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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

A Novel Technique for Raman Analysis of Highly Radioactive Samples Using Any Standard Micro-Raman Spectrometer
Published on: April 12, 2017
90Sr migration to the geo-sphere from a waste burial in the Chernobyl exclusion zone
L Dewiere1, D Bugai, C Grenier
1Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), BP17,92262 Fontenay aux Roses cedex, France. lionel.dewiere@irsn.fr
Abstract:
Results are presented from an ongoing field-scale experimental study (namely the Chernobyl Pilot Site project) aimed at characterization of processes controlling (90)Sr releases from a shallow trench containing nuclear fuel particles, and subsequent radionuclide transport in the underlying sandy aquifer at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site. Microscopic analyses of waste material and leaching experiments have shown that 10-30% of the radioactive inventory is associated with chemically extra-stable Zr-U-O particles. The largest fraction of (90)Sr activity in the trench ( approximately 30-60%) is currently associated with relatively slowly dissolving non-oxidized UO(2) matrix fuel particles. The (90)Sr migration velocity in the eolian sand aquifer is retarded by sorption to approximately 9% of groundwater flow velocity (K(d) approximately 2 ml/g). The dispersivity values for non-reactive solute transport in the aquifer predicted by geostatistics (i.e. 0.8 6 cm) were confirmed by a natural gradient tracer test using (36)Cl. The observed negative correlation between hydraulic conductivity and K(d) of aquifer sediments suggests that (90)Sr could be subjected to larger dispersion in the subsurface compared with (36)Cl.
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