Determination of 36Cl in biological shield concrete using pyrohydrolysis and liquid scintillation counting

A method for the determination of 36Cl in biological shield concrete of nuclear reactors was developed. Cl in the concrete sample was extracted quantitatively by pyrohydrolysis at 900 degrees C and recovered in Na2CO3 solution for subsequent measurement of 36Cl by liquid scintillation counting. WO3 was used as an accelerator in the pyrohydrolysis. The Cl extraction procedure was optimized by investigating experimental conditions with the use of ion chromatography and its recovery was evaluated by the analysis of the geochemical reference samples. The detection limit of 36Cl was 0.02 Bq g(-1) for a sample weight of 2 g. The relative standard deviation was 3-7% for the samples containing 0.5 Bq g(-1) levels of 36Cl. The method was applied to determine 36Cl in biological shield concrete of the Japan Power Demonstration Reactor.