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MS: Fachverband Massenspektrometrie
MS 3: Mass Spectrometry Applications
MS 3.5: Talk
Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 15:45–16:00, F128
Analysis of the cutting edge of individual ’hot particles’ from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone — •Laura Leifermann1, Martina Klinkenberg2, Felix Brandt2, Paul Hanemann1, Tobias Weissenborn1, Sandra Reinhard1, Manuel Raiwa3, Wolfgang Schulz1, and Clemens Walther1 — 1IRS, Hannover, Deutschland — 2FZJ IEK-6, Jülich, Deutschland — 3LLNL, Livermore, USA
During the Chernobyl reactor accident on April 26, 1986, radioactivity was in part released in the form of nuclear fuel particles. These so-called ’hot particles’ have various structures that belong to specific oxidation states of uranium. These oxidation states behave differently in the environment. We obtain individual particles by density separation with a poly tungsten solution. Via radiometric scanning with a Geiger counter we locate the particles. The extraction is performed on tungsten needles with a micromanipulator in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The particle surface was analyzed by different nondestructive methods such as SIMS, rL-SNMS and EDX. Gamma measurements and optical analyses in SEM were also performed. Micrometer sized particles glued to needles are cut in half with a focused ion beam. We can thus extend our mass spectrometric analysis to the cutting edge and study the particle cross section. Since the particles have been exposed to the environment for over 30 years, weathering effects from outside to inside can be investigated. In addition, it is possible to test to what extent the elemental and isotopic composition of the particles is homogeneous.