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Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Characterization of radioactive particles from the Palomares accident
A Aragón1, A Espinosa, B de la Cruz
1Departamento de Medio Ambiente, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 22, Madrid 28040, Spain. antonio.aragon@ciemat.es
Abstract:
As a consequence of the nuclear accident that took place in Palomares (Almería, Spain) more than 40 years ago, actinides contamination is present in the area nowadays. Previous investigations performed with soil samples collected in different locations of Palomares indicate that the contamination in the area is highly inhomogeneous, suggesting the existence of radioactive particles, thus hindering the evaluation of the radiological situation. This work presents the methodology used for the location of the radioactive particles in the field and their isolation in the laboratory for further speciation and characterization studies. Colour pictures, electron microscopy images and EDX analyses show that most of the studied particles present a granular appearance with a variable grain size and a high fragmentation tendency, being plutonium and uranium the most abundant nuclear elements. Radiochemical determinations and activity isotopic ratios prove that the nuclear material is aged weapon grade plutonium arising from the Palomares accident.
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