Composition of the gas-plasma phase in the radioactive graphite - water vapor system

In this work, the composition and thermophysical properties of the “Reactor graphite-H2O” system at temperatures from 2123 to 3223 K are calculated. It was found that the main components of the vapor phase at a temperature of 2123-2923 K: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapor, hydroxide, hydrogen, atomic hydrogen. At temperatures above 3223 K, oxygen and atomic oxygen are added to the gases present. The balances of uranium and plutonium are considered. Uranium at temperatures above 2123 K is present in the system in the form of gaseous and ionized uranium dioxide and trioxide. Plutonium at temperatures above 2123 K is present in the system in the form of gaseous and ionized plutonium oxide, gaseous plutonium dioxide. The calculation of thermophysical properties for the considered system is carried out.

Plutonium dioxide particle imaging using a high-resolution alpha imager for radiation protection

The internal exposure of workers who inhale plutonium dioxide particles in nuclear facilities is a crucial matter for human protection from radiation. To determine the activity median aerodynamic diameter values at the working sites of nuclear facilities in real time, we developed a high-resolution alpha imager using a ZnS(Ag) scintillator sheet, an optical microscope, and an electron-multiplying charge-coupled device camera. Then, we designed and applied a setup to measure a plutonium dioxide particle and identify the locations of the individual alpha particles in real time. Employing a Gaussian fitting, we evaluated the average spatial resolution of the multiple alpha particles was evaluated to be 16.2 ± 2.2 μmFWHM with a zoom range of 5 ×. Also, the spatial resolution for the plutonium dioxide particle was 302.7 ± 4.6 µmFWHM due to the distance between the plutonium dioxide particle and the ZnS(Ag) scintillator. The influence of beta particles was negligible, and alpha particles were discernible in the alpha–beta particle contamination. The equivalent volume diameter of the plutonium dioxide particle was calculated from the measured count rate. These results indicate that the developed alpha imager is effective in the plutonium dioxide particle measurements at the working sites of nuclear facilities for internal exposure dose evaluation.