diameters less than ∼20 μm. X-ray absorption near-edge-structure and SEM-EDX analyses showed two kinds of particles: one containing large amounts of Cs and I, suggesting the presence of CsI, and the other containing small amounts of Cs and I with large Si content. When CVSs were placed in contact with deionized water, most of the CsI from both particles was dissolved. In contrast, some fractions of Cs remained from the latter particles and possessed different chemical species from CsI. In addition, the remaining Cs was concomitantly present with Si, resembling chemical components in the highly radioactive cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) released by nuclear plant accidents into the surrounding environments. These results strongly suggest that Cs was incorporated in CVSs along with Si by melting nuclear fuel components to form sparingly-soluble CVMPs.

Graphical abstract: Chemical species of cesium and iodine in condensed vaporized microparticles formed by melting nuclear fuel components with concrete materials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Feb 2023
Accepted
29 Maa 2023
First published
30 Maa 2023

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023,25, 1204-1212

Chemical species of cesium and iodine in condensed vaporized microparticles formed by melting nuclear fuel components with concrete materials

T. Ohnuki, J. Ye, T. Kato, J. Liu, M. Takano, N. Kozai and S. Utsunomiya, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023, 25, 1204 DOI: 10.1039/D3EM00074E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements