Heavy water (D2O) is a coolant as well as a moderator of pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs). During operation of PHWRs, deuterium (H-2, D) in heavy water is gradually converted to tritium (H-3, T), which is a radioactive nuclide with a half-life of 12.3 years, by capturing neutron. Various radioactive wastes contaminated by T are generated upon the PHWR operation. Owing to the similarity of D and T, they behave together a form of water (either liquid or vapor) in a normal circumstance. To handle D and T with the water form is quite difficult because it is not a solid and is highly mobile in nature. In this study, a mineralization technique to fix D and T in a solid form is suggested. It is considered that hydroxide minerals, which have low solubility in water, might tightly bind D and T in non-mobile, solid-state media. Feasibility of this strategy is studied by using a copper-based hydroxide mineral, atacamite. Atacamite is a natural mineral found in copper deposits with chemical formula of Cu2Cl(OH)3. Atacamite can be simply synthesized in laboratories by a precipitation method using copper chloride and calcium carbonate as precursors. Both chemicals were added into heavy water to obtain pale-green precipitates. Heavy water is the only source for D in this reaction and thus deuterated mineral is expected to be form. The obtained deuterated mineral, suspected to be Cu2Cl(OD)3, was then immersed in natural deionized water (extremely low D2O concentration) for several days to identify how fast D in Cu2Cl(OD)3 dissolves into water. In a preliminary Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, absorption peaks related to HDO and D2O were not observed in the deionized water which is recovered after the immersion test, suggesting that D remained stable in the synthesized mineral. However, owing to low detection limit of FTIR, more precise analysis should be taken to clearly identify the stability of D of the deuterated atacamite. If deuterated hydroxide minerals are found to have sufficiently high D stability in natural water, they can be further treated with cement or other stabilization media to form a final wasteform for underground disposal.

전통 회화 및 단청용 채색 안료 중 녹색을 표현하기 위해 사용된 동록안료의 재료과학적 특성 및 안정성을 알아보기 위하여 염화동(Atacamite), 초산동(Verdigris) 2종의 안료를 이용하여 평가를 진행하였다. 구성광물 분석 결과, K-AA는 아타카마이트(Atacamite)가 주요 구성광물로 천연 광물성 재료로 확인되고 K-VA 는 호가나이트(Hoganite)로 확인되었다. 동록안료의 안정성을 저해하는 요인을 찾고자 UV 노출, CO2/NO2 가스부식 및 염수분사 시험 등의 분석을 실시하였다. 색상 안정성을 가장 크게 저해하는 요인은 두 안료 모두 염수분사 시험으로 시료 표면에 염생성물이 생성되어 변질되는 등 손상이 가중되었다. 또한 대기오염물질인 NO2의 영향도 두 안료 모두 육안으로 인지될 정도로 색이 변하여 주요 손상 요인으로 작용되는 것으로 판단 된다. 특히 K-VA의 경우 K-AA와는 달리 UV 노출 평가 후 녹색에서 흑색으로 변하면서 본래의 색상을 완전히 잃어리는 것으로 K-VA의 주성분인 Hoganite가 UV 노출 후 Tenorite로 물질이 변했기 때문으로 판단된다. 두 안료의 대기환경 영향 평가 결과, K-AA에 비해 K-VA이 대기환경 영향에 상대적으로 취약한 모습을 보였다.