This study presents a rapid and sequential radiochemical separation method for Pu and Am isotopes in radioactive waste samples from the nuclear power plant with anion exchange resin and TRU resin. After radionuclides were leached from the radioactive waste samples with concentrated HCl and HNO3, the sample was allowed to evaporate to dryness after filtering the leaching solution with 0.45 micron filter. The Pu isotopes were separated in HNO3 medium with anion exchange resin. For leaching solution passed through anion exchange column, the Am isotopes were separated with TRU resin. The purified Pu and Am isotopes were measured by alpha spectrometer, respectively, after micro-precipitation of neodymium. The sequential radiochemical separation of Pu and Am isotopes in radioactive waste samples using anion exchange resin and TRU resin was validated with ICP-MS system.

Plutonium exhibits a variety of oxidation states and has a strong affinity for complexation with organic ligands. Isosaccharinic acid (ISA) is a major degradation product of cellulose materials present in the low to intermediate radioactive wastes. The interaction between trivalent plutonium and ISA can significantly impact the migration and containment of plutonium in the repository environment. In this study, formation of Pu(III) and ISA complexes was investigated at an ionic strength of 1 M of NaClO4 using UV-Vis absorption spectrophotometry. To exclude the effect of the Pu(III) oxidation, absorption spectra were measured within 10 min after adding ISA into Pu(III) solution and processed using HYPSPEC software for deconvolution after baseline correction. Several previous studies showed that the presence of ligands accelerates the oxidation of Pu(III) to Pu(IV). To investigate whether ISA complexation can also accelerate the Pu(III) oxidation, UV-Vis absorption spectra changes over 24 hours were analyzed as a function of the ratio of ISA to plutonium concentration.

There is a gap in our understanding of the behavior of fused and molten fuel salts containing unavoidable contamination, such as those due to fabrication, handling, or storage. Therefore, this work used calorimetry to investigate the change in liquidus temperature of PuCl3, having an unknown purity and that had been in storage for several decades. Further research was performed by additions of NaCl, making several compositions within the binary system, and summarizing the resulting changes, if any, to the phase diagram. The melting temperature of the PuCl3 was determined to be 746.5°C, approximately 20°C lower than literature reported values, most likely due to an excess of Pu metal in the PuCl3 either due to the presence of metallic plutonium remaining from incomplete chlorination or due to the solubility of Pu in PuCl3. From the melting temperature, it was determined that the PuCl3 contained between 5.9 to 6.2mol% Pu metal. Analysis of the NaCl-PuCl3 samples showed that using the Pu rich PuCl3 resulted in significant changes to the NaCl-PuCl3 phase diagram. Most notably an unreported phase transition occurring at approximately 406°C and a new eutectic composition of 52.7mol% NaCl–38.7mol% PuCl3–2.5mol% Pu which melted at 449.3°C. Additionally, an increase in the liquidus temperatures was seen for NaCl rich compositions while lower liquidus temperatures were seen for PuCl3 rich compositions. It can therefore be concluded that changes will occur in the NaCl-PuCl3 binary system when using PuCl3 with excess Pu metal. However, melting temperature analysis can provide valuable insight into the composition of the PuCl3 and therefore the NaCl-PuCl3 system.

Radionuclides can be leached into groundwater or soil over a long period of time due to unexpected situations even after being permanently disposed of in a repository. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the mobility of radionuclides for the safety assessment of radioactive waste disposal. In this study, the effects of organic complexing agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and isosaccharinic acid (ISA) on the sorption behavior of 239Pu and 99Tc over cementitious (concrete and grout) and natural rock samples (granite and sedimentary rock) were investigated in batch sorption experiments. For characterization of rock samples, XRD, XRF, FT-IR, FE-SEM, BET, and Zeta-potential analyses were performed. For the evaluation of mobility, the distribution coefficient (Kd) was selected and compared. The adsorption experiment was carried out at two pHs (7 and 13), a temperature of 20°C, and a range of organic complexing agents concentrations (10-7~10-2 M and 10- 5~10-2 M for 239Pu and 99Tc, respectively). The radionuclides concentrations in adsorption samples were analyzed using ICP-MS. The Kd values for 239Pu in all rock samples reduced significantly due to the presence of EDTA, even at low concentrations such as 10-5 M. In the case of ISA, the limiting noeffect concentration was much higher than that of EDTA. On the other hand, 99Tc showed relatively lower Kd values than 239Pu, and the sorption behavior of 99Tc was almost unaffected by the organic complexing agents for all rock samples. Therefore, it is possible to assume that the increased mobility of radionuclides, especially, 239Pu, in groundwater caused by the lowering of sorption at even low concentrations of organic complexing agents may result in the transport of radionuclides to the nearand far-field location of the repository.

Elucidating the redox behavior of actinide elements in aqueous solution is important for the safety assessments of nuclear waste disposal. Despite ongoing endeavors for decades, some points of uranium and plutonium redox mechanism are ambiguous and unclear. In this study, the electrochemical redox behaviors of U(VI) and Pu(III and VI) ions in perchloric acid media were investigated by using a gold (Au) working electrode via cyclic voltammetry (CV) and cyclic square wave voltammetry (CSWV) with the temperature control (10–55°C). The cyclic voltammograms of U(V/VI), Pu(III/IV) and Pu(V/VI) redox couple were transformed to semi-integral form to calculate the diffusion coefficient and formal potential in the electrochemical quasi-reversibility prevailed system. The CSWV was additionally used for a more precise interpretation of the redox mechanism. From the investigation of the redox chemistry of U(VI) ions, a clear U(V/VI) redox peak and one unidentified oxidation peak appear around pH 2. With the temperature control and CSWV, the relevance of the oxidation peak and U(IV) was confirmed. In the case of voltammetry of Pu(VI) solution, Pu(V/VI) redox peak and an additional reduction peak appear. The redox behavior resposible for this additional reduction peak are also examined. The cyclic voltammograms of Pu(III) solution show a clear reversible redox reaction of Pu(III/IV) couple. With the temperature control, using the change of formal potential at ionic strength 1 M (ClO4 −), thermodynamic parameters of conditional molar enthalpy and entropy change were evaluated in this system.

The present multidisciplinary study, which is a nexus of engineering and political science, investigates how the modernization of Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons (NSNWs) affects the IAEA safeguards system based on the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons. To this end, this study examines the characteristics of modernized NSNWs using Monte Carlo techniques. The results thus obtained show that 10 kt NSNWs with a Circular Error Probability (CEP) of 10 m can destroy the target as effectively as a 500 kt weapon with a CEP of 100 m. The IAEA safeguards system shows that the Significant Quantity (SQ) of 1 of plutonium is 8 kg, a parameter that was established when strategic nuclear weapons were dominant. However, the results of this study indicate that in recent years, low-yield nuclear weapons such as NSNWs have been more strategically interesting than strategic nuclear weapons as NSNWs require less plutonium than strategic nuclear weapons. Therefore, we would like to conclude that reducing the SQ of plutonium can result in more robust safeguards and non-proliferation strategies.

This study compares and analyzes inorganic components of four different Pu-erh tea species consumed in Korea. The criteria for the inorganic components was based on the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) recommendations. Out of the 19 general items: potassium, manganese, silicon and fluorine were detected in amounts exceeding the maximum allowable concentration by 5~23, 57~91, 1.6~1.8 and 9~18 times respectively. Out of the 15 potentially harmful elements: aluminum and nickel were exceeded the Maximum allowable concentration by 9~14 times and 0.8~1.2 times respectively. To reduce the concentration of inorganic elements in excess of the maximum allowable concentration, the extraction time of tea should be less than 1 minute in addition to limiting the amount. The amount of Pu-erh tea for extraction was about 0.1 g manganese, about 0.3 g potassium, about 0.5 g fluoride and about 2 g silicon. Therefore, the maximum amount of tea for extraction should be 0.1 g in regards to the safety of Pu-erh tea. Based on the recommended maximum daily intake of inorganic ingredients by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, it is desirable that the number of extractions be less than three.

This study describes the effects of polyurethane/loess powder (PU/LP) nanofiber thin films composite produced from electrospun for absorption volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air. Environmental issue has become a focus with improving people's living quality. The VOCs are one of the factors that affect the environmental safety. So, in order to improve the environment and safety for people, many air cleaning techniques have been investigated. One of the methods is nanofiber filtration technology. In this study, the PU nanofiber thin film has been studied that it has the adsorption of VOCs capacity, and LP nanoparticles (NPs) can be used as an additive to load into PU nanofiber thin film by electrospinning. For studying PU/LP nanofiber thin films's absorption of VOCs capacity, 4 samples (0, 10, 30, and 50 wt% LP with respect to PU) were manufactured, respectively. The results show that PU composite mats containing 30 wt% LP NPs has the highest VOCs absorption capacity, and the adsorption capacity for toluene was the highest compared to benzene and chloroform.

The uniform nanofibers of polyurethane with different contents of Juniperus Chinensis extracts were successfully prepared by electrospinning method. Polyurethane is widely used as functional polymers in the industrials, medical field as their properties can be tailor-made by adjusting their compositions. Juniperus Chinensis has been reported for anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral activities. PU/Juniperus Chinensis extracts composite nanofibers were produced at different Juniperus Chinensis extracts concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5wt.%). The effects of the major parameters in electrospinning process such as tip to collector distance (TCD), voltage, polymer concentration on the average diameter of electrospun nanoweb were investigated. As results, 12wt% PU solution concentration, 8kV applied voltage and 15cm tip to collector distance were identified as optimum conditions for electrospinning the composite nanofibers. The diameter and morphology of the nanocomposite nanofibers were confirmed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resulting fibers exhibited a uniform diameter ranging from 435nm∼547nm. It has been found that the average diameters of fibers decreased by the adding of Juniperus Chinensis extracts. These nanowebs can be used for medical materials, protective clothing, and antimicrobial filters.

국내 유통 중인 총 321건의 폴리아미드, 폴리우레탄, ABS, 아크릴 수지 재질 식품용 기구 중 이행우려가 있는 모노머인 4,4``-메틸렌디아닐린, 2,4-톨루엔디아민, 아닐린, 아크릴로니트릴 및 메틸메타크릴레이트에 대하여 이행량 을 조사하고 안전성 평가를 실시하였다. 83건의 폴리아미드, ABS 및 아크릴 수지 재질 식품용 기구 검체에서 현행 식품용 기구 및 용기·포장 공전상의 용출규격 이하인 4,4``-메틸렌디아닐린, 2,4-톨루엔디아민, 아크릴로니트릴 및 메틸메타크릴레이트가 이행되었다. 이행량 결과를 토대로 안전성 평가 시나리오에 적용하여 4,4``-메틸렌디아닐린, 2,4-톨루엔디아민, 아크릴로니트릴 및 메틸메타크릴레이트의 EDI를 산출한 후 TDI와 비교하여 위해도를 평가하였다. EDI는 폴리아미드 재질 기구의 4,4``-메틸렌디아닐린과 2,4-톨루엔디아민의 경우 각각 2.39 × 10-9, 및 1.20 × 10-9mg/kg bw/day, ABS 재질 기구의 아크 릴로니트릴의 경우 4.32 × 10-9mg/kg bw/day, 아크릴 수지 재질 기구 메틸메타크릴레이트의 경우 2.27 × 10-7mg/kg bw/day이었다. ABS 재질 기구 이행 아크릴로니트릴의 위해도는 RfD 대비 4.32 × 10-4% 수준이었고, 아크릴 수지 재질 기구 이행 메틸메타크릴레이트의 위해도는 TDI 대비 1.89 × 10-5% 수준이었다. 결론적으로 검토된 평가 항목들의 위해도는 TDI 대비 4.32 × 10-4%와 1.89 × 10-5%에 불과한 것으로 조사되어 안전한 수준인 것으로 사료되었다. 이러한 결과들은 앞으로 기구 및 용기·포장의 안전 관리를 위한 과학적인 근거자료로 이용될 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.