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Microwave-assisted acid digestion (MAD) for the determination of radionuclides in contaminated soil

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Abstract

In this study, we developed a high efficiency sample pretreatment technique using microwave-assisted acid digestion (MAD) under a mixture of HNO3-HCl-HF-H2O2 conditions, capable of leaching various radioactive nuclides from contaminated soil within 2 h. Our validation results using SRM 2709a soil standard material confirmed that when the MAD process was performed and then repeated, the chemical recovery rates of all 9 elements were consistently above 90%, demonstrating an outstanding leaching efficiency compared to conventional acid leaching (AL) methods. The activity of radionuclides obtained through AL were found to be underestimated compared to those obtained through MAD. We anticipate that the application of this technique for precise activity of radionuclides will contribute to cost savings in decommissioning waste management.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Technology Development Program (Project No. 77873-24) of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP). Radioactivity assessments were supported by the KAERI Institutional Program (Project No. 522320-24).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 111, Daedeok-daero 989 Beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34057, Republic of Korea

    Jung Bo Yoo, Jung-Weon Choi, Kyunghun Jung & Tae-Hong Park

  2. Green Radiation Co., LTd, 1F, M106-b, 69, Yuseong-daero 1312 Beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Kwang-Soon Choi

  3. University of Science and Technology, 217, Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Tae-Hong Park

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  1. Jung Bo Yoo
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  2. Kwang-Soon Choi
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Correspondence to Jung Bo Yoo.

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Yoo, J.B., Choi, KS., Choi, JW. et al. Microwave-assisted acid digestion (MAD) for the determination of radionuclides in contaminated soil. J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-024-09564-w

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