• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.84-85
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• 2009

New approaches for detecting, preventing and remedying environmental damage are important for protection of the environment. Procedures must be developed and implemented to reduce the amount of waste produced in chemical processes, to detect the presence and/or concentration of contaminants and decontaminate fouled environments. Contamination can be classified into three general types: airborne, surface and structural. The most dangerous type is airborne contamination, because of the opportunity for inhalation and ingestion. The second most dangerous type is surface contamination. Surface contamination can be transferred to workers by casual contact and if disturbed can easily be made airborne. The decontamination of the surface in the nuclear facilities has been widely studied with particular emphasis on small and large surfaces. The amount of wastes being produced during decommissioning of nuclear facilities is much higher than the total wastes cumulated during operation. And, the process of decommissioning has a strong possibility of personal's exposure and emission to environment of the radioactive contaminants, requiring through monitoring and estimation of radiation and radioactivity. So, it is important to monitor the radioactive contamination level of the nuclear facilities for the determination of the decontamination method, the establishment of the decommissioning planning, and the worker's safety. But it is very difficult to measure the surface contamination of the floor and wall in the highly contaminated facilities. In this study, the poly(styrene-ethyl acrylate) [poly(St-EA)] core-shell composite polymer for measurement of the radioactive contamination was synthesized by the method of emulsion polymerization. The morphology of the poly(St-EA) composite emulsion particle was core-shell structure, with polystyrene (PS)as the core and poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) as the shell. Core-shell polymers of styrene (St)/ethyl acrylate (EA) pair were prepared by sequential emulsion polymerization in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SOS) as an emulsifier using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator. The polymer was made by impregnating organic scintillators, 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO) and 1,4-bis[5-phenyl-2-oxazol]benzene (POPOP). Related tests and analysis confirmed the success in synthesis of composite polymer. The products are characterized by IT-IR spectroscopy, TGA that were used, respectively, to show the structure, the thermal stability of the prepared polymer. Two-phase particles with a core-shell structure were obtained in experiments where the estimated glass transition temperature and the morphologies of emulsion particles. Radiation pollution level the detection about under using examined the beta rays. The morphology of the poly(St-EA) composite polymer synthesized by the method of emulsion polymerization was a core-shell structure, as shown in Fig. 1. Core-shell materials consist of a core structural domain covered by a shell domain. Clearly, the entire surface of PS core was covered by PEA. The inner region was a PS core and the outer region was a PEA shell. The particle size distribution showed similar in the range 350-360 nm.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: A preliminary investigation of the radon ($^{222}Rn$) concentration has been conducted, employing solid-state nuclear-track detectors (SSNTD) and a continuous radon monitor (CRM), for fourteen randomly selected agricultural greenhouses in Jeju Island, where the underground-air was used for air conditioning and $CO_2$ supplement. METHODS AND RESULTS: The SSNTD was used to measure the average radon concentration for three months and the CRM was used for an instantaneous measurement. In order to obtain the radon concentration of a greenhouse, the SSNTDs were placed at a number of evenly distributed points inside the greenhouse and the mean of the measured values was taken. In addition, in order to assess the radon concentration of the underground-air itself, measurement was also made at the borehole of the underground-air in each agricultural facility, employing both the SSNTD and CRM. It is found that the radon concentration of the greenhouses ranges higher than those not using the underground-air and the average of Korean dwellings. While the radon concentration of most agricultural facilities is still lower than the reference level (1,000 Bq/$m^3$) recommended by the International Radiation Protection Committee (ICRP), three facilities at one site show higher concentrations than the reference level. The three-month-averaged radon concentration and the instantaneous radon concentration of the underground-air itself ranges 1,228- 5,259 and 3,322-17,900 Bq/$m^3$, respectively, and regional variation is more significant. CONCLUSION: From this results, radon concentration of the underground-air is assumed that it is associated with the geological characteristics and the boring depth of the region located of their.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.451-464
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• 2022

The high-level nuclear waste repository is a deep geological disposal system exposed to complex environmental conditions such as high temperature, radiation, and ground-water due to handling spent nuclear fuel. Continuous exposure can lead to cracking and deterioration of the structure over time. On the other hand, the high-level nuclear waste repository requires an ultra-long life expectancy. Thus long-term structural health monitoring is essential. Various sensors such as an accelerometer, earth pressure gauge, and displacement meter can be used to monitor the health of a structure, and a piezoelectric sensor is generally used. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a highly durable sensor based on the durability assessment of the piezoelectric sensor. This study designed an accelerated life test for durability assessment and life prediction of the piezoelectric sensor. Based on the literature review, the number of accelerated stress levels for a single stress factor, and the number of samples for each level were selected. The failure mode and mechanism of the piezoelectric sensor that can occur in the environmental conditions of the high-level waste repository were analyzed. In addition, two methods were proposed to investigate the maximum harsh condition for the temperature stress factor. The reliable operating limit of the piezoelectric sensor was derived, and a reasonable accelerated stress level was set for the accelerated life test. The suggested methods contain economical and practical ideas and can be widely used in designing accelerated life tests of piezoelectric sensors.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.132-139
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• 2007

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) regularly provides the eight-day gross primary productivity (GPP) at 1 km resolution. In this study, we evaluated the uncertainties of MODIS GPP caused by errors associated with the Data Assimilation Office (DAO) meteorology and a biophysical variable (fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, FPAR). In order to recalculate the improved GPP estimate, we employed ground weather station data and reconstructed cloud-free FPAR. The official MODIS GPP was evaluated as +17% higher than the improved GPP. The error associated with DAO meteorology was identified as the primary and the error from the cloud-contaminated FPAR as the secondary constituent in the integrative uncertainty. Among various biome types, the highest relative error of the official MODIS GPP to the improved GPP was found in the mixed forest biome with RE of 20% and the smallest errors were shown in crop land cover at 11%. Our results indicated that the uncertainty embedded in the official MODIS GPP product was considerable, indicating that the MODIS GPP needs to be reconstructed with the improved input data of daily surface meteorology and cloud-free FPAR in order to accurately monitor vegetation productivity in Korea.