Decommissioning a phosphoric acid production plant: a radiological protection case study

During a preliminary survey at the area of an abandoned fertilizer plant, increased levels of radioactivity were measured at places, buildings, constructions and materials. The extent of the contamination was determined and the affected areas were characterized as controlled areas. After the quantitative and qualitative determination of the contaminated materials, the decontamination was planned and performed step by step: the contaminated materials were categorized according to their physical characteristics (scrap metals, plastic pipes, scales and residues, building materials, etc) and according to their level of radioactivity. Depending on the material type, different decontamination and disposal options were proposed; the most appropriate technique was chosen taking into account apart from technical issues, the legal framework, radiation protection issues, the opinion of the local authorities involved as well as the owner’s wish. After taking away the biggest amount of the contaminated materials, an iterative process consisting of surveys and decontamination actions was performed in order to remove the residual traces of contamination from the area. During the final survey, no residual surface contamination was detected; some sparsely distributed low level contaminated materials deeply immersed into the soil were found and removed.     

火源长宽比对隧道内矩形火燃烧特性的影响研究

开展了一系列小尺寸实验研究隧道内不同火源受限情况下的火焰形态和顶棚射流火焰长度。实验中采用四个长宽比范围1~8的矩形气体燃烧器作为火源,并通过改变火源的摆放位置和贴壁方向(长边贴壁和短边贴壁)来改变火源的受限程度。结果表明:当火源置于开放空间非受限场景时,随着火源长宽比的增大,火源卷吸空气周长增大,导致火焰高度不断减小。对于贴壁火当矩形火源的长边贴壁时,随着长宽比的增大,其火焰高度同样不断减小;由于卷吸不对称,火焰贴着墙壁向上方蔓延,其火焰高度明显高于开放空间条件下的值。当火源短边贴壁时,火焰高度虽然仍随长宽比的增大而减小,但其火焰高度与开放空间相近,明显小于长边贴壁的情况,说明此时空气卷吸受限程度不大,火焰蔓延没有受到墙壁明显的影响。在前人对轴对称火源(方形和圆形火源)研究的基础上,本文对矩形火源位于隧道纵向中心线和紧贴隧道侧壁的火焰形态和火源长度进行了实验研究,定义了一个修正的无量纲火源功率?Q *mod,并引入了考虑矩形火源长宽比的无量纲特征参量(n+1)/n,建立了综合考虑火源功率、火源尺寸和贴壁方向的矩形贴壁火的火焰长度关系式。     

火焰原子吸收分光光度法测定生活垃圾堆肥产品中铅

建立了硝酸-氢氟酸-高氯酸消解、火焰原子吸收分光光度法测定生活垃圾堆肥产品中铅的方法,试验了不同消解体系和共存离子对测定的影响.方法线性良好,检出限为20 mg/kg(按称取0.5 g试样消解定容至50 mL计算),对不同地域堆肥产品测定的RSD为2.6%～8.7%,加标回收率为89.0%～107%.     

210Po in the marine environment with emphasis on its behaviour within the biosphere

The distribution and behaviour of the natural-series alpha-emitter polonium-210 in the marine environment has been under study for many years primarily due to its enhanced bioaccumulation, its strong affinity for binding with certain internal tissues, and its importance as a contributor to the natural radiation dose received by marine biota as well as humans consuming seafoods. Results from studies spanning nearly 5 decades show that ²¹⁰Po concentrations in organisms vary widely among the different phylogenic groups as well as between the different tissues of a given species. Such variation results in ²¹⁰Po concentration factors ranging from approximately 10³ to over 10⁶ depending upon the organism or tissue considered. ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb ratios in marine species are generally greater than unity and tend to increase up the food chain indicating that ²¹⁰Po is preferentially taken up by organisms compared to its progenitor ²¹⁰Pb. The effective transfer of ²¹⁰Po up the food chain is primarily due to the high degree of assimilation of the radionuclide from ingested food and its subsequent strong retention in the organisms. In some cases this mechanism may lead to an apparent biomagnification of ²¹⁰Po at the higher trophic level. Various pelagic species release ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb packaged in organic biodetrital particles that sink and remove these radionuclides from the upper water column, a biogeochemical process which, coupled with scavenging rates of this radionuclide pair, is being examined as a possible proxy for estimating downward organic carbon fluxes in the sea. Data related to preferential bioaccumulation in various organisms, their tissues, resultant radiation doses to these species, and the processes by which ²¹⁰Po is transferred and recycled through the food web are discussed. In addition, the main gaps in our present knowledge and proposed areas for future studies on the biogeochemical behaviour of ²¹⁰Po and its use as a tracer of oceanographic processes are highlighted in this review.     

Characterization of phosphogypsum wastes associated with phosphoric acid and fertilizers production

The present work is directed to characterize the phosphogypsum (PG) wastes associated with phosphoric acid produced by the wet process in industrial facility for the production of fertilizers and chemicals in Egypt. The PG waste samples were characterized in terms of spectroscopic analysis (X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, IR spectra) and radiometric analysis (γ- and α-measurements). The γ-ray measurements showed that the average activity concentrations are 140 ± 12.6, 459 ± 36.7, 323 ± 28.4, 8.3 ± 0.76 and 64.3 ± 4.1 Bq/kg for U-238, Ra-226, Pb-210, Th-232 and K-40, respectively. The α-particle measurements of uranium isotopes showed that the average activity concentrations of U-238, U-235 and U-234 were 153 ± 9.8, 7 ± 0.38, 152 ± 10.4 Bq/kg, respectively. The average radiochemical recovery (%) of the destructive α-particle measurements is ∼70% with a resolution (FWHM) of ∼30 keV. Activity ratios of U-238/Ra-226 and U-238/Pb-210 were less than unity (i.e., <1) and equal to 0.31 ± 0.02 and 0.47 ± 0.16, respectively. The isotopic ratios of U-238/U-235 and U-238/U-234 (in PG and PR samples) were close to the normal values of ∼21.7 and ∼1, respectively and are not affected by the wet processing of phosphate rock (PR). The obtained results of PG waste samples were compared with phosphate rock (PR) samples. The radiation hazard indices are namely, radium activity index (Ra-Eq > 370 Bq/kg), total absorbed gamma dose rate (D_γr > 5 nGy/h) and radon emanation fraction (Rn-EF > 20%). Uncertainty of the sample counting was 95% confidence level of σ. The results indicated the necessity to find suitable routes to decrease and/or redistribute the radionuclide of environmental interest (i.e., Ra-226) in PG wastes, consequently to reduce its radiation impacts in the surrounding environment.     

水中放射性核素锶-90测量不确定度的评估

阐述了分析放射性核素产生不确定度因素比一般化学分析多的原因,通过采用鱼骨图法分析放射性核素锶-90测量实验中的不确定度和分析计算公式中的有关参数,了解到分析水中放射性核素锶-90时,主要受到样品测量、仪器探测效率、样品化学回收率和样品取样体积等4个方面的不确定度因素影响。     

核电厂应急监测策略

综述了目前国内外核电厂环境辐射监测策略研究的现状与发展趋势,分析了核电厂应急监测需要关注的主要问题,包括应急监测的概念和范围、基本原则和要求、监测内容、组织管理策略、核事故时序和各阶段的应急监测策略、基础设施和设备需求、采样策略、需要关注的核素及其分析方法、质量管理策略等,在此基础上形成了应急监测策略的分析方法.提出今...