• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.737-760
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• 2022

For the geological disposal of high-level radioactive wastes (HLW), an understanding of deep subsurface environment is essential through geological, hydrogeological, geochemical, and geotechnical investigations. Although South Korea plans the geological disposal of HLW, only a few studies have been conducted for characterizing the geochemistry of deep subsurface environment. To guide the hydrogeochemical research for selecting suitable repository sites, this study overviewed the status and trends in hydrogeochemical characterization of deep groundwater for the deep geological disposal of HLW in developed countries. As a result of examining the selection process of geological disposal sites in 8 countries including USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden, France, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland, the following geochemical parameters were needed for the geochemical characterization of deep subsurface environment: major and minor elements and isotopes (e.g., ³⁴S and ¹⁸O of SO₄^2-, ¹³C and ¹⁴C of DIC, ²H and ¹⁸O of water) of both groundwater and pore water (in aquitard), fracture-filling minerals, organic materials, colloids, and oxidation-reduction indicators (e.g., Eh, Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺, H₂S/SO₄^2-, NH₄⁺/NO₃^-). A suitable repository was selected based on the integrated interpretation of these geochemical data from deep subsurface. In South Korea, hydrochemical types and evolutionary patterns of deep groundwater were identified using artificial neural networks (e.g., Self-Organizing Map), and the impact of shallow groundwater mixing was evaluated based on multivariate statistics (e.g., M3 modeling). The relationship between fracture-filling minerals and groundwater chemistry also has been investigated through a reaction-path modeling. However, these previous studies in South Korea had been conducted without some important geochemical data including isotopes, oxidationreduction indicators and DOC, mainly due to the lack of available data. Therefore, a detailed geochemical investigation is required over the country to collect these hydrochemical data to select a geological disposal site based on scientific evidence.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.135-141
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• 1976

The gamma-gamma logging method appplying in geophysical research are presented in this paper_ The logging probe assembly was designed which permits changing the source-to-detector spacing while conditions of proceeding ${\gamma}-{\gamma}$ logging, which a collimated gamma ray source ($^{60}Co$, 0.5mCi and/or 2 mCi) is separated from the scintillation detector as shown in Fig. 2 and 3, size is 6.0 cm in diameter and 120.0 cm in long and the exposed parts are made of stainless steel pipe. The results is confirmed by the experiment performed mainly in granite rock where a slightly constant shape was obtained but sometimes was shown sharpness shape for the measured scattered gamma-ray intensity. Consequently, the experimental results are obtained an adequate intensity of scattered gamma-rays and favourable response to density change, and also very closely correspond to between core samples of the test boring and to used this method of ${\gamma}-{\gamma}$ logging in the test bore-hole of the strata.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.85-93
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• 2005

Isotopes of alkali and alkaline earth metals (AM and AEM) are the main contributors to the heat load and the radiotoxicity of spent fuel (SF) . These components are separated from the SF and dissolved in a molten LiCl in an electrolytic reduction process. A mass transfer model is developed to describe the diffusion behavior of Cs, Sr, and Ba in the SF into the molten salt. The model is an analytical solution of Fick's second law of diffusion for a cylinder which is the shape of a cathode in the electrolytic reduction process. And the model is also applied to depict the concentration profile of the oxygen ion which is produced by the electrolysis of Li$_{2}$O. The regressed diffusion coefficients of the model correlating the experimentally measured data are evaluated to be greater in the order of Ba, Cs, and Sr for the metal ions and the diffusion of the oxygen ion is slower than the metal ions which implies that different mechanisms govern the diffusion of the metal ions and the oxygen ions in a molten LiCl.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.200-210
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• 2016

The neutron radiography reactor (NRAD) is a 250 kW Mark-II Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactor at Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, USA. The East Radiography Station (ERS) is one of two neutron beams at the NRAD used for neutron radiography, which sits beneath a large hot cell and is primarily used for neutron radiography of highly radioactive objects. Additional fuel elements were added to the NRAD core in 2013 to increase the excess reactivity of the reactor, and may have changed some characteristics of the neutron beamline. This report discusses characterization of the neutron beamline following the addition of fuel to the NRAD. This work includes determination of the facility category according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, and also uses an array of gold foils to determine the neutron beam flux and evaluate the neutron beam profile. The NRAD ERS neutron beam is a Category I neutron radiography facility, the highest possible quality level according to the ASTM. Gold foil activation experiments show that the average neutron flux with length-to-diameter ratio (L/D) = 125 is $5.96{\times}10^6n/cm^2/s$ with a $2{\sigma}$ standard error of $2.90{\times}10^5n/cm^2/s$. The neutron beam profile can be considered flat for qualitative neutron radiographic evaluation purposes. However, the neutron beam profile should be taken into account for quantitative evaluation.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2012

In spite of colossal efforts taken for safe handling and storage of radioactive waste, the uncontrolled release of radiocesium ($^{137}Cs$ and $^{134}Cs$ isotopes) into the natural environment is inevitable. $^{137}Cs$ is of particular concern because of its long half-life, ability to transfer into biota through food chains, as well as its great mobility, bioavailability, and chemical and ecophysiological similarity with potassium. Radiocesium is released anthropogenically into the environment. Mushrooms are known for their ability to accumulate radionuclides, particularly radiocesium, which is heterogeneously distributed in the individual parts of mushrooms, and it is found that mushrooms are a hyper-accumulator of radiocesium from their environment than other vegetation. Mushrooms play a major role in the mobilization, accumulation, and translocation of cesium, i.e., decontamination of soils (mycoextraction) polluted with cesium radioisotopes, and this capacity appears to be a relevant bioindicator of cesium contamination in the environment. Moreover, the extension of mycelium into the soil makes the use of mushrooms as bioindicators of radiocesium possible. This paper reviews the potential of mushrooms in the accumulation of radiocesium from the environment, and dissertates the salient features to support the employment of mushrooms in environmental biomonitoring as a sensitive bioindicator of radiocesium contamination.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.674-680
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• 2022

In the present study, radiation shielding and protection ability of prepared Flyash-lime-Gypsum (FaLG) bricks has been studied in terms of energy exposure build up factors and dose parameters. The energy exposure build up factors of Flyash-lime-Gypsum (FaLG) bricks have been calculated for the energy range of 0.015 MeV-15 MeV and for penetration depth upto 40 mfp directly using a new and simplified Piecewise Linear Spline Interpolation Method (PLSIM). In this new method, the calculations of G.P fitting parameters are not required. The verification and accuracy of this new method has been checked by comparing the results of exposure build up factor for NBS concrete calculated using present method with the results obtained by using G.P fitting method. Further, the relative dose distribution and reduced exposure dose rate for various radioactive isotopes without any shielding material and with Flyash-lime-Gypsum (FaLG) bricks have been calculated in the energy range of 59.59-1332 keV. On the basis of the obtained results, it has been reported that the prepared Flyash-lime-Gypsum (FaLG) bricks possess satisfactory radiation shielding properties and can be used as environmentally safe storage facilities for low level nuclear waste.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.151-156
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• 2022

Liposomes are bilayered particles that are surrounded by an aqueous solvent with amphiphilic substances such as phospholipids. Liposomes have the potential to overcome the limitations of physiochemical properties of existing drugs, and are therefore widely used in research for the treatment of many diseases, especially cancer. Currently, there are many liposome manufacturing methods that use various lipids and amphiphiles. Among them, the thin film-hydration method is a traditional and very simple method to prepare liposomes by hydrating a dry lipid film in an aqueous solvent, which has been widely used in the laboratory until recently. Recently, approaches to new nuclear imaging agents and radiotherapy by loading radioactive isotopes inside liposomes have been actively studied. In this review, we would like to discuss considerations for preparing liposomes using the thin film-hydration method.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3352-3358
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• 2023

Nuclear medicine seems to be a decent choice of medicine in the recent decade. The radioactive isotopes ⁵¹Cr, ⁸⁹Sr, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹³¹I, ¹³³Xe, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁵³Sm are extremely essential in nuclear medicine. The excitation functions of the ⁵⁴Fe (n, α) ⁵¹Cr, ⁹²Zr (n, α) ⁸⁹Sr, ¹⁰²Rh (n, α) ⁹⁹Tc, 134Cs (n, α) ¹³¹I, ¹³⁶Ba (n, α) ¹³³Xe, ¹⁴⁰La (n, α) ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁵⁶Gd (n, α) ¹⁵³Sm reactions were calculated in this study using the EMPIRE 3.2.3 and TALYS 1.95 nuclear codes. Additionally, the cross sections at 14-15 MeV were calculated using empirical formulae and the experimental data. The computer codes were compared to the experimental data and Empirical formulas as well as the evaluated data (TENDL 2021, JENDL 3.3, JENDL 5, JEFF 3.3, EAF 2010, CENDL 3.1, CENDL 3.2, ROSFOND 2010, FENDL 3.2 b, and BROND 3.1).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2166-2171
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• 2023

In the present study, six silicone rubber doped by tellurium borate oxides were fabricated using the casting method. The densities of the fabricated silicon rubber-doped by tellurium borate oxides samples were measured using the Archimedes Method. Moreover, the linear attenuation coefficient of silicone rubber doped tellurium borate oxides samples was evaluated experimentally using the hyper pure germanium, and the recorded linear attenuation coefficient values were affirmed using the theoretical Phy-X program. The experimental measurements were performed using the narrow beam transmission method with radioactive isotopes Am-241, Cs-137, and Co-60 with energies of 59, 661, 1173, and 1332 keV. The linear attenuation coefficient values showed an enhancement by 4.73 times, 1.20 time, 1.17, time, and 1.17 time, respectively at gamma photon energies of 59, 661, 1173, and 1332 keV, when the TeO₂ concentration increased in the fabricated composites from 0 to 50 wt%. The enhancement of the linear attenuation coefficient values has a positive effect on the transmission rate values where the half-value thickness and transmission rate were decreased accompanied by an increase in the RPE.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2023

Tritium is used in various types of parts such as luminous bodies. These parts are maintained for inspection and replacement at a facility licensed to use radioactive isotopes. This study analyzed the concentration of tritium in working facilities to supplement and develop the safety management system for the maintenance environment of parts containing tritium. In addition, the internal exposure dose was evaluated to analyze the effects of leaked tritium when continuously exposed to workers. As a result of evaluating the internal exposure dose for workers for 30 days, the maximum was 9.70 μSv and the average was 1.45 μSv. Based on the results of this study, the internal radiation exposure safety of workers handling parts containing tritium was confirmed, and additional protective measures to prevent unnecessary exposure to tritium were suggested. This study is expected to contribute to supplementing and developing the radiation safety management system.