Effects of Aging on Penetration of Radioactive Particles and Dissolved Radiocesium into Concrete and Subsequent Decontamination
Expedient decontamination may reduce the consequences of a radiological contamination event. Thus, decontamination methods that can be readily deployed may be favorable if they achieve sufficient decontamination efficacy. This work measured the decontamination efficacy of two water-based decontamination methods, low and high pressure washing, on concrete contaminated with surrogate fallout consisting of soluble Cs-137, 0.5 µm silica particles, and 2µm silica particles. The concrete samples were contaminated up to 59 days before decontamination, and modified stormwater was applied to half the samples to mimic natural precipitation. The decontamination efficacy of the soluble cesium decreased over the first ten days between contamination and decontamination until the removals were less than 10% for both decontamination methods. The particle decontamination was independent of the time between contamination and decontamination but decontaminating via high pressure washing (>80% particle removal) significantly outperformed decontaminating by low pressure washing by flowing solution across (parallel to) the contaminated surface (<25% particle removal). Measurements of the penetration depth of contaminants as the time between contamination and decontamination increase understanding about the observed changes in decontamination efficacy. The observed penetration depth of cesium agrees with both theoretical and prior experimental studies. Particles show minimal subsurface migration over time, but soluble cesium slowly migrated into the contaminated subsurface over time. The migration of cesium into the subsurface was aided by the application of modified stormwater. Overall, this study reinforces the possibility of deploying water wash methods for wide area decontamination specifically employing pressurized washers in a manner that is non-destructive, conserves water resources, and minimizes solid waste generated
Year of publication: |
[2023]
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Authors: | Hepler, Katherine ; Kaminski, Michael ; Escamilla, Noemy ; Magnuson, Matthew |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Saved in:
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