3rd-INCC3rd-INCC Sunday18September2011-Friday23September2011 CittàdelMare,Terrasini-Palermo-Sicily-Italy BookofAbstracts

3rd-INCCSunday 18 September 2011 - Friday 23 September 2011

Città del Mare, Terrasini - Palermo - Sicily - Italy

Book of Abstracts

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Contents

Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan: its probable influences on the nuclear educationalprograms and global learnings about this catastrophe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Conversion of I2 in ionic forms on the composite materials ”Fizkhimin”TM inwater coolantat nuclear power plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The granular sorbents for passive environment protection system during severe accidentswith total loss of power supply at NPPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The thermal decomposition of CH3131I in a gas flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Assessment of dose to the Irish population arising from anthropogenic radioactivity in theIrish marine environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Radioanalytical methods: tools in studies of thyrotoxic effects of excessive bromide andperchlorate ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Radiopharmacological studies: interaction of antidepressant fluoxetine with thyroid hor-mones metabolism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Radiometric enzyme assays for iodothyronine deiodinases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Ascertainment of changes in thyroid hormones metabolism in white adipose tissue by ra-diometric enzyme assays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Radioecology around a closed uranium mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lead radioisotopes in the lower atmosphere associated with natural aerosols . . . . . . . 8

Helium release from aged palladium tritide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Automated and rapid determination of radionculides for emergency analysis, radioecologyinvestigation and characterization of decommissioning waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Secure and certify studies to work on production of ”spiked” plutonium . . . . . . . . . . 10

2-Secure facilities for Egyptian Nuclear weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Aging effects on kinetic properties in palladium–tritium system during tritium storage . 11

Characterization of REE fromNE Portugal using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Native and transplanted lichen and bark as air pollution biomonitors at three different me-teorological conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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Determination of Tc-99 in seaweed sample by ICP-MS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Reactor Production of Cu-64 by (n,p) reactions on Zn targets in Dhruva Research Reactorfor radiopharmaceutical studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Neutron capture cross-section measurements of Th-232 using activation technique . . . 14

Tritium probe in nanoparticles investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Application of the model of Cs-137 vertical migration for the assessment of sedimentationrates along the Bertioga Channel, São Paulo State, Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Distribution of heavy metals in fish tissues of the Tepuxtepec Dam, Mexico . . . . . . . 16

An automated production of Cu-64 on 18/9 MeV cyclotron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis for the absorption of U(VI) on the crosslinked polyesterresin with acrylic acid from aqueous solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Adsorption of Cs(I) on Densely Crosslinked Poly(sodium methacrylate) from Aqueous So-lutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Plutonium, americium and radiocesium in coastal sediments of the Cuban island, in theCaribbean Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Uranium in ground water samples of Northern Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Uranium isotopes as a tracer of groundwater transport studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Optimization of Sequential Separation of U, Th, Pb, and lanthanides for ultra-trace analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

In vivo biodistribution of I-131 labeled bleomycin (BLM) and isomers (A2 and B2) on exper-imental animal models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Correlation between the particle size distribution of radioactive aerozols and their half-livesderived from measurement of radioactive aerosols at a 120-GeV proton target station 22

The half-lives of Y-90m and Ru-97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Fulvic acids, fertilizers first and then stimulants of vital functions in vertebrates . . . . . 23

Marine sediments as a radioactive pollution repository in the world . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Production of Medical Radionuclides in Russia: status and future . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Microspheres with an ultra high holmium content for brachytherapy of malignancies . . 25

Correlation study of air pollution and cardio-respiratory system diseases through NAA ofatmospheric pollutant biomonitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Radiological dose assessment of naturally occurring radioactive materials in concrete build-ing materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Determination of Sr-90 and Pb-210 in freshwater fish in Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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Americium and samarium determination in aqueous solutions after separation by cation-exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

New bitopic molecules for Group Actinides Extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

New separation methods for production of light stable isotopes for use in nuclear technol-ogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Experimental cross sections for Be-7 production inAl, Si, Mg andC by deuteron irradiationsup to 50 MeV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

U-238 in sediments of the Kastela Bay, Adriatic Sea (Croatia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Study of lactose uptake rate by immobilized kefir cells during whey fermentation, usingC-14 labelled lactose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Implementation of the k0-standardization method for analysis of geological samples at theNeutron Activation Analysis Laboratory, São Paulo, Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Comparison of metal accumulation in tree bark and soil from urban parks in São Paulo city,Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Metal and trace element assessment of Tietê river sediments, São Paulo, Brazil . . . . . . 32

Social representation and Nuclear Chemistry educational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Metallographic and XPS analyses of deposits from steam generator . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Selective reduction of actinyl ions based on electrocatalysis using platinized glassy carbonfiber column electrode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Multi-dimensional chromatographic separations of actinides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Automated fusion methodology for the rapid dissolution of airborne actinides . . . . . . 35

Instrumental NeutronActivation Analysis applied tomultielement determination in lettucegrown in phosphate treated contaminated soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Determination of the isotopic ratio U-236/U-238 in environmental samples . . . . . . . . 36

Low-level gamma spectroscopymeasurements of air samples inAustria after the Fukushimaaccident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Natural radionuclides and Cs-137 in marine sediments from open and semi-enclosed gulfs,lagoons and fjord-like environments in Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Design and construction of an equipment for the radiochemistry process of moleculesmarked for the sector health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Separation of Cu-61 from alpha particle irradiated cobalt target by LLX . . . . . . . . . . 38

Separation of no-carrier-added ruthenium from C-12 irradiated natural yttrium target byaqueous biphasic extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Evaluation of cobalt bis(dicarbollide) ion derivatives with attached metal chelating groupsfor their use in nuclear waste treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

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Physico-chemical investigation of heterogeneous equilibria in the saturated aqueous solu-tions of uranylsilicates of the alkaline elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Study of states of uranylphosphates and uranylarsenates of monoacid, divalent and triva-lent elements in water-salt heterogeneous systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Synthesis and study of uranyl orthovanadate (UO2)3(VO4)2*4H2O . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Evaporation residue cross section in 28Si+75As at Elab=6.6 MeV/nucleon . . . . . . . . . 42

Investigation of the variance of fission product mass distribution in 20Ne + 232Th reaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Total Diet Study: Mg and Mn content estimation of a Market Basket of São Paulo state(Brazil) by Instrumental Neutron Activation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

U, Th and other element evaluation in wild mushroom from a naturally high radioactiveregion in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Rare earth elements in phosphogypsum and phosphate fertilizers in Brazil . . . . . . . . 44

Passive biomonitoring study for trace elements in oysters Crassostrea brasiliana (Lamarck,1819: Mollusca, Bivalvia) in São Paulo State coastal sites, Brazil (25º00’-23º56’S, 47º25’-45º19’W) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Natural radionuclides content and radon exhalation rate from brazilian phosphogypsumpiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Potassium concentrations and annual effective dose of the most customary-consumed food-stuffs in Mexico as a cultural heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Validation of γ spectrometry technique to determine potassium in foodstuufs . . . . . . 46

Simultaneous speciation analysis of arsenic, antimony and selenium in natural waters byHPLC, SPE and solvent extraction coupled to neutron activation . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Processing of UV-Vis spectroscopy data by chemometric tools as a perspective way foronline monitoring of SNF reprocessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Opportunity of using protective coatings for radioactive waste immobilization . . . . . . 48

Heterocyclic acids diamides as extractants for actinides extraction and separation . . . . 49

Traces of Fukushima accident in Southern Poland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Total and bioaccessible fractions of trace elements in cultivated oyster tissues by INAA,PIXE and ICP-MS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Micro-XRF and micro-EXAFS investigations of radionuclide sorption in Boda Siltstone For-mation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Study of the firing temperature of Marajoara Archaeological ceramics by electron param-agnetic resonance associated to INAA data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Chemical composition of marine sediments in the Pacific Sea from Sinaloa to Jalisco inMexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

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Recent sedimentation rates and trace elements determined in cores from Pantanal, MatoGrosso do Sul, Brasil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

EDXRF determination of heavy metals in the soil of an urban plot in Mexico City . . . . 53

Characterization of radioactive waste from a PET cyclotron facility by gamma spectroscopy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Natural radionuclides, stable elements concentration and study of bioactive components ofPeperomia pellucida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Classification of igneous rocks from Paraguay by INAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

The effect of aging and natural organic matter on the Th(OH)4 solubility . . . . . . . . . 56

The effect of humic acid on the formation and solubility of secondary solid phases of poly-valent metal ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Fukushima fallout at Milano, Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Chemical fractionation of radionuclides in submerged plants and sediments of the YeniseiRiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Activity size distribution of radioactive Be-7 aerosols at different environments in NorthernItaly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Synthesis of molybdenum nanoparticle by in situ γ radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Determination of short-lived radionuclides in neutron-activated urban atmospheric Partic-ulate Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Molten salt reactor for waste transmutation: fuel cycles and recycle chemisty . . . . . . 60

Cyclotron production of Sc-44 - new radionuclide for PET technique . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Nanozeolites as carriers for radium radionuclides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

A system for radwaste storage real-time monitoring: lab and real tests . . . . . . . . . . 63

New method for Sc-47 production in nuclear reactor Maria at Świerk . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Basic information about nuclear power energy to mexican citizens . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Detection of ultratrace amounts of Np-237 with resonance ionization mass spectrometry(RIMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Highlights of the 2010 Topical Meeting on Isotopes for Medicine and Industry . . . . . . 65

Computational electrochemo-fluid dynamics modeling in a uranium electrowinning cell 66

Activation cross-sections for proton-induced reactions on natural Nd . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Synthesis and characterization of novel asymmetrical M(III) (M = Re, Tc-99g) complexes asmodels for the development of new potential tracers for SPECT imaging and radiother-apy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) from cardiology to oncology: preliminary in vitro study . . . . . . 67

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[188Re(N)(cys~)(PNP)]+/0 mixed ligand compounds as models for the development of tar-get specific agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

A recoil method for Be-7 radiolabelling of nanoparticles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Gamma-ray spectroscopic characterization of radioactive preparation for production pro-cess validation in a PET cyclotron facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Study of bioaccumulation and effect biomarker in mussels Perna perna (LINNAEUS, 1758:mollusca, bivalvia) from coastal regions of São Paulo State, Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . 71

The dynamics of radioactive aerosols in the atmosphere of Moscow by the ”Fukushima”nuclear power plant accident. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Deep purification of uranium extract from technetium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Plutonium speciation during sorption on natural clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Measurements of the spatial distribution of each dose component in tissue exposed to anepithermal neutron beam for BNCT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

In-vivo dosimetry in HDR brachyterapy with Fricke-gel catheters: preliminary results . 74

Attempts to develop new synthesizingmethods of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose radiolabelledwith fluorine-18 (18F-FDG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

The present role of radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) for determinationof essential and toxic trace elements in biological materials as–compared with ICP-MSand AAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

In-vivo dosimetry in prostateHDR brachytherapywith thermoluminescence detectors (TLDs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Calibration protocol of Fricke-gel layers for absolute dose measurements in radiotherapy. 76

EBT2 radiochromic films for absolute dose measurements in radiotherapy: prototype of aninnovative system for their analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Development and characterisation of a new miniaturised detector for in vivo dosimetry inHDR brachytherapy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

A nuclear measurement technique for comparison of the washing machine detergent qual-ities used on the market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Limiting transport properties of lanthanide and actinide ions in water.Hydration numberand hydrolysis phenomena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Sampling/detecting airborne radionuclides and/or nanoparticles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Lu-177g produced with high specific activity by deuteron irradiation for metabolic radio-therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Radiological study of transport and processing of naturally occurring radioactive materials.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Radiation protection relevant to Nuclear Chemistry in the light of recent International Rec-ommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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Development of an original radiochemical protocol in a view of Sn-121m and Sn-126 mea-surements in Low and Intermediate Level Nuclear Wastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Neutron and photon activation analyses of anomalous phonolites from LusatianMountainsin Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Comparison of composition of lechatelierites in moldavites and silica phytoliths . . . . . 83

Unconventional component of parent materials of moldavites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Hyaluronic acid labeled with radioiodine: Optimization of labeling procedure and preclin-ical evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Evaluation of Y-90 labeled PANAM dendrimers of the 1st and 4th generations . . . . . . 85

Radiolabeling of insuline with fluorine-18 using a new radiofluorination technique . . . 86

Radioionidation of tyrosine by the use of exchange reaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Test of isotopic exchanges betweenO-18 andO-16when oxygen-18 enrichedwater contactswith air oxygen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

A new radiofluorination method of select fluor as a new and effective F-18 fluorinatingreagent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

The production and isolation of Cu-64 after production by the bombardment of a naturalZn target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Decontamination of radioactive concrete in nuclear facilities by chemical separationmethod.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Ultra low-level radionuclide analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Removal of volatile, organic iodines fromvented containment gas streams bywet-scrubbingduring severe nuclear accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Compare plutonium isotopes activity in humans bones on the areawhere only global falloutwas present and the area where Global and Chernobyl fallouts ware present. . . . . . 90

Uranium in dog foods commercialized in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Chemical composition of urban soils in the vicinity of steel industry . . . . . . . . . . . 91

In soil radon measurements to characterize fault systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Physics dissemination through measurements of in-door radon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Tritium measurements in water springs on Mt. Etna Volcano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

The distribution of I-131 in the fractionated dust in the ground layer of air in central Poland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Separation of Ra, Ba and Pb for determination of Ra-226 by isotope dilution alpha spec-trometry and Pb-210 by liquid scintillation spectrometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Assessment of actinides contamination in environmental and reactor structural samples byAccelerator Mass Spectrometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

ix

Radiolabelling of nanoparticles for life-cycle studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

A sequential procedure for determing Pu-238, Pu-(239+240), Am-241, Sr-90 activities inhuman bones obtained from joint replacement surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Relationship between size distribution of radiation-induced aerosol particles and the de-posited energy to the air in high-energy proton irradiation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Elemental characterization of bread and durum wheat by INAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Revisiting the ultimate condition for applicability of k0-NAA: the constancy of neutron fluxparameters during irradiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Characterisation of a Cu selective resin for use in the production of Cu isotopes for medicalpurpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Ultra sensitive measurements of Th-232 in copper by RNAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Application of the CL resin to the separation and determination of Cl-36 and I-129 in envi-ronmental and decommissioning samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Fabrication and thermo-mechanical characterization of HEMA grafted UV photo-curedbiodegradable chitosan film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Precipitation and purification of uranium from rock phosphate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Development of a fast radiochemical method for the Tc-99m production by Neutron Acti-vation and its cost analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Nanotoxicology research:a great opportunity for the radionanoanalytical chemist . . . . 102

Behavior of thorium on poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) grafted with citric acid prepared usinggamma radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Baseline background radiation dose and risk assessment study due to natural radionuclidesin the edible biota of Domiasiat, Meghalaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Principle and procedure for the baseline radiation risk assesment to the non human biotaof tropical ecosystem: an elaborative approach at Domiasiat, India . . . . . . . . . . 103

TENORM accumulation and management in refineries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Chemiluminescence of luminol - sodium hydroxide system using hemin as catalyst . . . 104

Half-lives of Pu isotopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Half-lives of nuclides for geological use: 2011 evaluations for U-235 and U-234 . . . . . . 105

Paving the way to personalized medicine: production of some theragnostic radionuclidesat Brookhaven National Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

National and regional capacity building for medical radioisotope production: role of theIAEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Epistemiological consideration on Radiochemistry during its 115 years of development . 108

x

3rd-INCC / Book of Abstracts

Session 6 / 0

Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan: its probable influenceson the nuclear educational programs and global learnings aboutthis catastropheAuthor: Turan Ünak1

1 INCS

Corresponding Author: [email protected]

Theearthquakes and tsunami, which occurred in Japan on 11th ofMarch 2011, damaged the FukushimaNuclear Power Plants; resulting in a new global nuclear catastrophe, 25 years after Chernobyl. Thisis an extremely unlucky nuclear event, and will lead to very serious influences on the global nuclearprograms including the educational programs on the field of nuclear science and technology. First,this will create good and newmaterials for anti-nuclear lobbies and they will use this opportunity foroppressing the political authorities to abandon governmental nuclear power programs. Of course,similar results were envisaged after Chernobyl, and only 25 years later, these could slightly be elimi-nated by the public; but, it seems that the elimination of the results of this second catastrophe will bemuch more difficult than they were for Chernobyl. Briefly, it can be concluded that the Fukushimacatastrophe in Japan will support the concept of nuclear renaissance, which has been the heart ofdiscussions on the scientific platform for several years. The basic principles of the concept of nuclearrenaissance can be summarized as follows:1) Nuclear energy production systems should eventually be non-proliferative of nuclear weapons,2) Minimized long-lived wastes resulting from fuel cycle,3) Good accordance with the environmentalist concepts, and so, easily accepted by the people. Now,the application of new safer technologies for construction of nuclear power plants should also beincluded into these basic principles of nuclear renaissance.In this contribution, the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe and its probable scientific, technological, so-cial influences, and the global learnings will be criticized, and the precautions in the field of nucleareducation will be proposed.

Session 10 / 1

Conversion of I2 in ionic forms on the compositematerials ”Fizkhimin”TMin water coolant at nuclear power plantsAuthor: Sergey Kulyukhin1

Co-authors: Dmitrii Levushkin 1; Igor’ Rumer 1; Lubov’ Mizina 1

1 Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry RAS


It is known that the activity of radioactive iodine in the water coolant increases dramatically dur-ing the shutdown of reactors on the Russian working WWER- or RBMK-type NPPs. For example,the radioactivity of 131I in the water coolant increased 30 to 200 times during the shutdown of thereactor on the RBMK-type NPP such as the Leningrad and Smolensk NPPs. One of the reasons ofthis activity rise is that during the shutdown of a reactor the temperature of the fuel inside the fuelelements drops, which results in the reduction of the fuel volume and the appearance of free spaceinside the fuel elements. Simultaneously, water from the coolant penetrates into the fuel elementsthrough defects in the fuel cladding and dissolves radioactive iodine and caesium accumulated inthe gap between the fuel and cladding during normal operation of NPP. The dissolved radioactiveiodine and caesium go as ions to the water coolant. Due to different redox reactions in a watercoolant radioactive iodine can be present as ionic (I-, IO3-) and molecular (I2) species. Furthermore,the radiation-induced destruction of the ion-exchange resins can lead to the formation of organicspecies (such as CH3I) in a water coolant. At the same time the content of radioactive iodine in thegas phase increases by more than an order of magnitude, because molecular and organic forms of

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radioactive iodine make a major contribution to the pollution of the gas phase since their factors ofdistribution between the water and gas phases are several orders of magnitude higher than those forionic forms. We suggest that an analogous increase in the radioactive iodine content in the watercoolant and gas phase during the shutdown can occur also in the currently working and new devel-oped NPPs using a water coolant.To decrease the radionuclide content in the water coolant, cation- and anion-exchange resins areusually used during a normal operation of NPPs. For example, cation-exchange resin KU-2 andanion-exchange resin AV-18 were used on the Russian NPPs for coolant decontamination. However,anion-exchange resins can absorb effectively only ionic forms of radioactive iodine and possibly I2as anion I3-.We studied the sorption of CH3131I and I2 on an AV-18 ion-exchange resin from the water coolantwhich takes places on the some of the RussianWWER-type NPPs. It was found that the AV-18 anion-exchange resin can absorbs I2 and CH3131I from the solution. After 2 h of contact between liquidand solid phases, I2 absorption was about 70%, whereas the CH3131I absorption was only about30.0%. Anion-exchange resin AV-18 effectively absorbs I2 (more than 99%) from this water coolantof a WWER-type NPP only after 24 h of contact between the liquid phase and the resin. In this casethe distribution factors Кd for I2 were higher than 103 cm3/g, whereas the distribution factors Кdfor CH3131I were lower than 200 cm3/g.Because of a low rate of sorption of I2 and CH3I the anion-exchanged resin AV-18 could not effec-tively and quickly localize these forms of radioactive iodine from the water coolant. These findingsmade it apparent that a new more effective material to absorb molecular and organic iodine fromwater solutions was required, and it was desirable to employ materials used in working NPPs tocoolant decontamination.In our experiments, we used ion-exchange resin KU-2, which we modified to obtain sorptive materi-als. The materials IPCE-C1 and IPCE-C2 with about 8.0 and 5.5 wt.% of Cu), and also IPCE-CS withabout 10.1 wt.% of Cu and Ag were obtained and used for our bath experiments.For these materials, we studied sorption of different forms of radioactive iodine (131I-, 131IО3-,CH3131I) and I2 from water coolant which takes places on the some of the Russian WWER-typeNPPs..Preliminary experiments showed that the non-modified cation-exchange resin KU-2 has a low sorp-tion capacity for CH3131I and I2 in the studied solution: the distribution factors are not higher than5.0 cm3/g at V/m = 100.At the same time under similar experimental conditions the distribution factors Кd for I2 for alldeveloped materials are higher than 103 cm3/g. The distribution factors Кd for ionic forms changefrom 20.0 to 150 cm3/g, whereas for the organic form, they are not more than 11.0 cm3/g.As follows from the data on I2 sorption kinetics on our developed materials and anion-exchangedresin AV-18, during 15 min of contact between the solid and liquid phase practically full I2 absorp-tion (more than 99.0%) takes place on the modified resin KU-2 vs. 50% on the resin AV-18. Asabove-mentioned, the 99% absorption of I2 on anion-exchange resin AV-18 can be achieved onlyafter 24 h. Unfortunately, the developed materials have low efficiency for CH3131I in the studiedsolutions.So, our findings allow us to conclude that using a combination of our developed materials and anion-exchanged resins such as AV-18 would allow to more effectively decontaminate the water coolantfrom ionic and molecular forms of radioactive iodine and partially organic form in working and newdeveloped NPPs.Also note that the application of the new materials will not require changes in either the designs ofNPPs or the reactor’s water coolant decontamination sites and will allow to bring down the load onthe iodine filters during the shutdown and refueling of a reactor, as well as normal operation of theNPPs.Work is supported by Council about grants of the President of the Russian Federation for the statesupport of leading scientific schools of the Russian Federation (grant SS-6692.2010.3).

Poster Section 1 / 2

The granular sorbents for passive environment protection sys-tem during severe accidents with total loss of power supply atNPPsAuthor: Sergey Kulyukhin1

Co-authors: Igor’ Rumer 1; Lubov’ Mizina 1; Natalya Konovalova 1

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The problem of reliable environmental protection measures in the event of severe nuclear powerplant accidents appears to be an important factor restraining the development of nuclear energy. Itis known that a hypothetic severe accident accompanied by a partial or complete destruction of thereactor’s active zone, bring about the formation of large quantities of gaseous products. This leadsto an abrupt increase in pressure inside the containment and there is a risk of its destroying. Fordecreasing of the pressure inside the containment, the some nuclear power plants are equipped withpressure release system. The modern designs of new-generation nuclear power plants with two pro-tective shells do not provide for pressure release systems [1 - 3]. It is planed that during hypotheticalsevere accidents all radioactivity will be localized inside containment. To prevent radioactive con-tamination of the environment, modern designs are equipped with active venting filtering systems,which require regular electric power supply. However, in accordance with the general requirementsfor safety systems, alongside active ventilation systems for intercontainment space, nuclear powerplants should include a passive ventilation system, which can be used during hypothetical severeaccident with a complete loss of power supply.Based on the fundamental studies on localization of volatile fission products the new passive envi-ronment protection system during severe accidents at new generation NPPs is suggested. The basicpurpose of developed passive filtration system is creation of a rarefaction in an intercontainmentspace due to the organized removal of the radioactive steam-air mixture from an intercontainmentspace at full loss of all power sources. Steam-air mixture containing radioactive aerosols and flyingfission products removal from an intercontainment space is passed through the special filtering mod-ule. Efficiency of cleaning of a radioactive steam-air mixture is determined by filtration and sorptionproperties of used filtering elements.On the basis of fundamental researches on localization of molecular and organic forms of radioac-tive iodine from a steam-air flow in operating conditions of passive filtering system during severeaccidents the granulated sorbents “Fizkhimin”TM, containing particles of Ag or Ag-Ni compoundswith nanometric sizes, were selected for given filtering module.The granulated sorbent “Fizkhimin”TM represents silica impregnated by Ag or Ag-Ni and modifiedon technique of IPCE RAS. The sorbent is issued as several types and represents granules of darkcolor with the sizes of particles 0.5-6.0 mm. The studies of sorbent properties have shown, that itradiationally stable at a doze 500 MRad and does not initiate ignition of hydrogen. The given sor-bents have high sorptive efficiency in relation to molecular iodine and iodide methyl. At that it isnecessary to note, that they do not lose the sorptive efficiency up to temperature 300oC and up totemperature 600oC from them does not occur the desorption of radioactive iodine in a gas phase.Taking into account novelty of development and an opportunity of the international application ofpassive filtering system (the Russian project of the NPP WWER-1000 in India), expert internationaltests of efficiency of sorbents “Fizkhimin”TM based on Ag nanometric compounds on absorption ofvolatile radioactive iodine compounds at the stand of “ТUV Energie und System Technic” (TUV ET)(Karlsruhe, Germany) have been carried out. Testing passed on localization most difficult sorptiveform of the radioactive iodine - methyl iodide. Results of tests have shown that sorbents have veryhigh sorptive efficiency relative to most difficult localize form - to methyl iodide, at various experi-mental parameters.In conclusion, it is necessary to note, that the granulated sorbents “Fizkhmin”TM have very highsorptive efficiency in a wide range of experimental parameters and consequently they can be usedfor localization of volatile radioactive iodine compounds not only in passive filtering system, but alsoin other filtering devices, for example in the filters of emergency pressure release from containmentoperational NPPs during severe accidents.Work is supported by Council about grants of the President of the Russian Federation for the statesupport of leading scientific schools of the Russian Federation (grant SS-6692.2010.3).

References1. “Reactor Design” // Nucl. Engin., 2002, Advert. Supplement.2. Krebs, W.-D. “The New Generation” // Siemens Power J., 1999, no. 4, p. 10 - 13.3. “Tomorrow’s reactors” // Alternatives, 2003, no. 2, p. 4-5.


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The thermal decomposition of CH3131I in a gas flowAuthor: Sergey Kulyukhin1

Co-authors: Dmitrii Levushkin 1; Igor’ Rumer 1; Lubov’ Mizina 1



The localization of volatile radioactive iodine compounds by various sorbents from vapor-gas mediais a vital issue for environmental protection during both irradiated nuclear fuel reprocessing andaccidents at nuclear power enterprises, including nuclear power plants (NPPs).The work studies the thermal decomposition of methyl iodide CH3131I, a volatile radioactive iodineorganic compound, in a gas flow in the presence of various modifications of “Fizkhmin”TM granu-lated materials based on silica gel impregnated with d-elements.Test facility concluded the following basic parts: rotameters (1); a CH3131I generator (2); scrubberwith water (3); the heating furnace of mine type (4); composite materials under study (5); the ther-mocouple (6); a column with SiO2-Cuo (7); scrubber with 0.05 M Na2SO3 solution (8); the heatingfurnace of tubular type (9); columns with SiO2-AgNO3 (10).The study found that in the absence of “Fizkhmin”TM material, the degree of the decomposition ofCH3131I (10 mg) in air (flow rate 4.5–5.5 cm/s and time of the air flow presence in the heating zone1.0 – 1.5 s) was equal to (7-10)% at (540 10)оС, ~(70-75)% at (640 10)оС, and ~(97-99)% at (77015)оС.In the presence of silica gel granules measuring 1.0-3.0 mm, the degree of the decomposition ofCH3131I (10 mg) in air (linear flow rate 4.8–5.2 cm/s and time of the air flow presence in the heatingzone 1.0–1.1 s) was equal to (2-3)% at (240 10)оС, ~(10-15)% at (340 10)оС, ~(75-80)% at (44010)оС, and ~(97-99)% at ~(540 10)оС. Silica gel granules allow decreasing the CH3131I thermal

decomposition temperature in an air flow by ~200оС.In the presence of “Fizkhmin”TM granulated materials impregnated with Ni compounds or Ni-Cumixture (8-10 wt.% and granule size 1.0–3.0 mm), the degree of the decomposition of CH3131I (10mg) in air (linear flow rate 4.8–5.2 cm/s and time of the air flow presence in the heating zone 0.8–1.1s) was equal to <0.2% at (20 3)оС, ~(0.3-1.0)% at (150 20)оС, (15-30)% at (250 10)оС, ~(85-92)%at (340 15)оС, and ~(95-99)% at (465 20)оС. “Fizkhmin”TM granules containing 8-10 wt.% Ni or itsmixture with Cu, allow decreasing the CH3131I thermal decomposition temperature in an air flowby more than ~300оС.The work studies the dependence of the CH3131I thermal decomposition degree on the concentra-tion of a d-element in the “Fizkhmin”TM material and its storage time, as well as on the amount ofCH3131I in an air flow.Work is supported by Council about grants of the President of the Russian Federation for the statesupport of leading scientific schools of the Russian Federation (grant SS-6692.2010.3).

Session 13 / 5

Assessment of dose to the Irish population arising from anthro-pogenic radioactivity in the Irish marine environmentAuthor: Kevin Kelleher1

Co-authors: Fiona Clyne 2; Lorraine Currivan 3; Olwyn Hanley 4

1 Radiological Protection Instiute of Ireland2 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science3 Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland4 Radiological Protection Insitute of Ireland


Since the early 1980’s the Radiological Protection Instiute of Ireland (RPII) has carried out extensivemonitoring of the levels of anthropogenic radioactivity in the Irish marine environment through

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analysis of fish, shellfish, seaweed and sediment samples. The most significant source of this anthro-pogenic radioactivity arises from the liquid discharges from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plantlocated in the Eastern Irish sea and the radionuclides of primary interest are Cs-137, Tc-99, Pu-238and Pu-239,240.The RPII has always used the results from the marine monitoring programme to assess the dosearising from consumption of fish and shellfish. Recent work carried out by the RPII and Centrefor Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) has identified other critical exposurepathways that would need to be assessed in order to obtain a more comprehensive dose assessmentfor members of the public. These pathways include ingestion of seaweed, inhalation of seaspray,external exposure arising from exposure to beach sediments and, to a lesser extent, occupationalexposure through handling of fishing equipment. This work assesses the dose arising from all ofthese pathways using the European Commission CREAM methodology in conjunction with datafrom the RPII’s monitoring programme and habits data of the Irish population and identifies thecritical exposure pathways and the radionuclides of primary concern from a dose assessment per-spective.

Session 3 / 6

Radioanalytical methods: tools in studies of thyrotoxic effects ofexcessive bromide and perchlorate ions

Author: Stanislav Pavelka1

1 Institute of Physiology, ASCR, Prague/Central-European Technology Institute, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Re-public


With the aid of several radioanalytical methods, we studied the effects of an enhanced bromideand/or perchlorate intake on various aspects of iodinemetabolism and, consequently, on themetabolismof thyroid hormones in the rat. Presumed goitrogenic and thyrotoxic effects of excessive bromideand perchlorate ions were followed in adult male rats, as well as in lactating rat dams (and theirbreast-fed pups), maintained on diets with different iodine content, ensuring either sufficient iodinesupply or mild to severe iodine deficiency. The animals were administered subchronicaly (for 7 to56 days) with bromide alone (in drinking water) or in combination with perchlorate.At the whole-organism level, we followed the influence of exogenous bromide on the uptake of[131I]-iodide by the thyroids and by various others organs and tissues (especially the mammaryglands), as well as on the kinetics of elimination of iodine from the animal’s body. Bromide wasapplied in very low (ca. 0.2 mg) up to extremely high doses (> 200 mg bromide per animal per day).Especially, we followed the effects of high bromide levels in the organism of lactating rat dams ontheir performance in the course of nursing period and on the prosperity of their breast-fed pups.In rats administered with bromide and perchlorate we measured a consistent increase in relativeweight of the thyroids with increasing time and concentration of applied bromide, and a sharp reduc-tion of the 24-h uptake of [131I]-iodide by their thyroids. In these animals, we also determined (withradioimmunoassay using [125I]-thyroxine as radiotracer) a steady decline in serum total thyroxineconcentration. Moreover, excessive bromide in the mothers substantially depressed the extent of[131I]-iodine transfer from the dams through mother’s milk to the suckling. As a consequence, amarked decline in the body weight increments of afflicted pups, in comparison with the young frommothers kept on a low bromide intake was observed. We have also confirmed the earlier observationthat bromide toxicity is dependent on the state of iodine supply into the organism. Hypothyroidismin experimental animals caused by excessive bromide intake was more pronounced under the condi-tions of iodine deficiency (i.e., in animals maintained on a low-iodine diet). Very high bromide levelsin the organism of the mothers adversely affected also the thyroids of their young.At the molecular level, we studied the effects of exogenous bromide and perchlorate ions on theactivity of thyroid peroxidase (TPO), the key enzyme in thyroid hormones metabolism. Firstly, wefound out correct assay conditions for the radiometric determination of TPO enzyme activity in iso-lated thyroid glands of iodine-deficient rats. Unexpectedly, we found that the influence of exogenousbromide on the TPO activity was not simply inhibitory; it was more complex, biphasic with regardto the extent of bromide intake.This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Rep. (Research project No.

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MSM0021622413), by theAcademy of Sciences of the Czech Rep. (Research project No. AV0Z50110509),and by the Czech Science Foundation (Grant No. 304/08/0256).

Session 7 / 7

Radiopharmacological studies: interaction of antidepressant flu-oxetine with thyroid hormones metabolismAuthor: Stanislav Pavelka1

1 1Department of Radiometry, Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague and 2Central-European Technology Institute, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic


Using [I-125]-labeled iodothyronines as substrates, we applied our newly developed radiometricenzyme assays for iodothyronine deiodinases (IDs) of types 1, 2 and 3 (D1, D2 and D3), as well asthe adapted radiometric assays for conjugating enzymes uridine 5’-diphospho-glucuronyltransferase(UDP-GT) and iodothyronine sulfotransferases (ST), in radiopharmacological studies of the interac-tion of an antidepressant drug fluoxetine (Fluox) with the metabolism of thyroid hormones (TH) inthe rat.TH are supposed to control the activity of some neurotransmitters (e.g., serotonin), which are hy-pothetically involved in the pathogenesis of depressive illness. Inadequate activities of brain IDscould lead to local insufficient triiodothyronine concentration and might be, therefore, one of thepathogenic factors of depression. Conjugation of phenolic hydroxyl group of hydrophobic TH withUDP-glucuronic acid (catalyzed by UDP-GT) or with sulfate (catalyzed by ST) should lead to theirincreased water solubility and increased excretion in bile and/or urine and, therefore, to decreasedTH plasma levels.The effects of subchronic administration (for 25 days) to Wistar rats of Fluox by itself (1.5 to 6 mgper animal per day) or 3,3´,5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) (10 micro g per animal per day) by itself or incombination with Fluox, on T3 production and degradation in the CNS and in different peripheralrat tissues were followed both, at the level of whole organism and at the molecular level.At thewhole-body level, we found that administration of fluoxetine caused a slight decrease in serumtotal thyroxine (T4) levels, but produced only a negligible effect on T3 levels. The treatment of ratswith supraphysiological amounts of T3 caused very marked decline of serum T4 levels, due to a feed-back action of TH. Surprisingly, administration of Fluox together with supraphysiological amountsof T3 caused a distinctive fall of non-physiologically high concentrations of serum T3, which werereached by giving the animals the same amounts of T3 alone, to nearly normal levels.The elaborated radiometric assays for IDs, UDP-GT and ST were found usable for the assessment ofenzymatic changes, at the molecular level. About two-fold higher UDP-GT activities were found inliver microsomes of the rats treated with Fluox in comparison with control rats. On the contrary, theenzyme activities of ST in the liver and kidney cytosolic fractions of the control and treated animalswere found to be negligible and not influenced by the treatments. However, changes in IDs activitiescaused by the treatment of rats with Fluox alone, and especially with T3 by itself were much morepronounced and could be easily quantitated.This work was supported by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Rep. (Research project No.AV0Z50110509), by theMinistry of Education of the Czech Rep. (Research project No. MSM0021622413),and by the Czech Science Foundation (Grant No. 304/08/0256).


Radiometric enzyme assays for iodothyronine deiodinasesAuthor: Stanislav Pavelka1


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Details of newly elaborated radiometric methods for extremely sensitive determination of enzymeactivities of iodothyronine deiodinases (IDs) of types 1, 2 and 3 are described. IDs catalyze selective5’- (outer ring) and 5- (inner ring) monodeiodinations of iodothyronines and play crucial roles in thebiotransformations of thyroid hormones (TH).Our novel radiometric assays for IDs are based on the use of appropriate high-specific-radioactivity125I-labeled iodothyronines as substrates; optimized TLC separation of radioactive products fromthe unconsumed substrates; film-less autoradiography of radio-chromatograms using storage phos-phor screens; and quantification of the separated compounds with a BAS-5000 (Fujifilm Life ScienceCo.) laser scanner. During the developmental process, we found out optimum assay conditions, in-cluding concentrations of the respective radioactively labeled substrates; appropriate concentrationsof thiol cofactor; the amount of total protein and enzyme concentration in the incubation mixtures;and suitable incubation times for the proper measurement of the individual IDs activities.This methodology enabled us to determine IDs enzyme activities as low as 10 exp -18 katals, in micro-somal fractions of different rat and human tissues, as well as in homogenates of cultured mammaliancells. We demonstrated the applicability of our sophisticated radiometric methods by following thealterations of IDs activities induced in cultured rat astroglial cells by a series of purinergic agonists,retinoic acid, and their combination. In the case of ATP as a representative of purinergic agonists, wedetermined also time-course and dose-response curves to characterize in more details the inductionof each type of deiodinase by purines.This work was supported by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Rep. (Research project No.AV0Z50110509), by theMinistry of Education of the Czech Rep. (Research project No. MSM0021622413),and by the Czech Science Foundation (Grant No. 304/08/0256).


Ascertainment of changes in thyroid hormones metabolism inwhite adipose tissue by radiometric enzyme assaysAuthor: Stanislav Pavelka1

Co-author: Zuzana Macek Jilkova 2


2 Department of Adipose Tissue Biology, Institute of Physiology, ASCR, Prague


Thyroid hormones (TH) play important roles in the development and function of both, brown andwhite adipose tissue. However, data about the local conversion of TH in adipocytes are still scarce.With the aid of our newly developed radiometric enzyme assay, we measured changes in the activityof the type 3 iodothyronine deiodinase (D3) in several depots of murine white adipose tissue (WAT)during the development of dietary obesity in the experimental animals. D3 is the key enzyme in themetabolism of TH, catalyzing the conversion of biologically most active 3,5,3’-triiodo-L-thyronine(T3) and also of prohormone thyroxine (T4) into inactive metabolites, 3,3’-diiodothyronine (T2) and3,3‘,5‘-triiodothyronine (reverse T3), respectively.Changes in the metabolism of TH during the development of dietary obesity were followed in maleC57BL/6J mice. At four weeks of age, the animals were randomly assigned to a standard low-fat (LF)diet or a special high-fat (HF) diet and maintained on these diets for two weeks before analysis. Inaddition to radiometric determination of D3 activities at the molecular level, changes in the thyroidstatus of the animals at the whole-body level were monitored. Serum total T3 and T4 levels weredetermined using commercial RIA kits. Moreover, several morphological parameters were followed,among others the assessment of cellularity of WAT depots by fluorimetric determination of tissueDNA concentration.Compared to LF diet, HF-feeding resulted in a significantly higher fat depots weight: epididymal fatdepots (366 ± 19 vs. 242 ± 13 mg in LF controls), dorsolumbar subcutaneous fat (200 ± 7 vs. 143 ± 4mg). Cellularity of the subcutaneous fat of HF group, assessed as DNA content, was higher (304 ± 52vs. 215 ± 13 micro g DNA/depot) while no difference was found in epididymal fat. Plasma levels oftotal TH were significantly elevated in mice fed the HF diet: T3 (1.30 ± 0.03 vs. 0.96 ± 0.03 nmol/L),

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T4 (41.6 ± 1.1 vs. 36.9 ± 0.8 nmol/L). D3 activity was significantly enhanced in the subcutaneousfat of the HF-mice (142 ± 20 vs. 85 ± 12 fmol T2/h/mg protein in LF controls) but not so much inepididymal fat.In conclusion, we found that the development of HF diet-induced obesity in mice was associatedwith an enhancement of D3 activity in WAT. This work was supported by the Academy of Sciencesof the Czech Rep. (Research project No. AV0Z50110509), by the Ministry of Education of the CzechRep. (Research project No. MSM0021622413), and by the Czech Science Foundation (Grant No.304/08/0256).

Session 5 / 10

Radioecology around a closed uranium mineAuthor: Borut Smodiš1

Co-authors: Marko Černe 1; Marko Štrok 1

1 Jožef Stefan Institute


Uranium mine at Žirovski vrh, Slovenia, operated from 1985 to 1990 and processed about 600,000tons of uranium ore. The uraniummill tailings (UMT) were deposited onto the Boršt waste pile lyingclose to the mine, in the subalpine region with relatively high rainfall and within a relatively denselypopulated area.The mining influential area has been under continuous radiological monitoring since starting indus-trial excavations in 1982. However, more detailed radioecology studies were initiated some six yearsago. They are focused on assessing mobility and bioavailability of radionuclides present in the tail-ings pile.The mobility of 238U, 234U, 230Th and 226Ra was studied by the Shultz modified Tessier sequentialextraction procedure. The uranium isotopes were found to be the most mobile from the UMT, whilstthe mobility of 226Ra and 230Th appeared to be suppressed by high sulphate concentrations.When comparing the revised BCR and the modified Tessier sequential extraction protocols it wasfound that the protocols are not comparable as the data obtained are protocol- and element- depen-dent.Uptake of particular radionuclides by the plants grown in the vicinity of the former mine were alsoinvestigated. In particular, a common reed grown in soils contaminated with the seepage watersfrom the tailings was studied. The plants contained elevated levels of 238U, 226Ra and 210Pb com-pared to the plants from control site.Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in milk collected from the area of Žirovski vrhwere comparable to the reference location, except of uranium where the content was higher. Thecombined annual effective dose for adults consuming milk from the Žirovski vrh area is 13.0 ± 1.7μSv/year.

Session 8 / 11

Lead radioisotopes in the lower atmosphere associated with nat-ural aerosolsAuthor: Constantin Papastefanou1

1 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Physics, Atomic and Nuclear Physics Laboratory


The aerodynamic size distributions of radon decay product aerosols, i.e. 214Pb, 212Pb, and 210Pbwere measured using low-pressure (LPI) as well as conventional low-volume 1-ACFM and high-volume (HVI) cascade impactors. The activity size distribution of 214Pb and 212Pb was largely as-

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sociated with submicron aerosols in the accumulation mode (0.08 to 2.0 μm). The activity medianaerodynamic diameter “AMAD” varied from 0.10 to 0.37 μm (average 0.16 μm) for 214Pb-aerosolsand from 0.07 to 0.25 μm (average 0.12 μm) for 212Pb-aerosols. The geometric standard deviation,σg averaged 2.86 and 2.97, respectively. The AMAD of 210Pb-aerosols varied from 0.28 to 0.49 μm(average 0.37 μm) and the geometric standard deviation, σg varied from 1.6 to 2.1 (average 1.9). Theactivity size distribution of 214Pb-aerosols showed a small shift to larger particle sizes relative to212Pb-aerosols. The larger median size of 214Pb-aerosols was attributed to α-recoil depletion ofsmaller aerosol particles following the decay of the aerosol-associated 218Po. Subsequent 214Pbcondensation on all aerosol particles effectively enriches larger-sized aerosols. 212Pb does not un-dergo this recoil-driven redistribution. Even considering recoil following 214Po α-decay, the average210Pb-labeled aerosol grows by a factor of two during its atmospheric lifetime. Early morning andafternoon measurements indicated that similar size associations of 214Pb occur, despite humiditydifferences and the potential for fresh particle production in the afternoon. In estimating lifetimesof radon decay product aerosols in ambient air, a mean residence time of about 8 days could beapplied to aerosol particles in the lower atmosphere below precipitation cloud levels.

Session 8 / 12

Helium release from aged palladium tritideAuthor: Zhi Zhang1

Co-authors: Cheng Qin 1; Hong-Zhi Zhu 1; Jie Ren 1; Jin-Shui Yang 1; Yong-Jun Su 1

1 China Academy of Engineering Physics


In order to measure the helium release accurately, many methods including thermal desorption,P-V-T, mass spectrometric analyses and calorimetric measurements have been used. The articleprovides competitive measure methods of D-T isotope exchange, thermal desorption and aqua fortisdissolution to study helium release from PdTx. Themethods of D-T isotope exchange and aqua fortisdissolution combined with mass spectrum and gas chromatogram analyses are original techniques.The helium release ratio of three aged samples were achieved by these methods. Palladium tritidesat the initial tritium/palladium(T/Pd) atomic ratio of 0.65 were prepared by gaseous P-V-T method.Three samples were aged at room temperature for 604,1265 and 2168 days, respectively. The obtainedresults reveal that palladium tritides have the strong ability to retain 3He generated in their matrix,and 3He out gassed can not be obviously observed using D-T substitution and thermal desorptionmethods. In contrast, the helium release ratio of three samples (i.e., 1.94% of 604 days, 2.87% of 1265days and 3.34% of 2168 days, respectively ), measured by aqua fortis dissolution method, indicatethat more than 96.7% of 3He is held up in Pd and the 3He release ratio is increasing with agingtime.

Session 11 / 13

Automated and rapid determination of radionculides for emer-gency analysis, radioecology investigation and characterizationof decommissioning wasteAuthor: Xiaolin Hou1

Co-authors: Jixin Qiao 1; Shi Keliang 1

1 Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark


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With the increasing threat of potential nuclear terrorism and radiological accidents, establishment ofa rapid reaction system under nuclear emergency preparedness is an urgent requirement for reduc-ing the health risk to the public. Rapid determination of radionuclides in large number of biologicaland environmental samples is a key and crucial step in the emergency process and determines thewhole reaction time. With increasing numbers of nuclear facilities being closed in recent yearsand from now on, a considerable decommissioning work is needed, and characterization of variouswastes from decommissioning is required for evaluation of the radioactivity inventory in various ma-terials. In the radioecological investigation, a large number of environmental and biological samplesneed to be analysed to obtain a better estimation of the environmental risk. All these work requiresto accurate determination of various radionculides. Except for the gamma radionuclides, the tra-ditional analytical methods for radionuclides normally take a few days to weeks for one analysis;this makes the emergency reaction impossible in one day, and impossible to analyse a large numberof sample from decommissioning work and radioecological investigation. In recent years, consider-able efforts have been focused on the development of automated and rapid analytical methods. Inour laboratory, automated analytical systems have been established by exploiting flow/sequentialinjection approach, using chromatographic separation concept, combined with rapid measurementof radionculides using ICP-MS. A number of analytical methods have been developed to determine99Tc, 237Np, and isotopes of Pu, U and Th in biological, environmental and nuclear waste samples.This work aims to summarize these automated and rapid analytical methods for the determinationof various radionculides.


Secure and certify studies to work on production of ”spiked” plu-toniumAuthor: Prof.Dr.Mr.Ashraf Elsayed Mohamed Mohamed1

1 Institute for Nuclear Materials


-In the nuclear weapons sites , work on materials include non nuclear testing of components ofweapons that are sitting in the sites that include fundamental physics and engineering experimentson plutonium and investigating technologies for remanufacture of plutoniumparts innuclearweaponsand work on prodution of spiked plutonium which incorporates more of the isotope plutonium 238than would normally be found in weapons -grade plutonium, 7.5 % rather than the typical 0.036 % .As plutonium 238 is more radioactive ,the spiking process accelerates the formation of defects thatoccur within the metal during alpha decay of plutonium ,the new alloy ages more quickly , on theequivalent of 16 years for every year of actual aging, which makes it perfect for experiments on plu-tonium decay, If typical weapons-grade plutonium , plutonium 239 is spiked with some plutonium238 , which decay more quickly , the self-irradiation process dramatically picks up speed . If 5%of plutonium 239 is replaced with plutonium 238 , the sample will age 11 times faster than normalplutonium 239 .Aging can be accelerated by a faster of 16 over normal aging processes if 7.5% ofthe sample is plutonium 238. A useful measure of acceleration aging is defined as the number ofyears required to reach a radiation dose that results in 10 displacements per atom. Weapons-gradeplutonium normally takes 100 years to reach this dose but will need just 6.25 years if it is spikedwith 5% plutonium 238.In this paper(oral only), I discuss and present the advanced studies to certify a weapons test thatshake , drop, heat and cool sample of fissile materials take place inside the test building.

Session 10 / 16

2-Secure facilities for Egyptian Nuclear weaponsAuthor: Prof.Dr.Mr.Ashraf Elsayed Mohamed Mohamed1

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1 Institute for Nuclear Materials


• Egyptian Nuclear weapons states have developed dedicated safe and secure facilities for nuclearwarhead and bombs assembly and disassembly operations .These facilities are critical elementsof material nuclear weapons infrastructures .Their broad operational responsibilities include theproduction of new warheads, the dismantlement of retired warheads ,warhead modernizationand refurbishment, stockpile surveillance and component testing ,production of trainers, andmodification of stockpiled warheads for flight-testing purposes such as an operation involvingreplacement of fissile components with inert materials and telemetry systems .The facility isdefined as a nuclear warhead assembly/disassembly plant ,If it conducts the operations of as-sembly/disassembly of nuclear explosive packages (NEP),an assembly containing high explosive(HE),components and fissile materials, and/or final mechanical assembly of warheads (Bombs).As such operations involve staging and handling of fissile materials components and assembliesincluding NEPs and fully assembled warheads , The facility’s states could be defined as “Shut-down” or “Converted” .If it no longer works with intact nuclear weapons or subassemblies con-taining fissile materials. In this second paper ,I will complete my first paper that published theSPIE2010 and I discuss and present the main secure facilities for Egyptian nuclear warheads andbombs and themajor monitoring options for former warhead assembly/disassembly facilities thatcould be used in combination with each other ,and show some cases of nuclear forensic investi-gations.


Aging effects on kinetic properties in palladium–tritium systemduring tritium storageAuthor: Jie Du1

Co-authors: Hong-Zhi Zhu 1; Zhi Zhang 1

1 China Academy of Engineering and Physics

Palladium powders had been aged at room temperature for 6.6 years. The 3He content was esti-mated from the initial tritium stoichiometry and the aging time by applying the radioactive decaylaw, which shows the helium-palladium atomic ratio (He/Pd) is 0.204. Tritium absorption of agedpalladium powder has been measured in the initial pressure of 284 kPa and as a comparation, freshpalladium powder (He/Pd = 0) has been also tested in the initial pressure of 354 kPa at the sametemperature of 20℃. The correspondence and difference on the kinetics of tritium absorption areanalyzed between the aged and fresh palladium powder because of the presence of helium. Theoverall tritium absorption process is determined by two steps: (1) the chemisorption reaction on thesurface of palladium tritide at the beginning of absorption; (2) diffusion of tritium atoms throughtritide in the middle of tritium absorption. There is a better agreement on kinetic properties for freshpalladium powder than aged one. The absorption pressure-time isotherms and other ones show thatthe presence of helium in the palladium decreases the absorption rate of tritium by influencing theinitial absorption process (<5s). The maximum of the tritium absorption rate of aged palladium pow-der exists in the α area and the absorption rate does not change so largely as the fresh palladiumpowder.

Session 9 / 18

Characterization of REE from NE Portugal using InstrumentalNeutron Activation Analysis

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Authors: Maria do Carmo Freitas1; Mário Reis1

Co-authors: Dung Ho Manh 1; Isabel Paiva 1; Maria José Madruga 1

1 Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear


The main objective of this study is the elemental characterization of geomaterial samples (“soils”,rañas and mother rocks), in terms of rare earth elements (REE), collected between 2007 and 2008, inthe Morais Massif, (NE Mainland of Portugal) by using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis(INAA). The group of samples labeled “soil”, includes representative portions of the inorganic com-ponent (after C-removal) of the poor (immature) soil that rests over metaperidotite and metagabbrorocks belonging to the Morais Allochthonous Massif. Raña is a debris flow deposit typically com-posed of heterometric and (sub)angular pebbles of resistant materials (mostly quartzite, lidite, andmilky-quartz masses) in a clay-supported matrix; relatively quietness periods of sedimentation be-tween consecutive debris flow events are marked by discontinuous clay horizons variably enrichedin silt or sand fractions. Samples (soil, mother rock and rañas) granulometric fractions lower than63µm were separated and analyzed at the Portuguese Research Reactor, RPI. Chondrite normaliza-tion is done in order to obtain patterns indicators of REE anomalies. REE concentrations in soilsamples are roughly half of the ones in the rañas.


Native and transplanted lichen and bark as air pollution biomon-itors at three different meteorological conditionsAuthors: Adriano Pacheco1; Maria do Carmo Freitas2

1 1CERENA-IST, Technical University of Lisbon2 Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear, URSN


At three sites of Portugal – Viana do Castelo, Sacavém, Sines – bark from Olea europea and thelichen Parmelia caperata, collected in clean areas, were exposed. The situation of the sites allowsdifferent meteorological conditions, from rainy to dry and cooler to warmer. Three different proce-dures for the lichen exposure were adopted: rectangular flat pieces, the lichen in its original formand biomass (previously ground lichen). Samples were exposed for 9 months and removed after 3, 6and 9months (continuous mode) and exposed for 3 months, in a winter campaign, a spring campaignand a summer campaign (discontinuous mode). Conductivity was measured before and after expo-sure whenever possible. Ten samples of each biomonitor were kept for analysis prior to exposure.All samples were analyzed by Instrumental Neutron Activation analysis (INAA), at the PortugueseNuclear Reactor, and the chemical elements were determined. Total deposition was collected simul-taneously to the exposures and analyzed by inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (ICP-MS).Meteorological data were taken from the Portuguese Meteorology Institute and processed togetherwith the chemical element concentrations. Results are discussed on basis of 1) influence of humid-ity/precipitation and temperature on bark and lichen transplant elemental accumulation, and 2) ofdifferent procedure of lichen exposure (biomass, usual one and flat - well-determined exposure area- pieces).

Session 14 / 20

Determination of Tc-99 in seaweed sample by ICP-MSAuthor: Keliang Shi1

Co-authors: Per Roos 1; Wangsuo Wu 2; Xiaolin Hou 1

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1 Risø National Lab for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark2 Radiochemistry Lab, School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, China


Due to its high mobility, no stable isotope and long half-life (2.1×105 y), 99Tc is one of the most im-portant radionuclide in safety assessment of radioactivity in environment as well as nuclear wastemanagement. Because of the high enrichment of 99Tc in seaweed, it is widely used as a bioindicatorfor the marine research using 99Tc. These works require a rapid and accurate method for the sensi-tive determination of 99Tc in various environmental materials. Because of the volatile property andlow concentration in the environment, the chemical separation and purification of Tc is the mostcritical step for the accurate determination of 99Tc. Here, we present an analytical method for 99Tcin seaweed sample. The analytical procedure includes four steps: (1) sample ash and 99Tc leaching,(2) co-precipitation pre-concentration of 99Tc, (3) Removal interferences mainly Mo and Ru, and (4)ICP-MS detection of 99Tc. 99mTc was used as a yield monitor to check the loss of 99Tc in each step.It was observed that the organic matrix of seaweed samples can be incinerated completely at 700 0Cin 3h without significant loss of Tc. For Mo and Ru decontamination, extraction chromatographyusing TEVA resin was applied and a sufficiently high decontamination factors for Mo and Ru havebeen obtained in this work. The separated 99Tc in the eluate from the chromatograph was measuredby ICP-MS with lower detection limit after one week decay of 99mTc. The total chemical yield of Tcin whole procedure is above 85% and analysis of a batch of samples (8-12) can be completed within12h. The procedure was proved to be reliable and can be used in the environmental sample‘s analysisby analyzing some standard reference materials.


Reactor Production of Cu-64 by (n,p) reactions on Zn targets inDhruva Research Reactor for radiopharmaceutical studiesAuthor: vimalnath nair1

Co-authors: Anupam Mathur 1; Chandan Kumar 1; Jagadeesan K. C. 1; Meera Venkatesh 1; P. V. Joshi 1; RajeswariA 1; Usha Pandey 1; Viju Chirayil 1

1 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre


64Cu is an unique radionuclide, as it undergoes transmutation through three different routes, namely,electron capture (41%), - (40%) and positron emission (19%), and hence is suitable for both PET imag-ing and targeted therapy. The high specific activity ‘no carrier added’ (N.C.A) grade 64Cu produciblefrom (n,p) reactions on Zn target in medium flux nuclear reactor, is an attractive option to avail theradionuclide, for studies requiring high specific activity product.N.C.A grade 64Cu was produced by neutron irradiation of 1 g zinc foil target (48.63% in 64Zn) sealedin Cadmium shield and encapsulated in standard aluminum container at a neutron flux of ~5.6×1013n.cm-2.s-1 for 3 days. Irradiated Zn foil was dissolved in 5ml 10M HCl inside a 100 mm thick lead-shielded processing facility with provisions for remote handling. The concentration of resultant clearsolution was adjusted to 0.1Mwith respect to HCl and 1% Ascorbic acid was added to it. The solutionwas passed through an anion exchange column (Dowex 1×8; 50-100 mesh). 64Cu is retained on thecolumn while the bulk Zn is washed off. Further after washing the column free of ascorbic acid andradioactive Zn, 64Cu is eluted out using a mixture of 3M HCl and H2O2 solution as eluent. The elu-ate fraction collected was heated to expel H2O2 and reduce the volume. 64Cu radioactivity contentand its radionuclide purity were ascertained by -ray spectrometry using HPGe detector coupled toa 4K multichannel analyser system (MCA). Appropriately diluted aliquots of the processed 64CuCl2solution were measured for 1h, for this purpose. The 1345 keV characteristic photopeak of 64Cu and511 keV annihilation peak were recorded in the gamma spectra.Radioactivity measured from various batches produced, yielded comparable activity at the end ofirradiation. Under the stated conditions of irradiation, 185 MBq 64Cu was separated from solutioncontaining 1 g Zn. Radionuclide purity of greater than 99.9% was achieved through radiochemicalseparations.Separated 64Cu was evaluated by labeling with MIBI and DOTA ligands. Labeling efficiency of

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99.9% was achieved with MIBI and bio-evaluations in mice showed approximately 4-5% uptake inmyocardium. However, large uptake in liver and kidneys were also seen for 64Cu-MIBI, which ne-cessitates further studies to explore if any suitable 64Cu complexes for myocardial studies could beidentified.

Session 2 / 22

Neutron capture cross-section measurements of Th-232 using ac-tivation techniqueAuthor: Paresh Prajapati1

Co-authors: K.C Jagadeesan 2; K.K Rasheed 3; Naik Haladhara 4; S Ganesan 3; S Mukherjee 5; S Thakre 6; S.VSuryanarayana 7

1 The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, India-3900022 Radiopharmaceutical Division, B.A.R.C, Mumbai3 Reactor Physics Design Division, B.A.R.C, Mumbai4 Radiochemistry Division,B.A.R.C, Mumbai5 The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara6 Radiopharmaceutical Division,B.A.R.C, Mumbai7 Nuclear Physics Division,B.A.R.C, Mumbai


232Th-233U fuel cycle in connection with ADSS is one of the possibilities for power generationbesides transmutation of long-lived fission products and incineration of long-lived minor actinides.The 232Th-233U fuel in AHWR and ADSS has an advantage over the present reactors based onuranium fuel from the point of thousand times less radio toxic wastes production. Besides these,thorium in the earth’s crust is three to four times more abundant than uranium. Thus, it is a factthat 232Th is the only nucleus present in nature which can give rise to an excess of fissile material233U in presence of either thermal or fast neutrons, and thusmaking it an excellent choice for nuclearreactors of the future. In the Th-U fuel cycle, the fissile nucleus 233U is generated by two successiveβ-decays after a neutron capture by the fertile nucleus 232Th. Thus, the production of fissile nucleus233U depends on the 232Th(n,γ) reaction cross-section.The literature survey shows that there is no neutron capture cross-section data for 232Th beyond2.73 MeV except only one data is available at 14. 5 MeV. In view of this, the 232Th(n,γ) reaction cross-section at average neutron energies of 6.2±0.3 MeV and 16.2±0.4 have been determined for the firsttime using activation and off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique. The average neutrons of energies6.2±0.3 MeV and 16.2±0.3 MeV were produced by 7Li(p, n)7Be* reaction using BARC-TIFR Pelletronfacility at TIFR, Mumbai. The experimentally determined 232Th(n,γ) reaction cross-sections werecompared with the evaluated nuclear data of ENDF/B-VII, JENDL-4.0 and JEFF-3.1 and were foundto be in good agreement. The 232Th(n,γ) reaction cross-sections were also calculated theoreticallyusing the TALYS 1.2 computer code and compared with the experimentally determined data.

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Tritium probe in nanoparticles investigationsAuthor: Maria Chernysheva1

Co-author: Gennadii Badun 1

1 Lomonosov Moscow State University

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Tritium atoms that form on the surface of hot tungsten filament are used as a labeled agent fororganic compounds. The labeling efficiency itself under the certain conditions (W-wire tempera-ture, tritium gas pressure and time of the explosion) and tritium distribution in the target or in itsfragments can characterize the structural peculiarities of subsurface layer. Furthermore, the labeledcompounds can be used as a tracer in the sorption experiments. The experimental complex that usedatomic tritium and liquid scintillation spectrometry of tritium in different variants is called “tritiumprobe”.In this research we introduced tritium in lysozyme, human serum albumin, pluronic P123 and humicsubstances separated from coal and river. Furthermore, we have shown that not only organic mate-rials but carbon-based nanomaterials can be radiolabeled with the help of such technique. Tritiumlabeled biopolymers were used for studying their adsorption at the aqueous/oil (scintillation phasemethod) and at the aqueous/hydrophobic solids interfaces. Tritium tracer method is the one that al-lowed quantitatively characterize the adsorption of biomacromolecules at the mentioned interfaces.By liquid scintillation spectrometry of tritium the adsorption capacity of mentioned biopolymersto carbon-based nanomaterials (single-walled carbon nanotubes, graphene and nanodiamonds) wascompared with liquid hydrophobic analogues (p-xylene, octane and octanol). In each case adsorp-tion at the aqueous/oil interface was at least an order of magnitude higher than at the aqueous/solid.Thus, the influence of hydrophobic phase nature and its role in the adsorption process were revealed.We observed the significantly changes in the possibility of stable aqueous suspensions formation ofthe initial and modified nanomaterial. In the opposite to nanodiamonds after the formation of theadsorption layer on graphene or on single-walled nanotubes surface the sedimentation stability ofthe suspension of nanoparticles was extremely increased.

This work was supported by the RFBR (09-03-00819).

Session 9 / 24

Application of the model of Cs-137 vertical migration for the as-sessment of sedimentation rates along the Bertioga Channel, SãoPaulo State, BrazilAuthor: Paulo Ferreira1

Co-authors: Elvis França 2; Michel Mahiques 1; Rubens Figueira 1

1 University of São Paulo2 Centro Regional de Ciências Nucleares do Nordeste


Cs-137 is among the main isotopes produced in U-235 fission in nuclear explosions. It has a highfission yield, half-life of 30.17 years and decays to Ba-137 through β and γ emissions. As Cs-137 hasa strong affinity to marine particulate matter, it tends to accumulate in sediments.This nuclide is largely used for estimating sedimentation rates, since historical dates of Cs-137 liber-ation in the environment (1963’s global fallout peak and 1986’s Chernobyl accident, for instance) canbe identified in vertical profiles of radiocesium activity, and then be used to increase the precisionof the models of sedimentation of unsupported Pb-210.However, Cs-137 behavior in sediments is complex due to numerous factors such as local sedimen-tary dynamics and vertical diffusion through interstitial water. Being so, radiocesium peaks cannotbe used accurately for the purpose of sedimentation rates study without the application of a mathe-matical model which considers the main factors that cause these temporal modifications in Cs-137vertical distribution.Bertioga Channel is part of the Santos-São Vicente Estuarine Complex, one of the economically mostimportant regions in Brazil. It is a channel at the northeast portion of the complex, where three sed-iment cores where sampled for this study.Through the means of high-resolution gamma spectrometry, Cs-137 radioactivity was measured forthe purpose of assessing local sedimentation rates using the model of vertical migration of Cs-137

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proposed by LIGERO et al. (2005), chosen for considering the 1963 radiocesium initial input, notusing excessive mathematical parameterizations, and being appropriate for coastal regions. The useof this model resulted in a mean sedimentation rate of 0.97 cm/yr.


Distribution of heavy metals in fish tissues of the TepuxtepecDam, MexicoAuthor: Graciela Zarazua1

Co-authors: Carmen Carreño-De Leon 2; Karina Giron 3; Pedro Avila-Perez 1; Samuel Tejeda 1; Trinidad Martinez4

1 Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares2 Instituto Tecnologico de Toluca3 UAEM. Facultad de Ciencias4 UNAM. Facultad de Ciencias


The Lerma River is born near the Toluca city. This city has an industrial, commercial and agriculturalactivity, the river then continues their flow to the Tepuxtepec damwhich is used as a water reservoirand fish production for the local population. The concentration of heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd,Hg and Pb) in gills, liver, kidney and muscle of herbivorous carp (Ctenopharygodon idella) fromTepuxtepec Dam, Mexico was evaluated. The samples were collected from six regions in the damand analyzed in triplicate by X Ray Fluorescence technique. A TXRF spectrometer “TX-2000 ItalStructures” with a Si(Li) detector and a resolution of 140 eV (FWHM) at Mn Kα. A Mo tube (40 kV,30 mA) with 17.4 KeV excitation energy was used. The mean concentration in tissues decrease in thesequence: Kidney ≈ Gills > Liver >Muscle; the range of concentration for Znwas 26.68-816.67mg/Kgfollowed by Cu: 1.18-35.81 mg/Kg, Cr: 1.20-5.80 mg/Kg, Cd: 0.30-7.00 mg/Kg, Ni: 0.40-3.70 mg/Kg,Pb: <0.02-1.92 mg/Kg and Hg: <0.03-1.14 mg/Kg. Chromium and mercury concentrations slightlyexceed the limits for fish proposed by FAO/WHO and Mexican legislation for human consumptionin the edible parts of fish from each one of the regions of the Tepuxtepec dam. The results show thatmetal accumulation in herbivorous carp tissues was higher in regions 3, 4 than the others, whichcould be due to the influence of Lerma River, one of the most polluted rivers of Mexico.


An automated production of Cu-64 on 18/9 MeV cyclotronAuthor: Pavol Rajec1

Co-authors: Erzsébet Losonci Pataky 2; Jaroslava Ometáková 3; Marek Leporis 2; Matúš Mozolík 2; Michal Reich 2;Peter Vlk 2; Vojto Csiba 2; Štefečka Miloslav 2

1 BIONT, Comenius University2 BIONT3 Comenius University


The reaction route 64Ni(p,n)64Cu is very popular for the preparation of 64Cu because its entrancechannel is accessible at low energies and yield of reaction is quite high. However, a high price ofthe enriched 64Ni is a disadvantage of this reaction path; hence, preparation of a chemically purenickel targets for the production of 64Cu using COSTIS (Compact Solid Target Irradiation System) is

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of a great research interest. Composition of electrolytic bath and electrochemical process conditionson the quality of nickel films deposited on 2 mm thick gold disc targets was investigated. Chemicalpurity of the electrodeposited nickel was measured by the Auger electron spectroscopy and the sur-face quality of targets was studied microscopically (SEM). A SRIM program was used for a thicknesstarget calculation.COSTIS target station was installed at the end of the external beam line of the IBA Cyclone 18/9cyclotron, and the irradiation surface of target was optimized. The target station has been equippedby a Nb window foil in the front of the target to degrade the beam energy to an optimal value. 64Cuproduction rate for 100mg 64Ni of 99.09 % purity (ISOFLEX) on gold target was 104MBq/µAh. Chem-ical separation of 64Cu from 64Ni was achieved by anion exchange chromatography method using6 M HCl as elution solution. An automated separation module for isolation of 64Cu equipped withPLC SIMATIC S7-1200 controller has been developed. The quality of 64Cu was checked by gammaspectrometry and chemical purity (64Ni) was determined by ICP-MS.


Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis for the absorption of U(VI)on the crosslinked polyester resinwith acrylic acid from aqueoussolutionsAuthor: Cemal OZEROGLU1

Co-author: Nilüfer METİN 2

1 Istanbul University Faculty of Engineering Department of Chemistry 34320 Avcilar-Istanbul/TURKEY2 Istanbul University Faculty of Engineering Department af Chemistry 34320 Avcilar Istanbul/TURKEY


Uranium and its compounds are highly toxic which causes progressive or irreversible renal injuryand in acute cases may lead kidney failure and dead (1-3). For this reason, many removal processeshave been used for adsorption of radioactive metal ions such as uranium(VI), strontium(II) and ce-sium(I) ions from industrial waste waters and waste solutions (4-6). Organic and inorganic adsor-bents have been used for removal processes of radioactive metal ions from wastes. In recent years,polymeric adsorbents have indicated an increase for the treatment of aqueous nuclear waste solu-tions due to controlling adsorption capacity and supplying selectivity in adsorption processes (7-9).For this purpose, 80 g of unsaturated polyester resin (Polipol 353, Poliya) were mixed with 20 gof acrylic acid. This mixture was copolymerized using cobalt octoate (0.5 mL of 1%Co in toluene)-methyl ethyl ketone peroxide((1 mL of Butanox M60) initiator system at room temperature.

In this study, the effects of the contact time, temperature and U(VI) concentration for the adsorp-tion of U(VI) on the crosslinked polyester resin bearing acrylic acid functional groups have beeninvestigated. The adsorption data have been well represented by the Freundlich, Langmuir andDubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms. The adsorption capacity of the crosslinked copolymer andfree energy change are calculated by using D-R isotherms. Thermodynamic parameters (∆H0, ∆S0and ∆G0) have been determined for the adsorption of U(VI) ions on the crosslinked copolymer bear-ing acrylic acid functional groups from aqueous solutions. Experimental adsorption data have beenanalyzed using sorption kinetic models such as the Elovich, fractional power, pseudo-first order andpseudo-second order kinetic models. It has been observed that pseudo-second order kinetic modelprovided a high degree of correlation with experimental data for the adsorption of U(VI) ions on thecrosslinked copolymer bearing acrylic acid functional groups from aqueous solutions

References1. Mellah A. Chegrouche S. and Barkat M., J. Colloid and Interface Sci. 296 434 (2006).2. Rao T.P., Metilda P. and Gladis J.M., Talanta 68 1047 (2006).3. Qadeer R. and Hanif J., Radiochim. Acta 65 259 (1994).4. Özeroğlu C.ve Keçeli G., J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 268(2) 211 (2006)5. Singh B.N. and Maiti, B., Talanta, 69 393 (2006)6. Özeroğlu C. ve Keçeli G., Radiochim. Acta 95 1 (2007).7. Maheswari M. A. and Subramanian M.S. React. Funct. Polym. 62(1) 105 (2005)

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8. Büyüktiryaki S., Say R., Ersöz A., Birlik E. and Denizli A., Talanta 67 640 (2005).9. Özeroglu C., Keçeli G., Radiochim. Acta 97 709 (2009).


Adsorption ofCs(I) onDenselyCrosslinkedPoly(sodiummethacry-late) from Aqueous Solutions

Author: Cemal OZEROGLU1

Co-authors: Emine DOĞAN 2; Gönül KEÇELİ 2

1 Istanbul University Faculty of Engineering Department of Chemistry 34320 Avcilar-Istanbul/TURKEY

2 Istanbul University Faculty of Engineering Department of Chemistry


Toxic or radioactive metals cause progressive or irreversible renal injury and in acute cases, maylead to kidney failure and dead (1-3). Nuclear technologies have provided a better quality of differ-ent fields of life. However, this leads to accumulation of substantial amounts of radioactive wastesor waste solutions and the radionuclide 137Cs is produced in high yield during the fission processes.It is potentially very hazardous nuclide due to its long half-life (t1/2=30.17 years) and is a very ra-diocontaminant having high solubility in aqueous media (1, 4-6). Therefore there is a need for re-moval/separation of toxic or radionuclide metal ions from aqueous waste solutions or wastes byusing organic or inorganic adsorbents. Many separation and preconcentration techniques such aschemical precipitation, ion-exchange, solvent extraction and sorption on the solid have been devel-oped to remove metal ions from aqueous waste solutions. Nowadays, there is an increasing effortfor removing toxic or radionuclide contaminants from aqueous waste solutions or wastes by usingvarious polymeric adsorbents (6-10). It is also known that the use of polymeric adsorbents has ad-vantages for controlling adsorption capacity andmay present selective adsorption of metal ions fromwaste solutions.

In this study, a crosslinked copolymer has been proposed to remove Cs(I) ions from aqueous solu-tions. For this purpose, the crosslinked copolymer of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate(EGDM) andmethacrylic acid (MA) containing 25% of MA as weight percentage was synthesized by using ben-zoyl peroxide (BPO)-N,N-dimethyl aniline (DMA) initiator system at room temperature. The avail-able groups of carboxylic acid in the crosslinked copolymer were converted to the groups of sodiummethacrylate using 2 N NaOH solution. The adsorption behavior of cesium ions on the denselycrosslinked poly(sodium methacrylate) from aqueous solutions were investigated by the techniqueof ICP-MS measurements. Batch adsorption method was used to analyze the Cs(I) adsorption as afunction of parameters such as the amount of adsorbent, contact time, pH of solution, initial Cs(I) con-centration and temperature. Adsorption data obtained from experimental results have been testedfor a number of kinetic and isotherm equations. The constants in adsorption isotherm and kineticequations have been determined. The adsorption free energy has been calculated by using D-Risotherm to adsorption data.

References1. Sheha R. R., Metwally E., J. Hazard. Mater., 143 (2007) 354-361.2. Özeroglu C., Keçeli G., Radiochim. Acta, 97 (2009) 709-717.3. Mellah A., Chegrouche S., Barkat M., J. Colloid and Interface Sci., 296 (2006) 434-441.4. Cho Y., Komarneni S., Appl. Clay Sci., 43 (2009) 401-407.5. Başçetin E., Haznedaroğlu H., Erkol A.Y., Appl. Radiat. Isotop., 59 (2003) 5-9.6. Zhang Z., Xu X., Yan Y., Desalination, 263 (2010) 97-106.7. Özeroğlu C., Keçeli G., Radiochim. Acta, 95 (2007) 459-466.8. Maheswari M.A., Subramanian M.S., React. Funct. Polym., 66 (2006) 1452-1464.9. Özeroğlu C., Keçeli G., J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 268 (2006) 211-219.10. Choi S-H., Nho Y.C., Radiat. Physics and Chem., 57 (2000) 187-193

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Plutonium, americium and radiocesium in coastal sediments ofthe Cuban island, in the Caribbean SeaAuthor: José Antonio Corcho Alvarado1

1 Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos (CEAC), Cienfuegos, Cuba


In this study we report levels of plutonium, americium and radiocesium in sediments from coastalsites of the Cuban island (Caribbean Sea), a region from where there is very limited environmentalinformation concerning anthropogenic radioactive pollution. One sediment core from the HavanaBay (HB) and two from the Batabano Gulf (BG), both sites located in the western part of Cuba,were collected for this study. The activity concentrations, vertical distributions and inventories of239,240Pu, 238Pu, 241Pu, 241Am and 137Cs were determined in order to get insights on the sedimentdeposition processes.The activity ratios of 238Pu/239,240Pu, 241Am/239,240Pu and 241Pu/239,240Pu indicated that atmo-spheric nuclear weapon tests fallout is the main source of the anthropogenic radionuclides in thistropical region. The present study further confirmed earlier observations of low levels of 137Cs incoastal sediments in the Cuban island region. 239,240Pu, contrary to 137Cs, accumulated in the sed-iments with inventories two to four times higher than the expected fallout inventory in the Cubanregion. The high fluxes of 239,240Pu indicate that sediment focusing occurs in the investigated sites.The measurements of anthropogenic radionuclides in coastal sediments provided good estimates ofpast and present radioactive contamination in the Cuban marine environment.


Uranium in ground water samples of Northern GreeceAuthor: ALEXANDRA IOANNIDOU1

Co-authors: IOANNIS PASHALIDIS 2; IOANNIS SAMAROPOULOS 1; MARIA EFSTATHIOU 2; STAMATIS ZORAS3

1 ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI, Physics Department, Nuclear Phys. & Elementary Particle Phys.Division

2 Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, CY-1678 Nicosia, Cyprus3 Department of Environmental Engineers, Polytechnic School of Xanthi, Demokrition University of Thrace,


The activity concentrations of 238U and 234U have been determined in groundwater samples of hotsprings and deep wells in Northern Greece. The analysis was performed by alpha spectroscopy af-ter pre-concentration and separation of uranium by cation exchange (Chelex 100 resin) and finallyits electro-deposition on stainless steel discs. The uranium concentration in deep wells and springsvaries strongly between 0.15 and 7.66 μg l-1 and the corresponding 238U and 234U activity concen-trations between 1.82-95.3 mBq l-1 and 1.70-160.1 mBq l-1 respectively. The obtained isotopic ratio234U/238U varies between 0.95 and 1.74 indicating a disturbed radioactive equilibrium between thetwo uranium isotopes. In the studied waters uranium concentrations in solution decrease with in-creasing pH in the pH range between 7 and 9. This is attributed to the fact that at lower pH dissolutionof soil minerals occurs and uranium which is adsorbed or forms solid solution with the geologicalmatrix enters the aqueous phase. The strong dependence of the uranium concentration in the stud-ied waters from the dissolution of the geological matrix is corroborated by the strong correlationof the uranium concentration with the electrical conductivity measured in the ground waters underinvestigation.

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Session 5 / 31

Uranium isotopes as a tracer of groundwater transport studies

Author: Paweł Grabowski1

Co-author: Henryk Bem 1

1 Technical University of Lodz, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry


The uranium chain radionuclides are usually used for a wide range of application in the Earth Sci-ences. The 234U/238U activity ratio is used as a geochemical tool to investigate transport and flowrelationships in major hydrological reservoirs, groundwater pattern and it is highly useful for inter-preting timescales of weathering. In rocks older than a few million years, 234U/238U activity ratiosshould be in secular equilibrium. Nevertheless, the highly energetic alpha decay of 238U damages amineral’s crystalline lattice and allows 234U to be more mobile during weathering of rock by atmo-spheric water [1].In this work, the activity concentration and isotopic ratio of uranium isotopes (234U/238U) were de-termined in selected thermal groundwater, ground and surface water samples from central Poland.Additionally the radionuclides concentration in one sample of thermal groundwater from southwestPoland were determined. Uranium isotopes after co-precipitation with hydrated manganese dioxidewere separated from other natural radionuclides by extraction chromatography resin (Dowex 1x8).The activity concentrations were determined by using α spectrometry with PIPS detector (Cam-berra).Concentration of 234U and 238U in the examined waters varied from 0.75 mBq/dm3 to 16.8 mBq/dm3and from 0.64 mBq/dm3 to 45.5 mBq/dm3 respectively. The highest uranium concentrations weremeasured in the thermal groundwater from Mszczonow and Cieplice, while the lowest were ob-served in ground water from Plock which are got out from Cretaceous geological formation. The234U/238U activity ratio varied from 0.370 (Cieplice) to 1.205 (Plock – Tertiary geological formation).It confirms that the uranium isotopic ratio can be useful indicator for determination of surface waterinfiltration input into the underground water reservoirs.

[1] Camacho A., Devesa R., Valles I., Serrano I., Soler J., Blazquez S., Ortega X., Matia L.: J. Environ.Radioact. 101, 1048 (2010)

Session 11 / 33

Optimization of Sequential Separation ofU,Th, Pb, and lanthanidesfor ultra-trace analysisAuthor: Yutaka MIYAMOTO1

Co-authors: Kenichiro YASUDA 1; Masaaki MAGARA 1; Takaumi KIMURA 1

1 JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency)


Abundance and isotopic ratios of trace uranium (U), thorium (Th), lead (Pb) and lanthanides in en-vironmental samples play a key role to investigate features of the samples. The analytical data maygive information on origin of the sample, dating of mineral formation, history on mineralization,and age determination of nuclear materials. Abundance and isotopic ratios of an element of interestare generally measured with high resolution inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometers (HRICP-MS). In most environmental samples such as rocks, soils, and airborne dusts, trace U, Th, Pb,and lanthanides are contained with major elements such as Na, K and Fe. These major elements andthe polyatomic ions which originated from the co-existing elements affect accuracy of analytical

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results measured by ICP-MS [1, 2]. The analytes, therefore, should be separated from the interfer-ing elements. Chemical separations are good solution for accurate analyses, but the procedures aregenerally complicated and time-consuming. The authors developed the technique for sequentialseparation of U, Th, Pb, and the lanthanides using a single anion-exchange column (resin: Muromac1x8, particle size: 100-200 mesh, column size: 5.5 mm in diameter, 42 mm in height) and mixed me-dia consisting of hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, and hydrofluoric acid [3]. With a singleanion-exchange column, sequential separation of 50 ng each of U, Th, Pb, and the lanthanides in anICP-MS calibration solution was successfully carried out. Using a mixture of acetic acid and othermineral acids (hydrochloric acid and/or nitric acid) enabled complete separation of the analytes. Theabsorption of the elements of interest on the column was enhanced in the mixture of acetic acid com-pared with simple hydrochloric acid and nitric acid media. Alkali metals, alkali earth metals, and Fewere eliminated from U, Th, Pb, and the lanthanides. The recovery yields of the elements of interestwere more than 95%. This sequential separation technique was applied to an automatic system. Theeluents were pressurized by compressed air, and injected into an anion-exchange column. The sep-aration of elements of interest was optimized for several parameters including particle size, columnlength, and eluent flow rate. The elements of interest were completely separated within 6 hours. Thepeak resolution of elution curves were improved by using the pressurized separation system.This work was supported by financial aids from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology (MEXT) of Japan (Scientific Research (C): Grand No. 22550143).

[1] Magara, M., Sakakibara, T., Kurosawa, S., Takahashi, M., Sakurai, S., Hanzawa, Y., Esaka, F.,Watanabe, K. and Usuda, S., J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 39, 308-311 (2002).[2] Magara, M., Sakakibara, T., Kurosawa, S., Takahashi, M., Sakurai, S., Hanzawa, Y., Esaka, F.,Watanabe, K. and Usuda, S., J. Aanl. At. Spectrom. 17, 1157-1160 (2002).[3] Miyamoto, Y., Yasuda, K., Magara, M., Kimura, T. and Usuda, S., J. Nucl. Radiochem. Sci. 10,7-12(2009).

Session 7 / 34

In vivo biodistribution of I-131 labeled bleomycin (BLM) and iso-mers (A2 and B2) on experimental animal modelsAuthor: Ugur Avcibasi1

Co-authors: Cigdem İchedef 2; FG Gumuser 3; FZB Muftuler 4; Hasan Demiroglu 5; Perihan Unak 6

1 12 53 64 45 26 3


BLM isolated from the fermentation products of Streptomyces verticillus in 1966 by Umezawa inJapan belongs to a family of structurally related small glycopeptides (1 kDa) that give rise to single-stranded DNA breaks and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in a metal- and oxygen dependentmanner1. The BLM used clinically is a mixture of three distinct isomers, A2 (the most abundant,65 %), B2 (30 %), and DM, which is a deme thylated form of A2 (5 %). BLM is known to form com-plexes with a range of metals, some of which have been shown to exhibit tumor-localizing prop-erties as demonstrated by radiotracer experiments, and subsequently by clinical imaging studies2.Furthermore, it has been proposed that BLM complexes may be useful for targeted radiotherapy us-ing isotopes of indium or ruthenium 3. Although BLM catalyzes DNA cleavage with some degree ofsequence specificity, it differs from conventional endonucleases by generating 3-phospho-glycolateblocked DNA ends. BLM is a potent cancer chemotherapeutic , but its clinical use is hampered byDNA damage-independent side effects including life-threatening pulmonary fibrosis. As these side

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effects are dose-dependent, rational combination of BLM with appropriate DNA repair inhibitorscould conceivably be highly beneficial in the clinic1. Of the range of DNA lesions caused by BLM,DSBs are believed to be the most cytotoxic1, 4. In yeast, where even a single unrepaired DSB is even-tually lethal. Telomeres consist of tandem hexanucleotide (TTAGGG)n repeats that cap the terminiof eukaryotic chromosomes and play essential roles in maintenance of chromosomal stability andcell viability. The complex that is responsible for telomerase activity includes a reverse transcriptasethat adds on telomeric repeats at the end of chromosomes using an RNA template. This enzyme isnot active in most somatic cells but is active in most human tumors, and is, therefore, considered asbeing of high potential as a selective target for different anti-tumor strategies. One approach in thesearch for tumor-localizing radiopharmaceuticals of greater specificity and diagnostic accuracy is toinvestigate available chemotherapeutic drugs.

This paper deals with BLM compounds, BLMs, and the attempts to radiolabel these compoundswith an appropriate nuclide (such as 131I) and evaluate the usefulness of the resultant radiophar-maceutical for the diagnosis and management of malignant tumors using nuclear methods . In caseof combination of the cytotoxicity of BLMs with high radiotoxicity of an appropriate radionuclidesuch as 125I or another Auger and/or a -emitting radionuclide, it is expected that very effective ra-diolabeled anti cancer drugs will be designed, which will have large potential applications in cancertherapy.

Bleomycins (BLMs; BLM, A2, and B2) were labeled with 131I and radiopharmaceutical potentialswere investigated using animal models in this study . Quality control procedures were carried outusing thin layer radiochromatography (TLRC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),and liquid chromatography (LC/MS/MS). Labeling yields of radiolabeled BLMs were found to be 90,68, and 71 %, respectively. HPLC chromatograms were taken for BLM and cold iodinated BLM (127I-BLM). Five peaks were detected for BLM and three peaks for 127I-BLM in the HPLC studies. Twopeaks belong to isomers of BLM. The isomers of BLM were purified with using HPLC. Biologicalactivity of BLM was determined on male Albino Wistar rats by biodistribution and scintigraphicstudies were performed for BLMs by using New Zelland rabbits. The biodistribution results of 131I-BLM showed high uptake in the stomach, the bladder, the prostate, the testicle, and the spinal cordin rats. Scintigraphic results on rabbits agrees with that of biodistributional studies on rats Thescintigraphy of radiolabeled isomers (131I-A2 and 131I-B2) are similiarly found with that of 131I-BLM.

REFERENCES1) Chen J, Stubbe J (2005) Bleomycins: t owards beter therapeutics. Nat Rev Cancer 5:1022) Kahn PC, Milunsky C, Dewanjee MK et al (1977) The place of 57Co-bleomycin scanning in theevaluation of tumors. Am J Roentgenol 129:2673) Stern PH, Halpern SE, Hagan PL et al (1981) Cytotoxic activity, tumour accumulation and tissuedistribution of Ruthenium-103-labelled bleomycin. J Natl Cancer Inst 66:807

Session 8 / 35

Correlation between the particle size distribution of radioactiveaerozols and their half-lives derived from measurement of ra-dioactive aerosols at a 120-GeV proton target stationAuthor: Shun Sekimoto1

Co-authors: Akihiro Toyoda 2; Anthony Leveling 3; David Boehnlein 4; Gary Lautenschlager 3; Hiroshi Matsumura5; Hiroshi Nakashima 6; Hiroshi Yashima 7; Kamran Vaziri 3; Koji Oishi 8; Naoyuki Osada 7; Nikolai Mokhov 3;Norihiro Matsuda 9; Seiichi Shibata 7; Yoshimi Kasugai 6; Yuichi Oki 7; Yukio Sakamoto 6

1 Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI)2 KEK3 FNAL4 Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL)5 High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)

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6 JAEA7 KURRI8 Shimizu Corporation9 Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)


High-energy proton beams traveling in air and beam sprays from the interaction of the beam withthe target and related target station components produce radioactive aerosols in the target area. Wereport on the measurements of the radioactive aerosols produced in the Fermilab Anti-proton targetstation (AP0), where 120-GeV proton beam interacts with an Inconel target. Radioactive aerosolsare produced either by direct activation by the beam and its secondaries and/or the subsequent at-tachment of the various radio-nuclides produced by other nuclear spallation reactions in the target,in the instruments around the target, air and other sources. The radio-nuclide composition of theradioactive aerosols and their correlation to the aerosol size distribution has not been studied previ-ously. In order to control external and internal exposure of the workers to radioactive aerosols, it isimportant to understand the dynamics of radioactive aerosols in an accelerator target area.In this work, we separated radioactive aerosols which were collected from the AP0 target vault intoseveral samples according to particulate size ranging from 0.056 to 10 micro-meters by using the“impactor method.” The particulate size distributions of radioactive aerosols associated with corre-sponding radio-nuclides were obtained by measuring the gamma rays of various radio-nuclides ineach sample. The following fourteen radio-nuclides were identified in the aerosol samples: Na-24,Au-198, Sc-47, Au-196, V-48, Cr-51, Be-7, Co-56, Co-58, Sc-46, Co-57, Mn-54, Na-22 and Co-60 in theorder of their half-lives. Consequently, it was found that the particle size distribution of radioactiveaerosols is correlated with the half-lives of their constituent radio-nuclides. Based on the results, thedynamical and the formation mechanism of radioactive aerosols in the target area will be studiedfurther.

Session 10 / 36

The half-lives of Y-90m and Ru-97Author: Richard Lindstrom1

1 National Institute of Standards and Technology


Accurate nuclear measurements depend on well-controlled experimental and numerical work, bothin the execution of daily measurements and in the creation and evaluation of fundamental con-stants needed to connect the laboratory with the International System of Units. It cannot alwaysbe assumed that tabulated data are sufficiently accurate for all routine work. The k0 Nuclear DataCommittee has identified a number of radionuclides whose half-lives are not adequately known foraccurate neutron activation analysis, as judged by disagreements between published evaluations.We have applied gamma-ray spectrometry and least-squares methods developed for other nuclidesto redetermine the decay constants of 90mY and 97Ru. Irradiated samples of each pure elementwere counted continually through several half-lives, acquiring up to 100 spectra with good statistics.Photopeaks from each nuclide were evaluated with a fixed-boundary integration routine, and eachresulting data point corrected for rate-related losses before fitting to an exponential function by anonlinear least-squares procedure. Preliminary values are 3.205 ± 0.005 h for 90mY and 2.84 ± 0.01 dfor 97Ru, where the uncertainty is the standard deviation of the mean of several determinations. Al-though by chi-squared criteria the fits to the decay curves were very good and the uncertainty of theresulting half-lives an order of magnitude smaller than the published discrepancy, care is necessarybefore assigning a best value with a totally defensible uncertainty to the overall data set.

Session 8 / 37

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Fulvic acids, fertilizers first and then stimulants of vital functionsin vertebratesAuthor: Omar Morales1

Co-author: Manuel Navarrete 1

1 Faculty of Chemistry, National University of Mexico


It is very well known from ancient times that fulvic acids present in Nature as a component of deadleaves and vegetables, are the active principle which promotes better crops , acting on mineral ionsin soils by picking up them into plants tissues at higher concentrations. Tested in mice, by using ra-dioactive labeled ions such as 32PO4—, 45Ca++, 59Fe+++ and 131I-, fulvic acids have demonstratedto stimulate the filtration of these ions from digestive tract to blood and then to urine by a factorlarger than two. The following step on this research has been to find the effect caused by the pres-ence in blood of electrolytes at higher concentrations, particularly viral infections resistance as aconsequence of antibodies promotion.

Session 8 / 38

Marine sediments as a radioactive pollution repository in theworld

Author: Manuel Navarrete1

Co-authors: Graciela Müller 2; Guillermo Espinosa 3; José Ignacio Golzarri 3; Michelle Camacho 2; Miguel ÁngelZúñiga 2

1 National University of Mexico2 Faculty of Chemistry, National University of Mexico3 Institute of Physics, National University of Mexico


During a time period little longer than 60 years, it has been created a radioactive pollution back-ground over the natural one, which started in 1945 and it has been growing up since then, dueto several nuclear tests, minor nuclear reactors failure and four major accidents: Wind Scale, ThreeMile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. This radioactive polluting background can be easily detectedthrough 137Cs fission product, which by the effect of wind, river currents and rain has been accumu-lated in marine sediments, mainly because sea represents about 80% of earth’s surface. Since energydemand has been growing up with no interruption during last two centuries, and nuclear energyseems to be the largest available source, it is very likely a great expansion of nuclear energy duringXXI century. So, this paper presents results obtained in strategic points of the two large littorals inMexico: Gulf and Pacific Ocean, as an attempt to establish there some figure to evaluate the presentradioactive pollution. An adequate figure to do it, seems to be the quotient of activity per gram of137Cs in marine sediments (Bq137Cs/g), divided by activity per gram of 40K natural radioactivity(Bq40K/g). When this result is multiplied by 100 the percentage of polluting radioactivity (137Cs)related to natural radioactivity (40K) is obtained. This percentage seems to be useful to evaluate theimportance of radioactive pollution from 4 points of view: a)calculate the extent of already radioac-tive pollution present in the seas of world; b) avoid the panic in case of nuclear accidents, c) whatwill be the growing up rate in the future; d) if it is possible to keep one decreasing rate at samedecaying rate of 137Cs (t1/2 = 30.07 years), since from 1945, starting time of radioactive pollution, ithas decayed only about 2.2 half lives.

Session 1 / 39

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Production of Medical Radionuclides in Russia: status and fu-tureAuthor: Boris Zhuikov1

1 Institute for Nuclear Research of Russian Academy of Sciences


Production of isotopes for medical diagnostics and therapy is located in several institutions basedon big nuclear facilities all over Russia earlier used for weapon and fundamental research, in partic-ular:

● Research Institute Atomic Reactors (Dimitrovgrad): nuclear reactors, hot cells;● Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry (Obninsk branch): nuclear reactor, hot cells;● Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (Obninsk): hot cells;● CYCLOTRON Co. (Obninsk): cyclotrons, hot cells;● Production Association MAYAK (Ozersk): nuclear reactors, hot cells;● Kurchatov Institute (Moscow): solution reactor, cyclotron, hot cells;● Khlopin Radium Institute (S-Petersburg): cyclotron, hot cells;● Institute for Nuclear Research (Troitsk): linear accelerator.

Most of isotopes are produced for export needs. Future growing of nuclear medicine in Russia isanticipated. New prospective developments are: production of fission 99Mo in Dimitrovgrad; pro-duction of 82Sr, 117mSn and 225Ac at INR together with IPPE providing basing on new effective tar-get and radiochemical technology. Also very successful are developments of 68Ge/68Ga-generatorat CYCLOTRON Co. and 82Sr/ 82Rb-generator at INR together with Central Research Institute ofRoentgenology and Radiology (S-Petersburg) for PET-diagnostics.

This progress will provide supplying a big fracture of medical isotopes in the world market, espe-cially if new ambitious projects will be approved. Collaboration with North American and Europeancompanies and laboratories plays an important role.


Microsphereswith anultra highholmiumcontent for brachyther-apy of malignanciesAuthor: MARIANGELA BURGOS M. de AZEVEDO1

Co-authors: Douglas M. Miyamoto 1; Jaime Roberto Souza 1; José Roberto Martinelli 1; João Alberto Osso 1; NanciNascimento 1; Raphael Arivar de Lira 1

1 IPEN/CNEN


The overall objective of this work is to develop biodegradable microspheres intended for internalradiation therapy which provides an improved treatment for hepatic carcinomas [1]. The most stud-ied brachytherapy systems employing microspheres made of holmium-biopolymer system, is com-posed by poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and holmium acetylacetonate (HoAcAc) [2]. The importance ofthe holmium high content in the microspheres can be interpreted as follows: a) From a therapeuticstandpoint, for effective use of microspheres loaded with the complex, it requires a high content ofholmium to yield enough amounts of radioactivity with a relatively low amount of microspheres;b) From the viewpoint of the microspheres irradiation, namely, small quantities of holmium-165would require longer irradiation times to the polymers, which would be subjected to undesirableradiation doses of the reactor core [2, 3]. The usual amounts of holmium that are incorporated inthe microspheres composed by poly(L-lactic acid) and HoAcAc are 17.0 ± 0.5% (w/w) of holmium,which corresponds to a loading of about 50% of HoAcAc [3]. Different approaches have been in-vestigated to increase that value. One updated approach towards this direction, is the production

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of microspheres with ultrahigh holmium as matrix using HoAcAc crystals as the sole starting ma-terial without the use of biopolymer [4,5]. Likewise, in the process searching for the increase ofthe holmium content in the microspheres, it has been demonstrated that by changing the HoAcAccrystal structure by its recrystallization from crystal phase to the amorphous there is lost of acety-lacetonate and water molecules causing the increasing of the homium content. Microspheres wereprepared by solvent evaporation, using holmium acetylacetonate (HoAcAc) crystals as the sole in-gredient (A). Microspheres were characterized by using light and scanning electron microscopy (B),infrared and Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-rays difration (C) and confo-cal laser scanning microscopy(CLSM).References: [1] Renata F. Costa, Mariangela B. M. Azevedo, Nanci Nascimento, Frank F. Sene, JoséR. Martinelli, João A. Osso International Nuclear Atlantic Conference - INAC 2009, ABEN ISBN: 978-85-99141-03-8; [2] Nijsen J. F. W. et al. Eur. J. Nucl. Med., 26, 699-704, 1999; [3] Zielhuis S. W. et al.Intern. J. Pharma., 311, 69–74, 2006; [4] Bult, W. et. al. Pharma. Res. 27, 2205-2212, 2010; [5] Pharm.Res. 26, 1371-1378, 2009.


Correlation study of air pollution and cardio-respiratory systemdiseases through NAA of atmospheric pollutant biomonitorAuthor: Mitiko Saiki1

Co-authors: Edson R. Alves 1; Frederico A. Genezini 1; Jose O. Santos 1; Marcelo P. Marcelli 2; Paulo H. N. Saldiva3

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares2 Instituto de Botanica de São Paulo3 Faculdade de Medicina da USP


Atmospheric pollution is today one of the many problems facing mankind. This problem affectseverything from the natural environment to human health and to climate. As result authorities ofall over the world have become very preoccupied with the adverse effects derived from air pollution.The objective of this study was to apply Neutron activation Analysis (NAA) to collect air pollutiondata in the city of São Paulo, Brazil in order to investigate pollutant effects on cardio-respiratorysystem. Canoparmelia texana lichenized fungii species was chosen for passive biomonitoring ofatmospheric pollutants. The two population groups selected for this study were, one of childrenunder 5 years and the other of adults over 45 years. Lichen samples collected in São Paulo city werecleaned, freeze-dried and ground for the analysis. Aliquots of samples were irradiated at the IEA-R1nuclear research reactor for short and long periods along with synthetic element standards. Theinduced gamma activities of the samples and standards were measured using a gamma ray spec-trometer with an HPGe detector and the concentrations of As, Ba, Br, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Fe,Hf, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se,Th, V, Zn and lanthanides were determined. For quality controlof the results, certified reference materials were analyzed. Mortality data for the population dueto cardio-respiratory diseases were obtained from the database of the Secretariat of Health of theSão Paulo Municipality for the years 2005 to 2009. Results obtained indicated that the origins ofpollutants in São Paulo city are due to vehicular and industrial emissions. The statistical treatmentof Pearson´s correlation applied to the results of lichen element concentrations and mortality ratesindicated significant positive correlation for the elements Co, Mn and Zn for adults.


Radiological dose assessment of naturally occurring radioactivematerials in concrete building materialsAuthor: amran majid1

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Co-authors: Aznan Fazli Ismail 1; Ismail Bahari 1; Redzuwan Yahaya 1; Samudi Yasir 1

1 universiti kebangsaan malaysia


Previous studies have shown that the natural radioactivity contained in the building material wassignificantly influenced the dose rates in dwelling. Exposure to natural radiation in building has be-come more important since almost 80% of our daily live are spend indoor. Thus, the aim of the studyis to assess the radiological risk associated with natural radioactivity in soil based building materialsto dwellers. A total of 13 Portland cement, 46 sand and 43 gravel samples were obtained throughoutthe Peninsular of Malaysia and were analysed for their radioactivity concentrations. The activityconcentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the studied building materials samples were found to bein the range of 3.7 Bq kg-1 to 359.3 Bq kg-1, 2.0 Bq kg-1 to 370.8 Bq kg-1 and 10.3 Bq kg-1 to 1949.5Bq kg-1 respectively. The activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K found in the studied build-ing material samples were used to calculate the annual radiation dose rates (μSv year-1) receivedby dwellers for 1 to 50 years of exposure using Resrad-Build Computer Code. The rooms modellingwere based on the changing parameters of concrete wall thickness and the room dimensions. Theannual radiation dose rates to dwellers were found to increase annually over a period of 50 years.The dose rate in building was significantly influenced by the thickness of the concrete. The self-absorption occurred when the concrete thickness was higher than 0.4 m. Results of this study showthat the dose rates received by the dwellers of the building were proportional to the dimension ofthe room. In general the study concludes that studied concrete building materials in Peninsular ofMalaysia does not pose radiological hazard to the building dwellers since the evaluated dose rateswere lower than the recommended limit of 1500 μSv year-1 for building materials.Keywords: Natural radioactivity; Dose rate; Buildingmaterials; Resrad-Build Computer Code.


Determination of Sr-90 and Pb-210 in freshwater fish in Austria

Author: Claudia Landstetter1

Co-authors: Arno Achatz 1; Christian Katzlberger 1; Merita Sinojmeri 1

1 Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety


A method for the determination of 90Sr and 210Pb in freshwater fish was developed. The determi-nations were conducted within a project on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health. The aim of thisproject was to get an overview of natural radionuclides and artificial radionuclides in freshwater fishin different lakes in Austria.For sampling the Neusiedler See in Burgenland, two lakes in Styria the Grundlsee and the ToplitzSee and the Zeller See in Salzburg were chosen. Chub (leuciscus cephalus), pike (esox lucius), perch(perca fluviatilis), carp (cyprinus carpio), catfish (silurus glanis), pike-perch (sander lucioperca) andburbot (lota lota) were analysed.The fish sample was ashed and dissolved in concentrated HNO3 with intermittent additions of H2O2.After ammonium oxalate precipitation the 90Sr and 210Pb precipitate was washed with water andthen the oxalate was destroyed by fuming off with concentrated HNO3. 90Sr and 210Pb were sepa-rated with strontium specific extraction columns from Triskem. 90Sr was stripped from the columnwith 0.05 MHNO3 and 210Pb with 0.1 M ammonium oxalat solution. Measurements were conductedwith aQuantulus 1220. For the determination of the chemical recovery first the initial strontium andlead concentration in the sample was measured and then a Sr(NO3)2 and Pb(NO3)2 carrier solutionwas added. The strontium and lead concentrations were measured with ICP-MS.In this paper the method for the determination of 90Sr and 210Pb is described and the results arediscussed.

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Americiumand samariumdetermination in aqueous solutions af-ter separation by cation-exchangeAuthor: Tasoula Kiliari1

1 University of Cyprus


Tasoula Kiliari, Ioannis PashalidisDepartment of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, Cy-1678 NicosiaE-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACTThe concentration of trivalent americium and samarium in aqueous samples has been determinedby means of alpha-radiometry and UV-Vis photometry, respectively, after chemical separation andpre-concentration of the elements by cation-exchange using Chelex-100 resin. Method calibrationwas performed using americium (Am-241) and samarium standard solutions and resulted in a highchemical recovery for cation-exchange. Regarding, the effect of physicochemical parameters (e.g.pH, salinity, competitive cations and colloidal species) on the separation recovery of the trivalentelements from aqueous solutions by cation-exchange has also been investigated. The investigationwas performed to evaluate the applicability of cation-exchange as separation and pre-concentrationmethod prior to the quantitative analysis of trivalent f-elements in water samples, and has shownthat the method could be successfully applied to waters with relatively low dissolved solid con-tent.

Keywords: trivalent f-elements; determination; cation-exchange; composition; chemical recovery

Session 2 / 45

New bitopic molecules for Group Actinides ExtractionAuthor: Julia Bisson1

Co-authors: Didier Dubreuil 2; Manuel Miguirditchian 1; Marie-Christine Charbonnel 1; Muriel Pipelier 2; VirginieBlot 2

1 CEA-Marcoule, France2 University of Nantes, France


In the context of nuclear fuel reprocessing and in order to reduce the nuclear waste radiotoxicity, newways to selectively extract actinides from spent fuels are studied. Among them the GANEX process(for Group ActiNides Extraction) is based on a homogenous recycling of actinides. All actinides(U(VI), Np(V et VI), Pu(IV), Am(III), Cm(III)), present in a highly acidic aqueous solution, would beextracted together and separated from fission products (especially from lanthanides) using liquid-liquid extraction. To develop this process, new extracting molecules which can efficiently separateactinides from fission products must be found. The CEA strategy is to synthesize bitopic ligandscombining inside the same molecule a nitrogen ring allowing the An(III) / Ln(III) separation and anamide group allowing the extraction of other oxidation states of actinides. Considering previousresults, nitrogen rings have been chosen from the 2,9-dipyridyl-1,10-phenanthroline and from the2,4-dipyridyl-1,3,5-triazine family.Fourteen new bitopic ligands have thus been synthesized. Four of them (the lipophilic ones) havebeen tested as liquid- liquid extractants dissolved alone in the organic phase and the results show thatligands from the phenanthroline family are able to selectively extract actinides at different oxidationstates from an aqueous solution 3M HNO3 with high distribution ratios and high separation factorstoward Eu(III). Ligands from the triazine family are selective but distributions ratios are much lower.

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In order to better understand the driving force of the selectivity, thermodynamic studies have beencarried out in MeOH-water solutions to determine stability constant for ten hydrophilic ligands. Theresults confirm the selectivity of ligands towards actinides(III) with respect to lanthanides(III) butalso the effect of the structure on the complexation and the selectivity. The speciation (1:1 complexes)has been checked by different techniques like electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Session 2 / 46

New separation methods for production of light stable isotopesfor use in nuclear technologyAuthor: Dag Eriksen1

Co-authors: Bruno Ceccaroli 2; Pierre Hilaireau 3; Wieslaw Majevski 4

1 Primus.inter.pares AS, Norway2 Isosilicon AS, Norway3 Stonedge SA, Luxembourg4 Novasep SA, France


Nuclear technology utilizes several stable nuclides, but not necessarily as isotopically pure materials.One example is boron, where B-10, abundance 19.9%, has a high thermal neutron absorption crosssection utilized in neutron detectors, but natural boron is used despite the fact that the 80.1% abun-dant B-11 is not contributing. In Generation IV-reactor concepts fuels sustaining high temperaturesare essential. One of the most interesting concepts is the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor where a smallkernel of UO2 (or other fuel compound) is coated with ceramic materials. The fuel is called Triso(triply coated ceramic particle fuel) and is designed for being used for a long time and then disposedoff. One of the coatings is SiC. In natural silicon a portion will transform to phosphorous duringneutron bombardment. Phosphorous in SiC makes the material brittle and is undesirable. Remov-ing the two heavier isotopes in Si makes the probability for getting (n,gamma)-reactions leading toP-31 unlikely. The challenge has therefore been to develop a low cost enrichment process for Si-28.The Norwegian company Isosilicon AS is devoted to this task and has developed a process basedon the silicon gas silane, SiH4. The abundances of the silicon isotopes are 92.223, 4.685, and 3.092%for Si-28, Si-29, and Si-30, respectively. Thus, the challenge is to remove the two heavier isotopes.We initially developed a diffusion based process through a chromatography column packed withmonodispersed polymer spheres. We achieved a separation factor between Si-28 and 30Si of 1.10 ata yield of 0.7%. The drawback of the method was too low throughput, and forming a collaborationwith the French company Novasep SA an improved method was developed. In this process a columnpacked with a zeolite is used. The zeolite acts as an absorbent and when silane is passing through thecolumn the heavier silicon isotopes are retained or exchanged with Si-28 on the column. Separationfactors between Si-28 and Si-30 of 1.15 have been achieved, but at a smaller yield.


Experimental cross sections for Be-7 production in Al, Si, Mg andC by deuteron irradiations up to 50 MeVAuthor: alex hermanne1

Co-authors: Ferenc Tarkanyi 2; Julius Csikai 3; Razvan Adam-Rebeles 4; Sandor Takacs 2

1 Vrije Universiteit Brussel2 Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences , Pf.51, 4001 Debrecen, Hungary3 Institute of Nuclear Physics, University of Debrecen, Pf.105, 4010 Debrecen, Hungary

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4 Cyclotron Laboratory , Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-1090Brussels, Belgium


With the advent of high power, high energy deuteron accelerators used for instance for the neu-tron source of the IFMIF facility detailed analysis of activation products in structural materialsreceives an increased attention (Fusion Evaluated Nuclear Data Library FENDL 3.0 ; http://www-nds.iaea.org/fendl3/).A particular case is the formation of 7Be in light, so called low activation elements.The presence of this radionuclide with T 1/2 = 53.12 d, emitting a unique -line of 477 keV (10.5 %abundance), can represent a heavy radiation burden for maintenance personnel. In order to make arealistic estimation of deuteron produced activities in collimators, beam stops andmechanical setupsmade from C, Si and Al different stacks containing foils of these materials were irradiated with 50MeV beams. The 7Be content, measured with HPGe spectroscopy, allows to determine the excitationfunction of the X(d, 7Be)Y reactions. Also Mg samples were studied in the same way.A comparison with the scarce literature values is made.Thick target yields were derived from fits to our cross sections and integrated personnel dose wascalculated for different irradiation cycles and exposure scenarios.Apart form the radiation protection issue knowledge of the excitation function of this cluster emis-sion is of interest for testing the prediction capabilities of different model codes and to computedepth-activity curves for application in Thin Layer Activation procedures.

Session 5 / 48

U-238 in sediments of the Kastela Bay, Adriatic Sea (Croatia)

Author: Ivanka Lovrencic Mikelic1

Co-authors: Delko Barisic 1; Visnja Orescanin 2

1 Rudjer Boskovic Institute2 Advanced Energy Ltd.


Distribution of U-238 in sediments of the Kastela Bay near the city of Split (Croatia) to a depth of 50cm was studied due to an assumed discharge of the TENORM (Technologically Enhanced NaturallyOccurring Radioactive Material) in the Bay. Sediment cores, comprising 604 samples, were takenon 95 stations and sliced into eight segments. U-238 massic activities were measured by gamma-spectrometry method using the Th-234 63.3 and 92.6 keV lines. Massic activities range was 6.7 –603 Bq/kg, mean value 34 Bq/kg, median 28 Bq/kg and the standard deviation 46 Bq/kg in eightsediment layers of 0 – 50 cm depth. The maximum activity was determined in a layer 5 (20 – 25 cmdepth) on the station next to a former chemical factory ”Adriavinil”. U-238 massic activities of theKastela Bay sediments generally show values typical for marine sediments. However, some elevatedU-238 activities were observed on five stations. Four stations are located around the Split peninsulaand one next to the ”Adriavinil” factory. Moderately elevated massic activities (62 – 191 Bq/kg) wereobserved on stations around the Split peninsula and in the deepest layer (layer 7 at 30 – 40 cm depth)on the station next to the ”Adriavinil” factory. These activities were 3 – 10 times elevated comparedto the activity of a typical Adriatic coast sediment (18.2 Bq/kg) and 1.5 – 5 times compared to theactivity of an uncontaminated average Kastela Bay sediment (38.8 Bq/kg). Very elevated massicactivities (392 – 603 Bq/kg) were registered only on the station next to the ”Adriavinil” factory inthe layers 1 – 6 (0 – 30 cm depth). Compared to the activity of the typical Adriatic coast sediment,activities in six layers on this station are 22 – 33 times elevated and 10 – 16 times compared to theactivity of the uncontaminated average Kastela Bay sediment.


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Study of lactose uptake rate by immobilized kefir cells duringwhey fermentation, using C-14 labelled lactoseAuthor: Aristidis golfinopoulos1

Co-authors: a.a. Koutinas 1; f. vordou 1; m. kanellaki 1; m. soupioni 1

1 university of patras


Whey or milk plasma is the liquid by-product of cheese processing units. Due to its high organicload of 40-70 g/L BOD5 and 60-80 g/L COD, whey represents an important environmental problem,especially in Greece, where about 700.000 tones whey are produced annually. Additionally, wheycontains significant amounts of lactose and therefore it is suitable for further treatment, in order toproduce useful fermented products like alcohol. Kefir is a natural mixed culture consisting of variousyeasts (Kluyeveromyces, Candida, Saccharomyces, Pichia) and lactic acid bacteria of the genus Lac-tobacillus. It has been found that yeasts and lactic acid bacteria co-exist in a symbiotic association inkefir and are responsible for lactose fermentation of milk and whey. Also, the positive effect of kefircell immobilization on organic or natural supports in whey fermentation rate has been confirmedand the most acceptable explanation for this was the enhancement of catalytic action of some en-zymes involved in the process. However, due to the fact that fermentation rate depends on lactoseuptake rate by microorganisms, research efforts have been undertaken in order to study kefir fer-mentation ability. So, tracers have been used to record lactose uptake rate by kefir as labelled andunlabelled molecules of the same compounds species follow the same metabolic pathways.In the present work 14C-labelled lactose was used to study lactose uptake rate by kefir cells immobi-lized on delignified cellulosic (DC) materials, gluten pellets and brewery spent grains (BSG), duringwhey fermentation, in order to reveal the role of uptake rate in the promotional activity of thesesupports. Results illustrated that whey fermentation by immobilized kefir cells was faster comparedto free cells and in case of DC materials, fermentation time was found only 7.2 h. Also, the lactoseuptake rate by kefir immobilized on DC materials was higher compared to other supports.


Implementation of the k0-standardization method for analysisof geological samples at the Neutron Activation Analysis Labora-tory, São Paulo, BrazilAuthor: Ana Maria Figueiredo1

Co-authors: Davi Mariano 1; Renato Semmler 1

1 IPEN-CNEN/SP


The Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory (LAN-IPEN) has been analysing geological samplesfor many years with INAA comparative method, for geochemical and environmental studies. Thisstudy presents the results obtained in the implementation of the k0 standardization method at LAN–IPEN, for geological samples analysis, by using the program k0-IAEA, provided byThe InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The efficiency curve of the gamma-ray spectrometer used was deter-mined by measuring calibrated radioactive sources at the commonly used counting geometries. Thethermal to epi-thermal flux ratio f and the shape factor alfa of the epi-thermal flux distribution ofthe IEA-R1 nuclear reactor of IPEN were determined for the pneumatic irradiation facility and someselected irradiation positions, for short and long irradiation, respectively. To obtain these factors,the “bare triple-monitor” method with 197Au-96Zr-94Zr was used. The Certified Nuclear ReferenceMaterial IRMM-530R Al-0,1% Au alloy, high purity zirconium, Ni and Lu comparators were irradi-ated. In order to validate the methodology, the geological reference materials basalts JB-1 (GSJ) andBE-N (IWG-GIT), andesite AGV-1 (USGS), granite GS-N (IWG-GIT), SOIL-7 (IAEA) and sedimentBuffalo River Sediment (NIST–BRS-8704), which represent different geological matrices, were anal-ysed. The concentration results obtained agreed with certified, reference and recommended values,

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with relative errors less than 10% for most elements. These results indicate excellent possibilities ofusing this parametric method at the LAN-IPEN for geochemical and environmental studies.


Comparison of metal accumulation in tree bark and soil fromurban parks in São Paulo city, BrazilAuthor: Ana Maria Figueiredo1

Co-authors: Ana Paula Martins 2; Andreza Ribeiro 3; Marcos Scapin 1; Mitiko Saiki 1; Paulo Saldiva 2

1 IPEN-CNEN/SP2 FM-USP3 IO-USP


Themain sources of air pollution in the São Paulo megacity are gases and particulate matter releasedby the ever increasing fleet of light and heavy vehicles (more than 7 million) as well as industrial pro-cess emissions. These emissions are of great concern due to their effects on human health, causinglung cancer and respiratory problems, since they contain a wide range of potentially toxic metalsand organic contaminants. In the present paper, the concentration levels of the metals Ba, Co, Cr,Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn in superficial soil and tree bark samples collected in urban parks of São Paulocity were determined and compared. The analytical techniques employed were neutron activationanalysis and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Higher concentrations of Ba, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn wereobtained both in the soil and bark trees samples in relation to reference values, in the case of soils,and to a control area, in the case of the tree barks, indicating the influence of anthropogenic sources.Statistical analysis applied to the soil and tree barks concentration data showed that the studied met-als presented the same behavior in the soil as well as the tree bark samples. There was an associationbetween the traffic-related metals Cu, Zn and Pb, suggesting that these three metals originate fromvehicular emissions. The utilization of these two different environmental compartments for pollu-tion monitoring may improve the comprehension of metal pollution in urban parks in megacities,in order to identify the emission sources and to implement pollution-control strategies


Metal and trace element assessment of Tietê river sediments, SãoPaulo, BrazilAuthor: Gabriel ALEGRE1

Co-authors: Andre VIEIRA 1; Deborah FAVARO 1; Sueli BORRELY 1; Willy VUKAN 1

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares


The Tietê River is one of Brazil’s most important rivers and crosses the State of São Paulo (SP) fromeast-to-west flowing into another important river, the Paraná River. The objective of this study wasto quantify the amount of trace elements and some metals present in sediments collected from theTietê River, at 5 different sampling points (P0-P4), in 3 campaigns (2008/2009), from the headwa-ters to Suzano County upstream from São Paulo city. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysiswas applied for measuring total concentration of some metals and trace elements. The USEPA 3051digestion procedure was used for sediment digestion and determination of Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb andZn by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) and Hg by cold vaporatomic absorption spectrometry (CV AAS) were carried out. The metal concentrations obtained by

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acid digestion were compared to concentrations established by CONAMA 344 (Brazilian legislation)for evaluating the potential effects on aquatic organisms. The sampling sites P3 and P4, near indus-trialized areas, showed the highest concentrations for potentially bioavailable metals, mainly Zn andHg. Zn concentrations at sampling P3 and P4 were 390 and 590 mg kg-1 respectively, well aboveCONAMA level 2 ( 315 mg kg-1). Mercury was found in the range of 0.411- 0.448 mg kg-1 closeto CONAMA level 2 (0.486 mg kg-1). Cd, Cu, Cr and Pb were also detected above CONAMA level2 concentrations in at least one of these two sampling points. The results obtained by INAA werecompared to earth crust values. The enrichment factor in relation to earth crust values using Sc asa normalizer element was also calculated. A strong enrichment was found for the elements As, Br,Sb, Th, U and Zn. These results evidenced contamination by industrial effluents and sewage evenrelatively close to the Tietê River headwaters. The worst biological effects (acute toxicity) were alsoobserved at P3 and P4.


Social representation and Nuclear Chemistry educationalAuthor: Luciana Farias1

Co-author: Deborah Favaro 2

1 Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, BRAZIL2 Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares


Nuclear Chemistry appears very little in high school course curricula or classes in Brazil. This facthinders students who enroll in higher education without the knowledge necessary for it to exertits full citizenship. This study investigated the public University of São Paulo student´s of under-standing of the term “nuclear energy”, highlighting the structure of Social Representations (SR).The methodology used was the evocations free from words technique by using the EVOC program,given the frequency in which each element was raised and their average order of evocation to anissue-oriented semantic (cognitive). In this study 124 students were interviewed: from the Chem-istry, Pharmacy, Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Nutrition Departments (62),Oceanographic Department (29) and Economics, Business Administration and Accounting Depart-ment (33). The results indicated that the social representation structure concerning nuclear issueshas as its central cognitive element represented by the terms atomic bomb, fission, fusion and ra-diation. Affective aspects are represented by the terms fear, doubt, worry and curiosity. It wasobserved that there is a need for educational efforts, and a revision of the educational practices inhigh school regards to Nuclear Chemistry. The concepts of chemistry and its social factors shouldbe treated in a concrete form in order to demystify erroneous concepts. Reading and educationalinstruments should be provided to ensure a better understanding of radioactivity phenomena andtheir applications.


Metallographic and XPS analyses of deposits from steam genera-torAuthor: Jana Petrů1

Co-authors: Michal Dzurus 1; Petr Sajdl 1

1 ICT Prague


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The presented work examines the samples of deposits from steam generators. These samples werecollected at the nuclear power plant. The deposits were studied bymetallographicmethods andmeth-ods of image analysis by programme NIS-Elements AR 3.0. The layers were characterized by threedistinctive areas: homogeneous part (in contact with the wall tubes), porous central part and brokenpart (growth into the area. XPS method was used to determine the composition of deposits.

Session 10 / 55

Selective reduction of actinyl ions based on electrocatalysis usingplatinized glassy carbon fiber column electrodeAuthor: Yoshihiro Kitatsuji1

Co-authors: Sorin Kihara 2; Takaumi Kimura 1

1 Japan Atomic Energy Agency2 Kyoto Institute for Interesting Chemistry


Some actinide ions such as U, Np and Pu exist stably as trivalent to hexavalent ions in an acidicsolution. The adjustment of the oxidation state of these ions to a desired one is inevitable for theefficient chemical separation or the precise determination of them, since chemical reactions such asliquid-liquid distribution and complex formation with ligands depend strongly on the oxidation stateof the ions. Electrode reaction of tetravalent (An4+) and pentavalent (AnO2+) ions couples, whichaccompanying formation or cleavage of An-O bond, is generally irreversible and requires a largeoverpotential. For this reason, selective control of oxidation state of actinide ions by electrolysis isdifficult. The authors have studied redox mechanisms of actinide ions, and recently clarified thatelectrocatalytic reaction at Pt electrode can decrease overpotential of reduction of NpO2+. In thepresent study, platinized carbon fiber electrodes were examined as a working electrode of the flowelectrolysis in order to develop a rapid electrolytic method for controlling oxidation state of actinideions.The column electrode is composed of a working electrode of a bundle of very thin glassy carbonfibers packed tightly in a cylindrical electrolytic diaphragm of porous glass, and it enables quantita-tive and rapid electrolysis in a flow system. Flow electrolysis was performed by passing a solutioncontaining actinide ions through a column electrode.For reduction of NpO2+, overpotential of the reaction was reduced, and successive reductions ofNpO2+ to Np4+ and that of Np4+ to Np3+ were observed. This result indicates that the selectivepreparation of Np4+ by electrolysis can be achieved successfully. For reduction of Pu, overpotentialof reduction of PuO2+ was also mitigated, and hence reduction of PuO22+ to Pu3+proceeded selec-tively at much positive potential. In contrast, the reduction of UO22+ to U4+ was little affected byworking electrode materials.

Session 11 / 56

Multi-dimensional chromatographic separations of actinidesAuthor: Dominic Lariviere1

Co-author: Nicolas Guérin 1

1 Université Laval


Many radioisotopes are released in the environment from our use of the nuclear energy. Amongthese, actinides are a health concern due to their long environmental persistence and the risk asso-ciated with internal dosimetry. The simultaneous analysis of actinides (i.e. Th, U, Np, Pu and Am)

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is labour-intensive because 1) they are found at ultra trace levels, 2) are difficult to dissolve, 3) havesometimes instable valence and 4) interfere together and with the matrix constituents.A new partly-automated extraction chromatography (EXC) separation methodology was developedto overcome those issues. Environmental samples are dissolved by fusion in 2M hydrochloric acidin order to ensure complete dissolution of refractory species. Using TEVA and DGA resins, multi-dimensional chromatography based on valence and media adjustment was performed in order toseparate each radioelement, thus limiting the presence of isobaric and molecular interferences dur-ing the analysis. On-line valence adjustment is performed to facilitate elution or improve retentionof some actinides. Eluted fractions, containing the separated actinides, are measured by either alphaspectrometry and/or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), providing comple-mentary isotopic information. Because of the specificity of each type of instrumentation, effect ofmatrix constituents were assessed.This approach has great potential for automation of emergency responses methodologies, improv-ing sample throughput while minimizing human error and the necessity to be performed by highly-qualified personnel. Initial automation efforts will be presented.


Automated fusion methodology for the rapid dissolution of air-borne actinidesAuthor: Dominic Lariviere1

Co-author: Alex Milliard 2

1 Université Laval2 Corporation Scientifique Claisse


Micro-wave acid dissolution is an effective and commonly used technique to dissolve environmen-tal samples. However, this technique has several issues, including its low sample throughput, itslimited ability to deal with samples containing high organic content such as biological tissues, andits incomplete digestion yields for refractory compounds like actinides oxides.An improved methodology based on the dissolution by automated fusion followed by extractionchromatography for the detection and quantification of actinides in environmental samples has beendeveloped. A fusion protocol for the complete ashing and dissolution of various samples was opti-mized. Cross-contamination between samples was studied and results shown no evidence of suchprocess even without washing the crucibles between samples. The automated fusion unit also im-proved repeatability in sample preparation over conventional muffle furnace fusion. Instrumentalissues originating from the presence of high lithium concentration in the digestate after lithiummetaborate fusion were also investigated. Consequently, a method using extraction chromatogra-phy (EXC) has been developed to remove lithium and the environmental matrix while keeping allthe actinides in solution. The overall method was tested on several environmental reference materi-als of different composition. This methodology was applied to the monitoring of uranium airborneparticulate in the province of Québec. Results obtained from microwave digestion and automatedfusion were compared with respect to precision, detection and rapidity.


Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis applied to multiele-ment determination in lettuce grown in phosphate treated con-taminated soilAuthor: Maria José Armelin1

Co-authors: Anderson Trevizam 2; M.L.S. Silva 2; Mitiko Saiki 3; Takashi Muraoka 4; Vera A. Maihara 3

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1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares2 Universidade Estadual do Centro Oeste3 IPEN/CNEN-SP4 CENA/USP


In recent decades, anthropogenic activities, particularly those associated with industrial processesand mining, have been the major source of inorganic element enrichment in soils. Unlike organiccontaminants, most inorganic elements do not undergo microbial or chemical degradation thereforetheir total concentrations remain in soils for a long time after their apparence. In this case, due tothe possibility these elements present at toxic levels to plants which can reach the food chain, the in-terest in developing of technologies for remediating contaminated sites has increased. The additionof substances capable of immobilizing toxic elements in the soil is a procedure that has been used forremediating contaminated sites. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of superphosphate in the treatment of a soil contaminated with elements that can be potentially toxic. Dif-ferent doses of super phosphate (250, 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 mg kg-1 of P) were added to a numberof lettuce plant pots contain contaminated soil. The element concentrations absorbed in the leavesfrom lettuce treated with phosphate were compared with those absorbed in the leaves of a controlplant. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) followed by gamma-ray spectrometry wasthe analytical method used to determine element contents in the lettuce leaves. The use of 250 mgkg-1(P) proved to be the most effective treatment to reduce the concentrations of Br, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co,Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Sb and Zn in lettuce leaves.

Session 4 / 59

Determination of the isotopic ratio U-236/U-238 in environmen-tal samplesAuthors: Gabriele Wallner1; Michaela Srncik1

Co-authors: Peter Steier 1; Rosmarie Eigl 1

1 University of Vienna


Determination of the isotopic ratio 236U/238U in environmental samples

M. Srncik1, P.Steier2, R. Eigl1, G. Wallner1

1 Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 42,A-1090 Vienna, Austria2 Faculty of Physics – Isotope Research, University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 17,A-1090 Vienna, Austria

236U with a half-life of 2.3∙107 years is produced via thermal neutron capture on 235U. Naturalproduction results from different neutron sources like from (α,n) reactions on lighter nuclides, spon-taneous fission of 238U, induced fission of 235U and at the Earth surface from the cosmic rays. Onlysmall amounts are produced naturally from uranium in ores, soils and rocks but a huge amount isproduced in nuclear power plants. Naturally 236U occurs in ultra trace concentration in the envi-ronment, therefore it is a big challenge to determine a natural isotopic ratio of 236U/238U in envi-ronmental samples which is expected to be in the order of10-14 to 10-13. For the analysis of this isotopic ratio, water samples from rivers and creeks werecollected in the alpine region of Austria, from the Danube, the Black Sea and the Atlantic. Fromsurrounding areas also soil samples were investigated.After a pre-concentration and an anion exchange step the uranium fraction wasco-precipitated with NdF3 and thin sources were prepared for α-spectrometry to determine the ac-tivity ratio of 234U/238U and the chemical yield. Afterwards these filters were reprocessed for theanalysis of the isotopic ratio 236U/238U by AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry). The special aim

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was the characterization of the 236U/238U ratio in natural waters and soils, and to investigate thecontribution from anthropogenic sources.


Low-level gamma spectroscopy measurements of air samples inAustria after the Fukushima accidentAuthors: Andreas Musilek1; Dieter Hainz1; Georg Steinhauser1

1 Vienna University of Technology - Atominstitut


Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on 11 March 2011 and the resulting damages at thenuclear power plants in Fukushima, environmental samples were taken in Austria to determine theeffects in Middle Europe, about 10 000 km away from Fukushima. Of course, the radiation-levelin Austria resulting from this accident is very low, but can be measured with low-level gammaspectroscopy. In this paper air samples are analyzed to show which fission products can be verifiedand to calculate the concentration of their activities. The series of measurements started 2 weeksafter the accident and were stopped 3 weeks later. The measurements yielded primarily I-131 and,occasionally, Cs-134 and Cs-137. A total of 15 samples were analyzed to demonstrate a time variationof air contamination. The maximum activity was observed on 29 March. Finally the results werecompared with measurements of other European countries.


Natural radionuclides andCs-137 inmarine sediments fromopenand semi-enclosed gulfs, lagoons and fjord-like environments inGreeceAuthor: Helen Papaefthymiou1

Co-authors: Andreas Koutsodendris 1; Dimitris Athanassopoulos 1; Dimitris Christodoulou 1; George Papatheodorou1; Maria Geraga 1; Nikolaos Vlachos 1; Stavroula Kordella 1; Theano Karagiannidi 1

1 University of Patras


In this paper the 238U, 232Th, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs activity concentrations in the marine sedimentsof Patras, Corinth and Amvrakikos Gulfs and Messolonghi lagoon complex, and their possible rela-tion to geological, geochemical, biological and anthropogenic factors and processes are presented.Patras Gulf is an open gulf with maximum depth of 160 m and due to its vicinity to Patras city(200.000 citizens) and harbour is contaminated with respect to port and urban activities. The Gulfof Corinth is a semi enclosed deep basin (max. depth 860m) which is connected to the Ionian Seathrough the Patras Gulf. An aluminum processing plant discharges bauxitic red mud tailings intothe northern margin and the central basin of the Gulf. The Amvrakikos Gulf is a semi-enclosed shal-low (max. depth 65m) gulf which is connected to the Ionian Sea through narrow straits. Two majorrivers discharge million of m3 freshwater into the Gulf. The Gulf is considered as the only fjord-like environment in Mediterranean Sea and is seasonally hypoxic/anoxic. Moreover, the Gulf hasbeen heavily affected by the input of phosphate fertilizers over the last 25 years. The Messolonghi-Aetoliko lagoon complex, located in the northern coast of the Patras Gulf, is the most extendedlagoon system in Greece and is considered as the most important wetland area.The highest measured 238U, 232Th and 226Ra content was detected in the Gulf of Corinth due tothe submarine bauxitic red mud deposits. Elevated 238U activity concentrations were observed in

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the Amvrakikos Gulf as a consequence of the pollution of the Gulf by the U-rich phosphate fertil-izers. The highest activity concentrations of 137Cs were found in the Messolonghi lagoon and theAmvrakikos Gulf. These high activities are resulted of the runoff from the drainage areas at the north-ern margin of the Patras and Amvrakikos Gulfs, which have been heavily contaminated by 137Cs.Furthermore, the regional distributions of natural and man-made radionuclides interpreted on thebasis of the geological, biogeochemical and anthropogenic factors of the surveyed areas.


Design and construction of an equipment for the radiochemistryprocess of molecules marked for the sector healthAuthor: Alanis José1

Co-authors: Flores Hector 1; Vasquez J. Carlos 1; de la Cruz Simon 1

1 Nuclear Center of México


In the Plant of Radioisótopes Production of the Nuclear Center of México (ININ) of Mexico, they areprepared weekly radiofármacos, the Yodohipurato of sodium and the Meta-yodobencilguanidina.These compounds are so called molecules marked with iodine (131I). Nowadays the processes ra-dioquímicos that are used for the preparation of these compounds are carried out of individual andmanual form, in a box of gloves, in spite of it, present risks of radiological safety.To improve these disadvantages, this work, there presents an equipment who is inside a warm cellin order to minimize the risks of radiological safety, the equipment works of semi-automated formin order which one appears a minimal exhibition to the radiation of direct form, for the responsiblepersonnel of marking molecules.The routine industrial production with this equipment, began withthe preparation of 9 Yodohipurato of sodium doses of sodium of 2.73 mCi of iodine each one in flaskswith saline solution of 4.5 ml and the product that was containing the molecule marked with 0.5 ml,a percentage was obtained of marked with 95.6 %.The innovation of this work, it consists of presenting a new design of an equipment, where tworadichemistry processes are carried out of marked molecules, composed of mechanical, electricalsystems and air system.


Separation of Cu-61 from alpha particle irradiated cobalt targetby LLXAuthor: Susanta Lahiri1

Co-author: Ajoy Mandal 1

1 Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics


Amongst the various radioisotopes available or becoming available for application in nuclearmedicine,61Cu offers an appropriate selection for imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy, due to its su-perior nuclear properties including desirable half-life and ease of production. Earlier few methodswere reported for separation and extraction of 64Cu using various analytical techniques. In thispaper, we have attempted to develop a new separation method of no-carrier-added 61Cu from α-irradiated cobalt target. A pure cobalt foil of 21.2 mg/cm2 thickness was irradiated for 12 h with30 MeV α-particle beam obtained from Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata, Indiawith an average current 3 µA.The measurements of the activity of radionuclides were done by CAN-BERRA portable type HPGe detector of 1.9 keV resolutions at 1.33 MeV in conjugation with digital

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spectrum analyser (DSA 1000) and Genie 2000 software. A stock solution was prepared by dissolv-ing the irradiated target material in 1:1 HNO3„evaporated to dryness and finally dissolved it 0.01M HCl. 60Co was spiked into the stock solution. Trioctylamine (TOA) was used as a liquid anionexchanger. In order to study the separation profile, 200 µL stock solution were added to 4 mL HCl ofvarying strength and was shaken for 10 min with the help of mechanical shaker with equal volumeof 0.1 M TOA dissolved in cyclohexane. It was found that at 0.5 M TOA and 3 M HCl, 80% 61Cuwas extracted into the organic phase with 25% contamination of bulk cobalt. Copper forms anioniccomplex [CuCl2]- and [CuCl4]2- which were responsible for preferable extraction of copper into theorganic phase. The slight extraction of cobalt might be due to the formation of [CoCl4]- complex.However, the complete decontamination of cobalt is necessary, the study is on progress.

Session 1 / 66

Separation of no-carrier-added ruthenium from C-12 irradiatednatural yttrium target by aqueous biphasic extraction

Author: Moumita Maiti1

Co-author: Susanta Lahiri 1



The mandate of green chemistry is to search newer methods, benign to the environment and Earth,in every sphere of chemical applications. The nuclear and radioanalytical chemistry is no way excep-tion from this mandate. In this paper we present the development of a benign method for separationof 97Ru, a potential candidate radionuclide in the field of nuclear medicine from 12C induced Y tar-get by aqueous biphasic extraction system (ABS). Unlike liquid liquid extraction ABS does not useenvironmentally harmful organic solvents and therefore considered as a benign approach in the fieldof separation sciences.

In this paper we report the production of 97Ru by bombardment of 70 MeV 12C projectiles (withan average beam current of 90 nA) for 3 hours on a Y target. Two reaction channels, (i) natY(12C,4n)97Rh(EC) 97Ru (ii) natY(12C, p3n)97Ru, contributed in the production of 97Ru. Assuring theproduction of 97Ru in the target matrix by γ-spectrometric studies, we dissolved the target in 0.1M HCl, evaporated to dryness and finally redissolved in 0.01 M HCl. Four salts Na2SO4, Na2SO3,Na2CO3 (2 M each), NaOH (4 M) were used in combination with 50% PEG (Polyethylene glycol)in order to form various ABS. It has been found that ~ 60% extraction of 97Ru was possible in thePEG phase without contamination of bulk yttrium when 2 M Na2SO4 was used as salt rich phase. Ahigh separation factor of 840 was achieved. The developed method is simple, fast and environmentfriendly.


Evaluation of cobalt bis(dicarbollide) ion derivativeswith attachedmetal chelating groups for their use in nuclear waste treatment

Author: Maria Bubenikova1

Co-authors: Bohumir Gruner 2; Jiri Rais 1; Pavel Selucky 1; Petr Svec 2

1 Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc.2 Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Rez

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High liquid level waste (HLLW) issued from reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel contains dangerousnuclides, especially minor actinides (241,243Am, 245Cm, 237Np) responsible for long-term radiotox-icity of the waste. In the last decades, several HLLW partitioning processes for actinides separationsbased on the use of different extractants such as octyl(phenyl)-N,N-di-iso-butyl-carbamoylmethylphosphineoxide (CMPO) – TRUEX process, trialkylphosphine oxide – TRPO process, diisodecylphosphoricacid – DIDPA process, substituted malonamides – DIAMEX process, and N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl digly-colamide – TODGA process have been developed.Over the last several years, the new families of extractants based on covalent bonding of hydrophobiccobalt bis(dicarbolides) [(1,2-C2B9H11)2-3-Co)]- anion (COSAN) to different metal chelating ligands(e.g. derivates of CMPO -, TODGA -, phenantroline -, organophosphorous - groups) were tested forseparation of trivalent actinides from acidic waste solutions. Particularly two compounds from theseseries deserved further attention: (i) N,N-di-n-octyl-TODGA-COSAN containing two COSANs cova-lently bound to nitrogen atoms of diglycolic acid diamide platform via diethyleneglycol connectors(alongwith n-octyl as the second substituents on the amide nitrogen) and (ii) extractant N-terc.-octyl-CMPO-COSAN based on bounding of COSAN to CMPO group (with terc.-octyl on the amidic nitro-gen atom and diphenyl substituents on phosphine end), also with use of the long chain diethyleneg-lycol connector. These extractants have proven very efficient, and have been thus evaluated in moredetails for the separation of actinides and lanthanides in the nuclear treatment. As we demonstrate,these derivatives enabled good separation of trivalent actinides and lanthanides from bulk of fissionproducts present in the model PUREX feed. Undesirable co-extraction of some fission products, suchas Mo, Zr, Pd could be suppressed by addition of oxalic acid and (hydroxyethyl)diaminetriacetic acid(HEDTA) into the feed and scrubbing solutions. Trivalent actinides and lanthanides can be effec-tively stripped from loaded organic phase by salts of citric acid and diethylenetriamine pentaaceticacid (DTPA). However, no selective separation of actinides from lanthanides either during extractionor during stripping with complexants has been obtained using these extractants. Therefore, severaldifferent DTPA-sodium nitrate solutions with or without buffers have been tested as an option forthe selective actinides stripping. The results will be presented.


Physico-chemical investigation of heterogeneous equilibria in thesaturated aqueous solutions of uranylsilicates of the alkaline el-ementsAuthor: Natalya Godovanova1

Co-authors: Nikolay Chernorukov 1; Oxana Nipruk 1

1 Nizhni Novgorod state University


Solubilities of uranylsilicates of general formula МIHSiUO6 nH2O (MI – Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+,NH4+) in aqueous solutions at 25 С were investigated. Based on the obtained data constants ofequilibrium of the dilution’s reactions of uranylsilicates in acidic and neutral solutions and standardGibbs’s functions of formation of studied compounds were calculated, the composition of equilib-rium solutions was investigated. Physico-chemical description of the equilibrium heterogeneoussystems based on thermodynamics laws included set of equilibria established in the systems wasproposed. To develop this description it was taken into account that heterogeneous process of di-lution in the studied systems was established and homogeneous equilibria where silicon (IV) anduranium (VI) were presented as set of ion and molecular forms, were established, too. Prediction ofbehavior of given compounds in different conditions was made based upon proposed description ofthe heterogeneous system state like “solid uranylsilicate – aqueous solution”.Solubility of uranylsilicates of alkaline elements and ammonium quite depends on pH. In acidioussolutions their concentration is at the level of 10-3 M and in the neutral ones it decreases to 10-6 M.Type of alkaline element does not have significant influence on solubility of the compounds.Data for compounds in the range pH 3-6 was used to calculate values of solubility products (SP) ofthe low soluble compounds. At first values of SP decrease in the raw of Li+ - NH4+ - Na+ - K+, thenincreases again from K+ to Cs+.

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Modeling of the heterogeneous system state showed that solubility of uranium compounds as func-tion of pH has minimum at pH 11.5, that corresponds to optimal conditions for synthesis of uranyl-silicates of alkaline elements.


Study of states of uranylphosphates anduranylarsenates ofmonoacid,divalent and trivalent elements in water-salt heterogeneous sys-temsAuthor: Oxana Nipruk1

Co-authors: Nikolay Chernorukov 1; Yulia Pykhova 1



The state of compounds of general formula Ak(BvUO6)k•nH2O (Ak - alkaline, alkaline earth, 3d-transition and rare earth elements; Bv - P, As) in aqueous solutions in the wide range of pH 0-14was investigated. The acid-base range of existence of uranylphosphates and uranylarsenates wasestablished, products of conversion were identified and the solubilities of these compounds weredetermined. Using of the obtained data and the instrument of equilibrium thermodynamics, thesolubilities of products, Gibbs’s functions of formation of the compounds Ak(BvUO6)k•nH2O andsolubility curves were calculated, diagrams of the state of uranium (VI) and arsenic (V) in solutionand equilibrium solid phases were constructed.It was established that the behavior of all compounds Ak(BvUO6)k•nH2O in aqueous solutions obeysto common foundations due to their structure and chemical properties similarity of phosphorus andarsenic. Acidity has the most significant influence on the state of studied compounds in the water-salt heterogeneous systems.Generally uranylphosphates are chemically more stable than uranylarsenates. That conclusion onecan prove by wider acid-base ranges of their existence and the lower solubility. Derivatives of alka-line and alkaline earth elements in both families of compounds hold their composition and structureinteracting with aqueous solutions in wide range pH 2-11, whereas uranylphosphates and urany-larsenates of lead, 3d-transition and rare earth elements save their individualities in more narrowrange of pH 2-8.It was shown that the solubilities of all uranylphosphates and uranylarsenates are minimal in theneutral solutions and increases after transition into acid and base media. In the general case solu-bilities of uranylphosphates and uranylarsenates at the same pH decreases with increasing of theinterlayer atom radius.


Synthesis and study of uranyl orthovanadate (UO2)3(VO4)2*4H2O

Author: Anna Eremina1

Co-authors: Nikolay Chernorukov 1; Oxana Nipruk 1



Uranyl orthovanadate (UO2)3(VO4)2•4H2Owas synthesized by heating of uranyl divanadate, (UO2)2V2O7.Structure of this compound was studied with X-ray fluorescence analysis, high temperature X-raydiffraction, scanning calorimetry, IR-spectroscopy. X-ray and IR characteristics of products of itsdehydration were determined.

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Synthesis has consisted of uranyl divanadate (UO2)2V2O7 heating in aqueous solution at pH 7 for48 hours in hydrothermal conditions at 200oC.200oC3(UO2)2V2O7+8H2O→2(UO2)3(VO4)2•4H2O+V2O5Admixture of free V2O5 has been deleted by washing of precipitate with ammonium aqueous solu-tion at 50oC.The results of chemical analysis showed that obtained compound is tetrahydrate 3UO3•V2O5•4H2O.X-ray data for the compound indicates that it is crystallographic analogue of the known uranyl ortho-vanadate (UO2)3(VO4)2•5H2O. Part of molecular H2O is weakly associated and water molecules donot fill crystallographic positions by themselves and conversion (UO2)3(VO4)2 5H2O→(UO2)3(VO4)2 4H2Odoes not lead to any significant changes of crystal lattice. Dehydration of tetrahydrate in wide tem-perature range (70-325oC) includes some stages.The crystal lattice of anhydrous composition (UO2)3(VO4)2 holds its layered structure with specialset of crystallographic characteristics. However, dehydration is reversible. Compound is hydro-scopic and its cooling leads to absorbing of three molecules H2O from air with subsequent returninginto the original crystalline state. Addition of the fourth water molecule takes place after directcontact with aqueous phase at temperature that is not more than 20oC.IR-spectrum of (UO2)3(VO4)2 4H2O is very characteristic and informative. There are well expressedthree groups of vibrations. We have found vibrations of water molecules, uranyl group UO22+ andvanadate tetrahedra. Form of water vibrations one could conclude that all water molecules holdtheir vibration individuality.From the results obtained it was concluded that compound (UO2)3(VO4)2*4H2O belongs to the fam-ily of uranium derivatives with the layered type of crystal lattice.

Session 1 / 71

Evaporation residue cross section in 28Si+75As at Elab=6.6MeV/nucleon

Author: Amit Kumar1

Co-authors: K. Ramachandran 2; P. K. Pujari 1; R. Tripathi 1; Sudarshan Kathi 1; Suparna Sodaye 1

1 Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre2 Nuclear Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre


Study of reactions involving incomplete mass transfer has been an active area of investigation inheavy ion reactions at low and medium energies. Entrance channel parameters, namely, projectileenergy and entrance channel mass asymmetry are important in governing the contribution from dif-ferent types of reactions involving incomplete mass transfer such as quasi-elastic transfer, massivetransfer or incomplete fusion and deep inelastic collisions. In addition, there may be contributionfrom fission like events. In the present work, cross sections of evaporation residues have been mea-sured in 28Si+75As at Elab=183.7 MeV to investigate the contribution from these reactions. Experi-ments were carried out at Pelletron-LINAC facility at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mum-bai, India. Targets of 75As, prepared by vacuum evaporation on carbon backing, were bombarded by28Si beam. Cross section of evaporation residues were measured by radio-chemical method basedon recoil catcher technique followed by off-line gamma-ray spectrometry. Analysis of the gamma-ray spectra showed mainly the formation of evaporation residues with mass number A in the rangeAT to AT+AP, where AP and AT are mass numbers of projectile and target respectively, suggestingincomplete fusion to be the dominant non-compound process.Due to the contribution from incom-plete fusion experimental cross-sections were higher than the calculated cross-section using PACE2code, which is based upon statistical model. These studies did not show any significant contributionfrom deep inelastic collisions.In these studies significant contribution from fission was also observed.Different components were observed in recoil range distribution due to fission products and evapo-ration residues.

Session 1 / 73

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Investigation of the variance of fission product mass distributionin 20Ne + 232Th reactionAuthor: Suparna Sodaye1

Co-authors: R. Guin 1; R. Tripathi 1; Sudarshan Kathi 1

1 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre


Fission of heavier actinides and trans-actinides through heavy ion reactions is currently an activearea of study to investigate contribution from non compound nucleus fission. In addition, there isa contribution from transfer induced fission. In the present work, mass distributions of the fissionproducts produced in 20Ne + 232Th have been measured at Elab=115 and 145 MeV. Self supportingtargets of 232Th (thickness ~3 mg/cm2) were bombarded with 20Ne beam from variable energy cy-clotron centre, Kolkata, India. The formation cross section of more than 30 fission products havebeen measured by recoil catcher technique followed by off-line -ray spectrometry. In order to de-termine the mass distributions, the cross section will be corrected for the charge distribution usingappropriate charge distribution parameters for complete fusion fission and transfer induced fission.The variance of the experimental mass distribution resulting from complete fusion-fission of 20Ne+ 232Th will be compared with the variance calculated using Random Neck Rupture Model (RNRM).Identification of fission products produced in transfer induced fission and complete fusion fissionwould also be helpful in the study of mass resolved angular distribution to investigate the contribu-tion from non-compound nucleus fission.


Total Diet Study: Mg and Mn content estimation of a Market Bas-ket of São Paulo state (Brazil) by Instrumental Neutron Activa-tion.Authors: Roseane P. Avegliano1; Vera Akiko Maihara2

Co-author: Kathia Kadomoto 2

1 Divisão de Alimentação/Nutrição. Coordenadoria de Assistência Social/USP2 IPEN-CNEN/SP


Total Diet Studies (TDS) have been carried out to estimate dietary intakes of the essential and toxicelements for a large-scale population over a specific period of time. In general, a Market Basket(MB) approach is adopted. In this study, the TDS was based on the evaluation of food representinga MB, which reflected the dietary habits of the São Paulo State population, corresponding to 72%of the average food consumption for the state of São Paulo. In the present TDS, magnesium andmanganese concentrations were determined in 30 of the most consumed food groups of a MarketBasket of São Paulo State - Brazil. Element concentrations were determined by instrumental neutronactivation analysis in freeze-dried samples and the values in the table-ready food groups ranged: Mg37.9 (beverages) to450.4 mg/kg (breads) andMn 0.10 (prime grade beef) to 14.6 mg/kg (flours). The average dailyMg andMn intakes were calculated by multiplying the concentration of each element in each table-readyfood group by the respective weight (g/day) of the food group in the MB and adding the productsfrom all food groups. The results of daily dietary intakes in this study were 90.85 mg Mg day-1 and1.34 mgMn day-1. Theses values were lower than the adequate intake (AI) proposed by the Food andNutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (USA, National Academies) for adults. The low levels of Mgand Mn intakes presented in this TDS are probably due to the fact that MB of this study representedonly 72% of the weight of the most consumed household foods of São Paulo State.

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U, Th and other element evaluation in wild mushroom from anaturally high radioactive region in BrazilAuthors: Mychelle Munyck Linhares Rosa1; Vera Akiko Maihara2

Co-author: Maria Helena T Taddei 3

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares2 IPEN-CNEN/SP3 Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear- Laboratório de Poços de Caldas- CNEN-LAPOC


Mushrooms are fungi species which have high capacity to retain elements and radionuclides suchas 137Cs, 238U, 232Th, from the environment. Studies have demonstrated that wild mushrooms canbe used as environmental indicators and monitors to evaluate contamination and quality of ecosys-tems. Several studies have determined a high level of radionuclide in agricultural products in thePoços de Caldas region, which has seventy, identified radiological anomalies. The present study,which aimed at U, Th, As, La, Fe, Zn, Se, Cr, Cs, Co, Rb, and Sc bioaccumulation mushroom capacity,was based on the determination of these elements content in 15 wild mushroom samples collectedin different points from Poços de Caldas Plateau region, without concern to radiological anomalieslocation. These elements were chosen due to their relative abundance in the Plateau soil. The analyt-ical methodology employed was Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. Accuracy and precisionof the analyses were verified with IAEAMushroom Reference Material. The results obtained are dis-cussed considering the geological context of the region and there was a large element level variationamong the analyzed mushroom samples. The highest elemental concentrations, mainly of U andTh, occurred in samples collected in rural areas, where most radioactive anomalies are known to belocated. Data showed that the wild mushroom can be used as a bio-indicator of the environmentalradioactive contamination.


Rare earth elements in phosphogypsum and phosphate fertiliz-ers in BrazilAuthor: Barbara Paci Mazzilli1

Co-authors: Catia H. R. SAUEIA 2; Deborah I. T. FÁVARO 2

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares2 Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares


The Brazilian phosphate fertilizers are obtained by wet reaction of the igneous phosphate rock withconcentrated sulphuric acid, giving as final product phosphoric acid and dehydrated calcium sul-phate (phosphogypsum - PG) as by-product. The level of impurities (metals and radionuclides,among others) present in the phosphate rock used as raw material is distributed among productsand by-products. In Brazil, PG has been used for many years in agriculture as a soil amendment.The characterization of natural radionuclides and heavy metals in PG has been extensively stud-ied by several authors. In this paper, the concentration of rare earth elements - REE (Ce, Eu, La,Lu, Nd, Sm, Tb and Yb) present in Brazilian phosphogypsum and the most used phosphate fertiliz-ers (single super phosphate (SSP), triple super phosphate (TSP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP)and diammonium phosphate (DAP)) were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis- INAA. In order to evaluate the availability of these elements to the soil and plants, the PG sam-ples were extracted with water and a solution of EDTA- NH4 0.05M (procedure established by theEuropean Community) and the REE in the leachate were determined by INAA. REEs concentratepreferentially in PG and the fertilizers TSP and SSP. The results obtained using the methodology

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with mild leaching of PG with EDTA and total dissolution in water showed that the REEs are notextracted from the PG, and therefore are not available to the environment.


Passive biomonitoring study for trace elements in oysters Cras-sostrea brasiliana (Lamarck, 1819: Mollusca, Bivalvia) in SãoPauloState coastal sites, Brazil (25º00’-23º56’S, 47º25’-45º19’W)Author: Marilia Semmler1

Co-authors: Aline Kirschbaum 2; Claudia Minei 2; Daniele Seo 1; Edson Moreira 1; Eduinetty Sousa 2; MarciaGasparro 2; Marina Vasconcellos 1

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares2 Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo


Estuaries and coastal zones frequently receive a great number of contaminants from anthropic sources,resulting in degradation of these ecosystems as a whole. Trace elements present in estuarine waterand in marine sediments may accumulate in many invertebrate marine species as bivalve molluskssuch as oysters and mussels. This study aimed to determine trace elements in Crassostrea brasilianaoysters, very abundant in the estuaries of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, from three sites in São PauloState coast: Cananéia Estuary (reference site), Bertioga and Santos Estuarine Systems (impacted byindustrial and urban activities in moderate and heavy levels, respectively). Passive biomonitoringwas carried out, in which the organisms were collected from their natural environment and ana-lyzed. Seasonally, ninety individuals of Crassostrea brasiliana were collected in each site betweenSeptember/08 and July/09. After sample collection and preparation, the elements As, Co, Cr, Fe, Seand Zn were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and Cd, Pb and Hgwere determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). For analytical quality control, the NISTStandard Reference Material 1566b “Oyster Tissue” was analyzed. Statistical tests were applied tostudy the bioaccumulation of these trace elements and their seasonal variations.


Natural radionuclides content and radon exhalation rate frombrazilian phosphogypsum pilesAuthor: Marcelo Bessa Nisti1

Co-authors: Barbara Paci Mazzilli 1; Marcia Pires de Campos 1

1 IPEN


Phosphogypsum is a waste of the wet-acid process for producing phosphoric acid from phosphaterock. For every ton of phosphoric acid obtained, from the reaction of phosphate rock with sulfuricacid, about four tons of phosphogypsum are produced. Large quantities of phosphogypsum havebeen produced worldwide. In 2006, annual production was estimated to be about 170 million tons.Brazilian annual production of phosphogypsum reaches 5.5 million tons. In Brazil, the major phos-phgypsyum producers are Ultrafertil, located in Cubatão, State of São Paulo and Fosfertil, in Uberaba,State of Minas Gerais.Brazil, such as other countries that produce phosphate fertilizer, tries to find solutions for the safeapplications of phosphogypsum, in order to minimize the impact caused by its disposal. Most ofworldwide phosphogypsum is stock piled, posing environmental concerns. The monitoring of air

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and groundwater pollution, radon exhalation rate and direct exposure to gamma radiation for work-ers should be considered.The aim of this study is to evaluate the natural radionuclides content and the radon exhalation ratefrom phosphogypsum piles from Ultrafertil and Fosfertil fertilizer industries. Samples of this mate-rial were analyzed by high resolution gamma spectrometry for their 226Ra, 228Ra, 210Pb and 40Kactivity concentration. Radon exhalation rate had been measured by the charcoal canister method.A theoretical model for radon exhalation calculation, suggest by UNSCEAR, was applied in order toconfirm the experimental results.The activity concentrations results are in agreement with literature values. The average radon exha-lation rates and standard deviations from Ultrafertil and Fosfertil phosphogysum piles were 0.16 ±0.07 Bq m-2 s-1 and 0.08 ± 0.02 Bq m-2 s-1, respectively.


Potassium concentrations and annual effective dose of the mostcustomary-consumed foodstuffs in Mexico as a cultural heritage

Author: Trinidad Martinez1

Co-authors: Alberto Fernández 1; Alejandro Ramírez 1; Guadalupe J Vargas 1; Manuel Navarrete 1; Victoria Portilla1

1 National University of Mexico


Measurement of radionuclides concentration in foodstuffs allows to assessing the dose being causedby its intake. It means at least one-eight of the mean annual effective dose due to natural sources.Additionally, among the trace elements in foodstuff, K is one of the most important, it is a well-known essential element and it occurs all over the earth. Three of the most customary-consumedfoodstuffs in Mexico as a cultural heritage since pre-Hispanic time to the present (in all economicclasses): bean, chili and corn mel (to cook “tortillas”) were analyzed by γ spectrometry in order todetermine 40K activity, the derived annual effective dose, and the potassium concentration. Resultsshow that mean activity of 40K, annual effective dose and % of potassium concentration are as follow:for chili 901±86 Bq kg-1, 37.2 micro-Sievert per year and 2.84±0.27%; for beans, 510±10 Bq kg-1, 27.5micro-Sievert per year and 1.60±0.04%; for corn meal, “masa”, 90 Bq kg-1, 58.1 micro-Sievert peryear and 0.27.±0.089%. The total effective dose intake from these typical foodstuffs is about 0.122mili-Sievert per year in Mexico’s urban zones.

Session 8 / 80

Validation of γ spectrometry technique to determine potassiumin foodstuufsAuthor: Trinidad Martinez1

Co-authors: Alberto Fernández 1; Alejandro Ramírez 1; EMejìa 2; Graciela Zarazua 3; GuadalupeMacedo 4; ManuelNavarrete 1

1 National University of Mexico2 Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca3 National Institute of Nuclear Research4 Insttituto Tecnológico de Toluca


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The validity of a specific method should be demonstrated in laboratory experiments using samplesor standards that are similar to unknown samples analyzed routinely. Aim of this work is the vali-dation of γ the spectrometry technique to determine potassium in foodstuffs. It was evaluated theaccuracy spiking a blank of calcium carbonate sigma ultra purity (potassium concentration lesserthan 0.005%) with a known amount of pure Potassium chloride, the resulting mixture is measuredin a γ-spectrometer with a high efficiency and low background 3”×3” NaI (Tl) scintillation detectorsurrounded by heavy shielding and coupled to a PC loaded with the Maestro Program. Obtained re-sults are compared with the expected. Accuracy it also evaluated by comparison with concentrationobtained by Atomic Absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in different types of samples (chili, corn meal“masa”, beans and tobacco) after acidic digestion, with a resulting r2 = 0.98. It was also evaluated thelinearity, range, precision (reproducibility), and detection and quantification limits. Values obtainedshow that the used technique is acute, reproducible, and accessible to laboratories equipped with alow background scintillation detector.

Session 14 / 81

Simultaneous speciation analysis of arsenic, antimony and sele-nium in natural waters by HPLC, SPE and solvent extraction cou-pled to neutron activationAuthor: Amares Chatt1

Co-author: Youqing Shi 1

1 SLOWPOKE-2 Facility, Trace Analysis Research Centre, Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax,NS, B3H 4J3, Canada


Simultaneous speciation neutron activation analysis (SSNAA) technique is being developed in ourlaboratory over the last 20 years or so. This technique can be reliably used for the simultaneous de-termination of not only various species of a single element but also species of other elements presentin the same sample. Almost all speciation techniques consist of two steps. The first step involvesthe separation of species from the sample followed by the second step of element-specific detection.A neutron activation analysis (NAA) method in combination with high-performance liquid chro-matography (HPLC) was developed first for the determination of low levels of five arsenic species,namely As(III), As(V), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and arsenobe-taine (AsB) in water samples. Organically bound arsenic (OBAs) and total arsenic levels were alsomeasured. The detection limits of the HPLC-NAA method were found to be between 0.005 and 0.12ng/mL for OBAs and total arsenic, respectively, using the Dalhousie University SLOWPOKE-2 reac-tor facility. These methods were then extended to include the determination of arsenic, antimonyand selenium species, namely As(III), As(V), Sb(III), Sb(V), and Se(IV), in natural water samples bysolvent extraction using APDC/MIBK and by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using HDBDC/XAD-4.Details of all three methods will be presented along with the concentrations of various species mea-sured in natural waters.

Session 2 / 82

Processing of UV-Vis spectroscopy data by chemometric tools asa perspectiveway for onlinemonitoring of SNF reprocessingAuthor: Vasiliy Babain1

Co-authors: Aleksander Lumpov 1; Andrey Legin 2; Dmitry Kirsanov 2

1 Khlopin Radium Institute2 StPetersburg University

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PUREX process of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing requires thorough analytical monitoring atevery technological stage to minimize economical losses and ecological risks. Spectrophotometricdetermination of various ions in visible and near UV spectral range is a classical analytical method.It can be successfully employed for determination of various oxidation states of actinides in solu-tions. However, when several actinides with significantly different concentrations are simultane-ously present in the sample, classical spectral analysis of the minor components can become difficultor even impossible without preliminary chemical separation of the elements. UV-Vis spectroscopicanalysis in combination with chemometric data processing seems to be promising for express and/oreven online determination of various components in SNF reprocessing solutions. The use of modernoptical fibers eliminates the limitations of the detector location and all control units of such a spec-troscopic system can be placed in the clean zone. Moreover, one can simultaneously apply not onlyUV-Vis detectors, but also the detectors of IR and other types of radiation.In this study we attempted to evaluate the potential of UV-Vis spectroscopy in combination with sim-ple chemometric data processing techniques for analysis of the mixture of several elements typicalfor SNF reprocessing. Spectroscopic measurements were performed with an AvaSpec spectrometer(Avantes B.V., Holland) in the range 184 – 1100 nmwith 0.53 nm step. The concentrations of both Npand Pu were varied from 0.05 to 1.55 g/L in solutions with constant content of U (50 g/L) and HNO3(2 mol/L). The experimental spectroscopic data were processed with the Unscrambler 9.7 (CAMO,Norway) software package using PLS1 algorithm.It was found that the prediction of plutonium content in the model mixtures is possible with rathersmall relative errors (in 9 of the 10 predicted samples the relative error was lower than 10%). Some-what worse results were obtained for neptunium (in 8 of the 10 predicted samples RE is lower than10%). The highest error for prediction of Np concentration was found for the mixture containingrather large concentrations of the elements in question (Np - 300 mg/L, Pu -1300 mg/L, and U50- g/L). This result can be due to the noisy spectral signal of Np(V) at 980 nm obtained during themeasurements that leads to the «noisy» latent variables responsible for Np concentration. However,the mean relative error for 10 test set samples is 4.4 and 7.1 % for plutonium and neptunium, respec-tively.The same spectral data were also subjected to the traditional univariate calibration procedure. Ab-sorbance values at 980 nm were used for calibration against neptunium content, signal intensitiesat 475 nm, for plutonium. Linear fit of the experimental data points yielded regressions with R20.98 and 0.95 for plutonium and neptunium, respectively. In spite of the high correlation, predictiveability of these regressions was much poorer than those of PLS models and average relative errorof prediction for 10 unknown test samples was 12,7 and 21% for plutonium and neptunium, respec-tively.Hence, feasibility of the optical spectroscopy in combination with chemometric data processing wasdemonstrated for the analysis of the model solutions simulating the PUREX SNF reprocessing. Thisapproach allows fast and simple analysis of plutonium and neptunium in a wide concentration rangein the presence of uranium. Further experimental studies are now in progress to improve theseresults with more complex model solutions as well as by use of more sophisticated chemometrictechniques.

Session 2 / 83

Opportunity of using protective coatings for radioactive wasteimmobilizationAuthor: Yury Pokhitonov1

Co-author: Vasiliy Babain 1

1 Khlopin Radium Institute


One of the most important conditions for the realization of the concept of closed nuclear fuel cy-cle consists in the availability of highly developed infrastructure, including reprocessing of spentnuclear fuel (SNF), and further utilization of the resulted waste. The major way for increasing thesafety of radwastes management is the development of advanced technologies, which would enableto reprocess the whole volume of high-level waste (HLW) and to obtain the solid products offering

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high chemical stability which would be suitable for long-term monitored storage and/or final dis-posal.At the same time another way to enhance the safety of solidified HLW storage and disposal is toapply a special coating on granulated wastes or to encapsulate solidified HLW using adequate ma-terials. The main advantages of wastes reprocessing through the use of protective coatings are thatthis technique offers the possibility to immobilize the wastes in the form of solid products, whichwould be stable to leaching when contacting not only with water, but with other aggressive agents,for example, acids, as well. In the case of successful realization of R&D work package, which arebeing planned, the optimal parameters of the process ensuring an efficient localization of radioactivewastes will be selected, and the necessary recommendations for industrial use of developed technol-ogy will be generated.The object of this work was to conduct experimental study on technology development to obtainprotective covering at ceramic materials containing different radionuclides. Physicochemical char-acteristics of these materials (data on cesium leaching rate) are presented.Another object of present work was the study on engineering solutions that could allow use “reac-tor” palladium for immobilization of long-lived radionuclides such as I-129 and TUE.In the paper the results of experiments on synthesis of cermets on palladium metal base (with metaloxides and palladium iodide inclusion) are presented.Obtained samples were examine by using of electronic-microscopy method. The data on leachingrate of europium and iodine from the samples with additional coverings are also presented.

Session 2 / 84

Heterocyclic acids diamides as extractants for actinides extrac-tion and separationAuthor: Mikhail Alyapyshev1

Co-authors: Natalya Borisova 2; Vasiliy Babain 1

1 Khlopin Radium Institute2 Moscow State University


The treatment of the high level waste generated during nuclear fuel reprocessing is the obligatorystage of the nuclear fuel cycle. The reducing of volume of nuclear wastes could be realized by recov-ering of all harmful radionuclides (actinides, lanthanides and fission products) to separate fractionsand their encapsulating in appropriate stable matrices. Separation of minor actinides (Am and Cm)from relatively harmless lanthanides is one of the most important and challenging problem due totheir chemical similariry.On the one hand the most well-known extraction processes developed for actinide partitioning useneutral polydentate ligands solutions as a solvent, for instance CMPO (octyl(phenyl)-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoyl methylene phosphine oxide), TRPO (tri-n-alkyl phosphine oxide), diamides of malonicand diglycolic acids. All listed compounds possess very high affinity to f-elements and effectivelyextract them from nitric acid solutions but cannot separate the minor actinides from rare earth ele-ments. The high complexing ability of these extractants is caused by presence in their structure ofhard donor atoms (oxygens of ethers and carboxylic groups) that form strong complexes with bothactinides and lanthanides. That is why “hard donor” ligands could be used only for simultaneousactinides and lanthanides recovery.On the other hand the most powerful agents for selective extraction or separation of trivalent ac-tinides are nowadays “soft donor” compounds which possess several nitrogen or sulfur atoms. Somepoly-nitrogen compounds extract americium many times better, than europium. However the maindrawback of such ligands is that for some them the effective Am/Eu separation is possible only fromsolutions with low concentration of nitric acid (pH 2-4) and the others are not stable in nitric acidsolutions.The combination of hard and soft donors in one structure allows effective extraction of actinidesand their separation from lanthanides in the one stage. Two different classes of heterocyclic acidsdiamides (diamides of 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acid and diamides of 2,2’ dipyridyl-6,6’-dicarboxylicacid) were synthesized and systematically studied. Several extraction systems for extraction andselective separation of actinides (SF (Am/EU) up to 30) were developed and tested.

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Session 9 / 85

Traces of Fukushima accident in Southern Poland.Author: Kamil Brudecki1

Co-authors: Ewa Tomankiewicz 2; Krzysztof Kleszcz 1; Paweł Janowski 1; Renata Kierepko 1

1 The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences,2 1 The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences,


As a result of strong earthquake near Japan Islands followed by tsunami wave on 11 of March 2011 aserious damage caused by overheating occurred to reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear PowerPlant. Uncontrolled radioactive emission to the atmosphere started on 12 of March and was lastingfor more than 2 weeks. Radioactive cloud migrated across Pacific, Northern America and came toEurope from northern-western direction The Institute of Nuclear Physics in Krakow operates highvolume aerosol sampler MASS-500. The original flow rate of 500 m3/h is reduced to 250 m3/h whenthe charcoal gas double cartridge is added below the Petryanov filter. Collection of samples startedon 21 of March and after detection of 131I on 24 of March the cartridges and filters were changedevery day till 11 of April, later the measurements were continued in larger periods. Filters and char-coal were analyzes on low background gamma spectrometer with HPGe detectors. The fallout wascollected in two weeks intervals using 2.2 m2 area collector and few persons (Polish citizens) whocome back from Japan were analyzed using whole body spectrometer equipped with two HPGe de-tectors.The presence of 131I, 132I, 129mTe, 132Te, 134Cs,136Cs and 137Cs was established in air filters. Mea-surable concentrations of cesium appeared three days later that those from iodine. The maximumactivity in Krakow for 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs was observed on 28 and 29March and it was 6 mBq/m3 ,0.6 mBq/m3 and 0.4 mBq/m3 for 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs, respectively. Average activity ratio for 134Csto 137Cs was 1.11. The ratio between activity in aerosol fraction 131I to gas fraction was changingwith time, being almost equal to 1 in the maximum activity it was then increasing to less than 5 inmid-April.In thyroids of Polish citizens who came back from Japan up to 280 12 Bq of 131I were found. The es-timation of effective dose equivalent (including not well known details of inhalation scenario) yieldsin about 10 Sv.A search for Pu, Am and Cm isotopes was performed to two sets of filters and to fallout samples.Since the analyses are not finished at the time of writing the abstract all results will be presentedduring the conference.

Session 14 / 86

Total and bioaccessible fractions of trace elements in cultivatedoyster tissues by INAA, PIXE and ICP-MSAuthor: Michiko Fukushima1

Co-authors: Amares Chatt 2; Yukihiro Nakano 3

1 Ishinomaki Senshu University2 SLOWPOKE-2, Dalhousie University3 Kyoto University Reactor


Estimation of the total and bioaccessible fraction of both nutritionally and toxicologically importantelements in cultivated oysters consumed by Japanese population groups are of much interest. Oys-ters are cultivated in Japan by hanging them on an 11-m long rope in the ocean. Levels of 20 elementsin these oysters were investigated. Three bunches of oyster were collected at 1, 6, and 11 m depths.From each bunch, five oysters were chosen, washed with tap water, and removed from the shell.

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Two groups of organ, namely (i) hepatopancreas and muscle, and (ii) gill and mantle, were separatedfrom soft tissues, freeze-dried, and pulverized. One portion of it was irradiated at the DalhousieUniversity SLOWPOKE-2 reactor facility in Halifax, Canada for assaying Ag, Br, Cl, Cu, Mg, Na, Se,and V by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) through their short- and medium-livednuclides. Another portion was irradiated at the Kyoto University Reactor in Osaka, Japan for Co, Cr,I, Fe, Rb, Sc, and Zn by INAA using mostly long-lived nuclides. A third portion of the sample wasdigested in a microwave oven with nitric acid and analyzed for more than 20 elements by particleinduced X-ray emission (PIXE). Almost all elements except Cd, Cl, and Ni were found to accumu-late in soft tissues with increasing depth. The bioaccessible fraction of the elements was estimatedby an in vitro enzymolysis method followed by ICP-MS. Details of experiments and results will bepresented.

Session 9 / 87

Micro-XRF andmicro-EXAFS investigations of radionuclide sorp-tion in Boda Siltstone FormationAuthor: Szabina Torok1

Co-authors: Daniel Breitner 1; Istvan Sajo 2; Janos Osan 1; Rainer Dahn 3; Reka Repanszky 1

1 KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute2 Chemical Research Centre of HAS3 Paul Scherrer Institute


Argillaceous rocks are being considered in many radioactive waste management programmes assuitable host rock formations for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. Clay mineralssuch as illite, smectite, illite/smectite mixed layers and kaolinite are important components in suchrock types and can often make up 50 or more wt.% of the total mass. One of the most importantcharacteristics of many clay minerals is their generally strong radionuclide retention properties.The rocks investigated were prepared from geochemically characterized cores from drillings in BodaSiltstone Formation, Hungary. The samples are albitic clay stones that represent the most significantconstituent of Boda Siltstone Formation. Two polished 30-60 µm thick thin sections were prepared,and the thin sections were placed for 72 hours into a synthetic ground water solution representativefor Boda Siltstone Formation with 0.1 mM Ni2+ or 1 mM Ni2+ added. After the treating period thesamples were dried up by high pressure Ar gas.The micro-distribution and the local environment of nickel in the argillaceous rock samples were in-vestigated applying micro x-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) and micro extended x-ray absorption finestructure (micro-EXAFS) investigations at the micro-fluorescence Beamline L at HASYLAB (Ham-burg, Germany). A polycapillary half-lens (X-ray Optical Systems) was employed for focusing abeam of 3 ×1.5 mm2 down to a spot size of 15 μm diameter. The EXAFS spectra were recorded influorescence mode at the K-absorption edge of Ni, recording the Ni-Kα fluorescent yield using anenergy-dispersive silicon drift detector. A series of micro-EXAFS measurements were performed onthe thin sections, at points of interest (POI) with varying Ni content.Micro-XRF elemental maps collected at an excitation energy of 17500 eV showed an anticorrelationwith Ca and Fe, and a correlation with K-rich phases. This indicates that mainly clay rich mineralsare responsible for the Ni uptake in the Boda formation. The precise identification of the particularnature of the clay minerals responsible for the sorption would need additional micro-XRD investi-gations.Using micro-EXAFS, the formation of precipitates and surface complexes could be clearly distin-guished. The strong second peak in the radial structure functions (RSF) at R+ΔR = 2.7 Å indicatesthe formation of a precipitate from the Ni-containing synthetic ground water solution on the rocksurface, and can mainly be attributed to Ni-Ni backscattering pairs. The micro-EXAFS spectra ofa few POIs of the samples treated with 0.1 mM Ni2+, however, can be fitted without any Ni-Nibackscattering pair, indicating the formation of a surface complex. The obtained fitted structural pa-rameters (5.3 Ni-O at 2.05 Å, 1 Ni-Al at 3.03 Å, and 2.1 Ni-Si at 3.3 Å) are consistent with Ni-uptakeon edge sites of clay minerals.The research leading to these results has received funding from the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation

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Programme through Project n° SH/7/2/11 and from the European Community’s Seventh FrameworkProgramme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 226716.


Study of the firing temperature of Marajoara Archaeological ce-ramics by electron paramagnetic resonance associated to INAAdata

Author: Kelly Nunes1

Co-authors: Carlos Brunello 2; Casimiro Munita 1; Célia Demartini 3; Denise Schaan 4; Eduardo Neves 3; LuizCarlos Oliveira 2; Oswaldo Baffa 2; Paulo Oliveira 1; Rosimeiri Toyota 1

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares2 Universidade de São Paulo3 Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia4 Universidade Federal do Pará


TheMarajo Island is the largest island of the Marajo archipelago, located in the North of Brazil. Withan area of approximately 50,000 km2, it is located in the Para State and east part of the Amazon. Inthis region, at the end of 19th century, it was identified an archaeological society named Marajora,which occupied the island from 400 to 1400 AD. It was characterized by the development of anintensive subsistence system based on fish farming and by a ceramic style recognized by its beautyand exuberance. Until this moment, the physical and chemical analysis studies in this ceramics arescarce and this kind of studies may help to archaeological studies made in the island. With thispurpose, this work presents a preliminary study of the firing temperature in the ceramics. For that,the elementary concentrations of 100 samples from Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia of São PauloUniversity and samples collected in theMarajo Islandwere studied. The sampleswere analyzed usinginstrumental neutron activation analysis in which the elemental concentration of Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu,Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Rb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb and Zn were determined. The interpretationof the results was made using principal components analysis and showed the existence of threechemical groups. Some samples of each cluster were chosen for the determination of their firingtemperatures by electron paramagnetic resonance, in order to verify if different firing temperatureswas associated with different elemental groups of ceramic samples. The results showed no statisticaldifferences in the firing temperature between the samples from Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologiaand the samples collected in the Marajo Island.

Session 9 / 89

Chemical composition ofmarine sediments in thePacific Sea fromSinaloa to Jalisco in Mexico

Author: Trinidad Martinez1

Co-authors: Alejandro Ramos 1; Graciela Muller 1; Juan Lartigue 1; Manuel Navarrete 1; Pedro Avila-Perez 2;Samuel Tejeda 3; Zarazua Graciela 2

1 National University of Mexico2 National Institute of Nuclear Research3 Naational Institute of Nuclear Research

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Marine sediments fromWest coast of Mexico in the Pacific Sea from Sinaloa to Jalisco, Mexico wereanalyzed by the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique (EDXRF). 9 sediment samples werecollected in May, 2010 at water depths between 55.5 and 1264 m with a box nucleate sampler typeReinneck. Sediments were dried and the total and separated fine fraction analyzed. Concentrationand distribution of K, Ca, Ti Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ga, Pb and Br were analyzed and compared withthe reference values given by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ontario Ministry ofthe Environment (MOE). In order to know the status of the elements in marine sediments, the en-richment factor and other index were calculated. It was also determined the pH, conductivity andtotal and organic carbon. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) show the pre-dominant groups of compounds present in these marine sediments. As a Quality Control, CertifiedReference Material was processed and analyzed at the same conditions.


Recent sedimentation rates and trace elements determined in coresfrom Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

Author: Sandra Damatto1

Co-authors: Barbara Mazzilli 2; Déborah Fávaro 2; arnaldo Sakamoto 3

1 IPEN - CNEN/SP2 IPEN-CNEN-SP3 Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul


The Pantanal, in the southwest part of Brazil, is one of the world’s largest freshwater wetland. Thisnatural ecosystem has been affected due to urban contamination, irregular use of the land, tourismwithout control and excessive agricultural defensive utilization. In order to verify possible changesin this environment, a study was established in Pantanal da Nhecolândia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazilin 2006. Two sediment cores were collected in two small ponds in Nhumirim farm, Salina do Meioand Salina da Ponta and one core was collected in a pond in Firme farm, Salina Pedra do Sol. Thesedimentation rate was determined using the 210Pb dating method. The sedimentation rates ob-tained for the three pounds are in agreement with other lacustrine system of the literature. Theelements As, Ba, Br, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb, Znand Zr were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis technique – NAA. Their con-centrations ranged from mg kg-1 to %. For validation methodology the reference materials BuffaloRiver Sediment (NIST SRM 2704) and Soil-7 (IAEA) were analyzed. The majority of the elementsand rare earths analyzed showed concentrations lower when compared with shale and earth crustvalues. Factorial analysis, mode R, Cluster analysis and principal component analysis were appliedfor the data interpretation.


EDXRFdetermination of heavymetals in the soil of an urban plotin Mexico City

Author: Juan Lartigue1

Co-authors: Alejandro Ramos 1; Alejandro Ramírez 1; Trinidad Martinez 1

1 National University of Mexico

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A project to develop a residential building in a previous industrial plot, in the urban zone of Mex-ico City, has required the application of the local Norm regarding the maximum permitted limits ofheavy metals in soils. Though the Norm prescribes the Atomic Absorption method for the heavymetals determination, the Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence method was proposed for a quickand preliminary quantitative survey of the probable polluted areas. Samples were taken at 0.5 and3.5 meters depth with a manual drilling equipment (Hand-Auger-AMS), dried and grinded. The spec-tra was obtained in a Si-Li detector (Princeton-GT-S30), operated to 450/900 , with a 30 mCi Pu-238source and 3000 s of irradiation time. The polluted area reaches to one tenth of the total. The contam-inants to be reduced or eliminated are: Cu, Zn, Pb and specially Cr whose concentration is severaltimes higher than permitted. A background determination in the total area is being performed fora better precision of results, since the soil is a mixture of limestone and sand. A commentary isincluded related to other countries criteria (USA, Canada andThe Netherlands) on this topic


Characterization of radioactive waste from a PET cyclotron facil-ity by gamma spectroscopyAuthor: Ignazio Vilardi1

Co-authors: Annarita Savi 2; Luigi Gianolli 2; Maria Carla Gilardi 3; Massimo Gasparini 1; Riccardo Calandrino 4;Rossella Parisi 4

1 Nuclear Medicine Department, Multimedica Scientific Institute, Sesto San Giovanni (MI), Italy2 Nuclear Medicine Department, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy3 IBFM-CNR, Milan, Italy4 Health Physics Department, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy


IntroductionMost of the waste generated at a cyclotron/PET facility presents high radioactivity created by targetirradiation. The main sources of this waste are foils, spent targets, materials produced during accel-erator maintenance, chemicals used in the separation of radioisotopes from the target materials andfor labelling of radiopharmaceuticals. Usually, these materials are collected on-site in a designatedarea and then transferred to authorized companies for disposal from the site. Aim of this study isthe qualitative and quantitative characterization of waste coming from labelling tracer proceduresand cyclotron maintenance.

Materials and MethodsThe PET centre at San Raffaele Scientific Institute is equipped with two cyclotrons, IBA Cyclone(18 MeV) and CTI Eclipse (11 MeV). 18F and 11C are produced by means of proton bombardmenton [18O]H2O with Ag/Nb target (Havar/Ti foils) and on [14N]N2 + 1% O2 with Al target (Al foil),respectively. Typical productions for 18F and 11C, with a 60 min irradiation at a beam current of 50microampere (18F) and 35 microampere (11C), range from 50 to 55 GBq.Two types of waste were considered: solid produced from cyclotron maintenance (cotton applica-tor, paper, gloves, QMA cartridges, stripper target) and liquid from FDG synthesis. Five solid andthree liquid Al containers (10 kg for solid and 5 kg for liquid waste), relative to seven months, wereanalyzed. Spectroscopic measurements were performed using an High-Purity Germanium detectorwith 18% relative efficiency and 0.14% energy resolution at 1332 keV. Energy and efficiency calibra-tions were performed with 152Eu and 133Ba certified sources.A 1 ml sample of liquid waste was measured in the same geometry used for efficiency calibration.The total activity was then obtained by normalizing for the weight of the liquid in the container. Inorder to allow direct measurements of activity in the container (both liquid and solid waste), suchtotal activity value was then used to determine correction factors for the container geometry (in theenergy range from 50 to 2000 keV) at 15 cm far from the detector. In order to assess our technique,

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one Al solid container was sent for spectroscopic analysis to an ISO 9001 certified laboratory (LENA– University of Pavia).

ResultsAnalysis of waste of a typical solid container, filled in 2/3 months, showed the presence of rela-tively long-lived radionuclides: 7Be, 22Na, 48V, 51Cr, 54Mn, 56Co, 57Co, 58Co, 60Co, 65Zn, 95mTc,108mAg, 109Cd, 110mAg, 182Ta. Measured activities ranged from 0.2 to 6.5 MBq. The main con-tribution arose from 7Be (6 MBq, T1/2=53.12 days), 58Co (3.5 MBq, T1/2=70.86 days) and 65Zn (2MBq, T1/2=244.26 days). Liquid waste data confirmed the presence of 22Na, 51Cr, 54Mn, 56Co, 57Co,58Co, 65Zn and their total activities ranged from 0.3 to 5 MBq. Spectroscopic analysis carried outby LENA confirmed same nuclides and activities within 20% of difference. The kind of radionuclidesfound in this study are inherent with the targets and foils employed for proton irradiation. In par-ticular 7Be is likely obtained from the nuclear reaction 7Li(p,n)7Be, 48V from 48Ti(p,n)48V, all Coisotopes from natFe(p,x)Co or natNi(p,x)Co, 54Mn from 54Fe(p,n)54Mn, 65Zn from 65Cu(p,n)65Znand 109Cd from 109Ag(p,n)109Cd. Short-lived contaminants could not be detected from our delayedmeasurements.

ConclusionThe presence of long-lived contaminants in the activated parts of accelerators (e.g. targets, foils) havebeen well established. Our results indicate that attention should also be given on waste producedduring maintenance procedures and that long-lived radionuclides are present in the residuals oftracer synthesis, even if yield of radionuclides can vary depending on several factor such as crosssection, exposure time, beam current and type of maintenance. Due to the presence of long-livedradionuclides, waste in-house storage is not useful and, therefore, waste disposal by authorizedcompanies is recommended. However, procedures for waste minimization should be set-up as partof the safety assessment, to control potential risks and to reduce operating costs.


Natural radionuclides, stable elements concentration and studyof bioactive components of Peperomia pellucidaAuthor: Fabio Vitorio SUSSA1

Co-authors: BARBARA PACI MAZZILLI 2; EDLAYNE GONÇALEZ 3; JOANA D’ARC FELICIO 3; Paulo SergioCardoso SILVA 4; SANDRA REGINA DAMATTO 2; VERÔNICA MARIA DA SILVA SANTOS 3

1 Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN2 INSTITUTO DE PESQUISAS ENERGÉTICAS E NUCLEARES - IPEN3 CENTRO DE SANIDADE ANIMAL DO INSTITUTO BIOLÓGICO4 Insituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN


In recent decades, there has been a great advancement in research in developing drugs from plants.Nevertheless, little information exists in literature about the activity concentration of U-238 andTh-232 decay products, even as stable elements concentration in plants used for this purpose. Peper-omia pellucida, whose popular name in Brazil is little heart, is a plant known by its medicinal prop-erties like healing property, analgesic activity, antibacterial activity and antifungal activity againstfood fungi. The objective of these determinations is to understand the possible relationship existingbetween elementary concentrations and pharmacological action. Elemental concentration for theelements As, Ba, Br, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Ta,Tb, Th, U, V, Yb and Zn were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis in the aerialparts, leaves, and roots of Peperomia pellucida, in the extracts and infusion and in the surroundingsoil. The samples were irradiated at the Nuclear Reactor IEA-R1, IPEN-SP, together with the refer-ence materials Soil-7 and Buffalo River Sediment and the method validation was performed with thereference material Lichen (IAEA-336). The concentration of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Hg was determinedby Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and the activities of Ra-226, Ra-228 and Pb-210 was carried out by total alpha and beta counting with radiochemical separation. The essentialoil, ethanolic and hexane extracts of Peperomia pellucida were tested for antifungal activity against

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Aspergillus flavus in vitro on Petri plates. The antifungal activity was based on the inhibition zoneand minimal inhibition concentration values against the pathogen on Petri plates assays. It was alsodetermined the essential oil chemical composition by CG-MS.


Classification of igneous rocks from Paraguay by INAAAuthor: Juan F Facetti-Masulli1

Co-author: Mariano D Bordas 1

1 Universidad Nacional de Asunción


Plutonic and volcanic rocks were analyzed by INAA in their major components for its classifi-cation. The samples proceed from the sites/regions corresponding to the Precambrian to Paleo-zoic/Postpaleozoic magmatism in the Eastern and Western Paraguay. In the Eastern Region thePrecambrian is present in two structural hights: the Apa Hight in the north and Caapucu in thesouth.The latter is constituted by Rio Tebicuary complex; of upper Proterozoic age. In the West-ern Region, Precambrian outcrops ocurred in the north in the Alto Paraguay Province. Six mainmagmatic events constitute the Paleozoic/Postpaleozoic magmatism: the eldest one (Alto ParaguayProvince) is dated at Permo-Triassic.The second is dated as Cretaceous at the north of Eastern Par-guay. The third one also Cretaceous, is exposed by extended lava of tholeiitic basalts of the AltoParaná Formation/Serra Geral . The fourth event,occurred in the Asunción-Sapucai Graben.The fifth,in theMisiones Province near San Juan Bautista mainly by sodic-alkaline plugs and dykes . The sixth,from the Paleocene, is concentrated in the Asunción region.The activation were performed in an annular 25Ci Am-Be neutron source. The analysed elementswere Si, Al, Na and K and thus the SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Na₂O and K₂O content determined. The reactions usedwere i) ²⁸Si (n.p) ²⁸Al; ii) ²⁷Al (n,p) ²⁷Mg iii) ²³Na (n, γ ) ²⁴Na; the fourth element of interest, potassium,was analysed by simple gamma spectrometry. The procedure overall uncertainties were checked asper the irradiation of three compositae samples of SiO₂+ Al₂O₃ + NaHCO₃+ K₂CO₃ prepared as stan-dards in convenient proportions. The determination of these parameters permit the classification ofthe rocks in the categories acid, intermediate, basic and ultrabasic, as well as the identification ofthe rock family and in certain cases the norm and their magmatic provenance.


The effect of aging and natural organic matter on the Th(OH)4solubilityAuthor: Melpomeni Prodromou1

Co-authors: Ioannis Paschalidis 1; Stella Antoniou 1



The formation and solubility of the Th(OH)4 solid phase has been investigated as a function of theaging time and the presence of natural organic matter (e.g. humic acid) in 0.1 M NaClO4, in thepH range between 2 and 5, and under normal atmospheric conditions. Th(OH)4 has been preparedby alkaline precipitation and characterized by TGA, ATR-FTIR, XRD, and solubility measurements.According to the experimental dataTh(OH)4 is stable and remains the solubility limiting solid phaseeven in the presence of increased humic acid concentration in solution. Increasing humic acid con-centration doesn’t affect the crystallite size and the solubility product of Th(OH)4 and its solubility

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is basically pH depended and governed by the presence of colloidal species. However, solid phaseaging, which in absence of humic acid favors crystallinity, affects significantly the Th(OH)4 solubil-ity.

Keywords: Th(IV); solubility; humic acid; aging; particle size


The effect of humic acid on the formation and solubility of sec-ondary solid phases of polyvalent metal ionsAuthor: Stella Antoniou1

Co-author: Ioannis Pashalidis 1



The paper presents and discusses data obtained from investigations regarding the effect of naturalorganic matter (e.g. humic acid) on the formation and solubility of secondary solid phases of poly-valent metal ions (e.g. M(VI), M(IV), M(III)) in aqueous solutions of 0.1 M NaClO4 and under normalatmospheric conditions. The investigations were performed using hexavalent uranium as analoguefor M(VI), tetravalent thorium, cerium and zirconium as analogues for M(IV) and trivalent samariumand neodymium as analogues for M(III). The solid phases under investigation have been preparedby alkaline precipitation in the presence and absence of humic acid and characterized by TGA, ATR-FTIR, XRD and solubility measurements. The experimental data obtained indicate generally that thesolids phases, which are formed in the absence of humic acid, are stable and remain the solubilitylimiting solid phases even in the presence of increased humic acid concentration (up to 0.5 g/l) insolution. Although polyvalent metal ions form very stable complex with humic acid, upon baseaddition in the M(z)-humic acid system decomplexation of the previously formed M(z)-humate com-plexes and precipitation of two distinct phases occurs, namely, the inorganic and the organic phase.The latter is adsorbed on the particle surface of the former. However, natural organic matter (humicacid) affects the particle size of the solid phases and may lead to reduction of redox-sensitive species.Generally, increasing humic acid concentration results in decreasing crystallite size of the inorganicsolid phase. The extent of the effect depends inversely on the solid phase stability. The impact onthe solid phase properties even for the less stable solid phases is expected to be of minor relevanceregarding the chemical behavior and migration of polyvalent metal ions in the geosphere.

Keywords: polyvalent metal ions, humic acid, solid phase formation, solubility


Fukushima fallout at Milano, ItalyAuthor: FLAVIA GROPPI1

Co-authors: ALEXANDRA IOANNIDOU 2; LUIGI GINI 1; SIMONE MANENTI 1

1 L.A.S.A. Lab. I.N.F.N. and Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Flli Cervi 201, I-20090 Segrate (MI), Italy2 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Physics Department, Nuclear Phys. and Elementary Partcile Phys. Division


Radionuclides from Fukushima fallout were first detected at Milano region in a rain water sample,collected during March 27-28, with the concentrations of 131I and 137Cs isotopes in the rainwater

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to be equal with 0.89 Bq L-1 and 0.12 Bq L-1, respectively. During the same days a snowfall samplewas collected from Monte Rosa mountain at a height of 3000 m, with the concentrations of 131I and137Cs in snowfall to be lower than that in rainwater sample. A sample of dry deposition that wascollected 9 days after the rainfall event of 27-28 March, 2011 showed that the dry deposition of 131Iand 137Cswas 0.40 Bqm-2 and 0.24 Bqm-2 respectively. The concentrations of 131I in sheep and cowmilk samples collected on 30 March, 2011 from a farm at Macugnaga, Monte Rosa mountain, were0.30 Bq L-1 and 0.37 Bq L-1 respectively. Daily monitoring of the airborne activity levels was carriedout with a high volume air sampler and Glass Fiber filters as the collection substrate. Increasedatmospheric radioactivity was detected on air filter taken on 30 March 2011, wile the maximumactivity of 467 µBq m-3, occurred at April 3-4, 2011. A week later the activities had fallen to about50% of peak values, with a general decreasing trend over the following days. In the time period ofone month after the nuclear accident, concentrations of 137Cs and 134Cs in air as high as 88 µBqm-3 and 78 µBq m-3, respectively were recorded. According to the measurements, airborne activitylevels remains of no concern for public health in Italy.

Session 9 / 104

Chemical fractionation of radionuclides in submerged plants andsediments of the Yenisei RiverAuthor: Alexander Bolsunovsky1

1 Institute of Biophysics SB Russian Academy of Sciences


TheYenisei River is contaminated with artificial radionuclides released by one of the Russian nuclearfacilities (Mining-and-Chemical Combine), which has been producing weapons-grade plutoniumsince 1958. The submerged plants growing on radioactively contaminated river bottom sedimentscontain artificial radionuclides. Sequential extraction techniques are the most common method ofstudying radionuclide speciation in sediments and submerged plants. The aim of this study was toshow that the sequential extraction approach can be successfully used to study remobilization ofartificial radionuclides from sediments and submerged plants of the Yenisei River. Sediment andsubmerged plant samples were collected from the Yenisei River at different distances downstreamof the Combine.Sequential extraction technique proposed by Tessier and modified by Klemt et al. (2002) was usedto investigate sediment samples. Sequential extraction was performed in sediments that were indifferent states (wet, dried, and re-wetted). Some of the samples of sediments and the submergedplants were spiked with 241Am or 242Pu. The new sequential extraction scheme was used in thisstudy for submerged plant samples, and the resulting fractions were exchangeable, adsorbed frac-tions, organics, and mineral residue.Sequential extraction performed on samples of the sediment cores collected near the Combine showedthat the largest amounts of the radionuclides were extracted from such fractions as organics, oxidesand hydroxides. We arranged radionuclides in the following sequence, showing their relative mo-bility in the upper layers of the cores: 90Sr ≈ 241Am ≈ 152Eu > 60Co >238U> 239,240Pu > 137Cs.The transuranic elements 239Np, 242Pu and 241Am were found in the intracellular fraction of thesubmerged plant biomass, and this suggested their active accumulation by the plants via the ana-log mechanism. Localization of radionuclides in the intracellular fraction of the biomass determinestheir furthermigration along trophic chains of the ecosystem and the subsequent toxic effect.

Session 9 / 105

Activity size distribution of radioactive Be-7 aerosols at differentenvironments in Northern ItalyAuthor: ALEXANDRA IOANNIDOU1

Co-authors: CONSTANTIN PAPASTEFANOU 1; FLAVIA GROPPI 2; LUIGI GINI 2; MANENTI SIMONE 2

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1 ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI, Physics Department, Nuclear Phys. and Elementary Particle Phys.Division

2 L.A.S.A. Lab. INFN and Università degli Studi di Milano, Via F.lli Cervi, 201 – I-20090 Segrate (MI), Italy


The activity size distributions of the natural radionuclide tracer 7Be were determined in differentsite places in Northern Italy in order to define any differences due to the different environments. Inthe frame of this work, three different environments where chosen, in an urban area (University ofMilano), in a rural residential area (Ispra) and in Maqugnaga village at 1300 m height in Monte RosaMountain. Each sampling at three sampling stations was carried out simultaneously with a samplingat a reference station in an suburban-industrialised area (Segrate). For this case, two compatibleaerosol cascade impactors were used. The aerodynamic size distributions were obtained by usingtwo compatible 1-ACFM cascade impactors with efficient cutoff diameters (ECD) of 0.4, 0.7, 1.1, 2.1,3.3, 4.7, 5.8, and 9 and acetate cellulose filters as collection substrates. The length of each collectionperiod was 1 week. In order to study the influence of the meteorological conditions to the activitysize distribution of 7Be aerosols, the three sampling campaigns at different environments were doneduring each season of the year.

Session 3 / 106

Synthesis ofmolybdenumnanoparticle by in situγ radiationAuthor: Susanta Lahiri1

Co-author: Swadesh Mandal 1



Nowadaysmolybdenumnanoparticle is highly demanding in industry. Molybdenum trioxide (MoO3),as a wide band gap n-type semiconductor, is one of the most intriguing transition metal oxides.There are various kinds of techniques for synthesis of molybdenum trioxide nanoparticle e.g. chem-ical route, sol-gel chemistry method, vapor deposition, electro-deposition, flash evaporation, ultra-sonic irradiation, etc. In few cases external γ-radiation e.g. 60Co was employed for synthesis ofmolybdenum nanoparticle. However there are no reports on synthesis of molybdenum nanoparticleusing in-situ minute amount of radioactive isotopes. Previously we have synthesised gold nanopar-ticle and gold-palladium bimetallic nanoparticle1, 2 with the help of minute amount (less than 1 μCi)198Au (2.69d).In this work we report synthesis molybdenum trioxide nanoparticle with the help of minute amountof 99Mo (66h). In the mixture of ammonium molybdate (10-6M) and sodiumdodecyl sulphate (SDS)(0.5% w/v) we added 0.02 μCi 99Mo solution. The pHs (2 and 7) of the mixture solutions was thenmaintained by addition of dilute HCl and dilute ammonia solution as and when necessary. Aftercooling period of 30 days, 99Mo was completely decay out, and formation of MoO3 nanoparticleswas checked by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), UV-vis, and Fluorescence spectroscopy.UV-vis absorption study showed that band between 200 to 390 nm with charge transfer in Mo-Obond. Molybdenum trioxide showed a strong emission peak at 432 nm and 428 nm at pH 7 and pH 2respectively. TEM image revealed the presence of spherical (10-60 nm) size at pH 7 and nanowiresof MoO3 nanoparticle of 2-10 nm width and length 0.5-4 μm at pH 2.The developed method is environmentally benign and found efficient to produce molybdenum tri-oxide nanoparticle.

Reference:(1) Roy, K.; Lahiri, S. Gren. Chem. 2006, 8, 1063.(2) Roy, K.; Lahiri, S. Anal. Chem. 2008, 80, 7504

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Determination of short-lived radionuclides in neutron-activatedurban atmospheric Particulate MatterAuthor: Pasquale Avino1

Co-authors: Capannesi Geraldo 2; Rosada Alberto 2

1 INAIL (ex-ISPESL)2 ENEA


Many studies have focused their attention on the determination of elements of toxicological and envi-ronmental interest in atmospheric particulate matter using analytical techniques requiring chemicaltreatments. The Instrumental Nuclear Activation Analysis (INAA) technique allows to achieve highsensitivity, good precision and excellent limit of detection without pre-treatment, also consideringthe problems related to the radioisotope characteristics (e.g., half-life time, interfering reactions,spectral interferences).In this communication elements such as Al, Br, Cl, Cu, I, Mg and V, are studied in atmospheric PM10sampled in downtown Rome: the relative radionuclides are characterized by short half-lives (rangingfrom 2.31 to 37.9 min). Further, As, La, Mn and Sb were also determined for evaluating the toxico-logical aerosol characteristics. Samples and standards were irradiated for 20 min in the pneumaticchannel of the TRIGAMark II nuclear reactor of Casaccia ENEA, at a total neutron flux of 1.25×1013n×cm-2×s-1; the γ-measurement times were 10 and 80 min according to the radioisotope properties.The results, elaborated considering the matrix effects and the interfering reaction contribution to theradioisotope formation (e.g., 28Al generated by (n,γ) reaction from 27Al and by (n,p) reaction from28Si), show intersting values of As (0.3-6.1 ng m-3), Cu (22-313 ng m-3), Mn (17-125 ng m-3), V (7-63ng m-3), higher than those determined in an area not influenced by autovehicular traffic. The otherelements show a pattern similar to the very few data present in literature. It should be underlinedthe good correlation of Al vs Mg (0.915) and La (0.726) indicating a same sources for these threespecies, whereas the Br-Sb trend shows a minor correlation (0.623) meaning different contributionsto their levels.

Session 2 / 111

Molten salt reactor for waste transmutation: fuel cycles and re-cycle chemistyAuthor: Victor Ignatiev1

Co-author: Olga Feynberg 1

1 NRC ”Kurchatov Institute”


Last decade, systems with liquid fuel on the base of molten salts attracted attention as potentialdedicated burners of transuranium (TRU) elements from LWR spent fuel. Kurchatov Institute withpartners contributed to Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) development within ISTC#1606 and #3749 tasks.Within these projects key technical solutions for development of promising TRU transmuter con-cepts were obtained. Studies included the following work packages: (1) fuel cycle, neutronics andthermal hydraulics analyses, including benchmarks on computing of safety parameters and transientanalysis; (2) experimental verification of key physical & chemical properties for selected fuel saltcompositions and (3) combined materials compatibility & salt chemistry control in selected moltensalt environments at parameters simulating design operation.Within ISTC#1606 project the main attention was focused on theoretical and experimental evalua-tion of single streamMOlten Salt Actinide Recycler & Transmuter (MOSART) system. The optimumspectrum for Li,Be/F MOSART is intermediate/fast spectrum of homogeneous core without graphite

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moderator. Due to possibility of operation without additional neutron sources MOSART loaded onlyby TRU from spent nuclear fuel has high transmutation efficiency and can be loaded by the fuel withwide range of compositions.Unification of MOSART system with Th containing molten salt blanket, (the option is under studynowwithin ISTC#3749), can provide its core operationwithminor actinide (MA) bearing fuels basingon additional 233U support. In this case, when the core is processed, unburned actinides are returnedto core along with 233U available from blanket. On the base of existing technologies within tech-nological margins it is possible to burn any composition of used LWR fuel up to Pu/(Np+MA)=1.5ratio.There is a way to get self-sustainable mode in the single-fluid LiF-BeF2-ThF4 core when it startswith carrier salt of lithium and beryllium fluorides fuelled by TRUF3 without any blanket. This fuelcycle scenario will require after system start up step by step increase of the thorium tetrafluoridein the fuel salt up to 6 mole %. The consideration done demonstrates the potential of the Li,Be,ThMSR without graphite moderator as the system with flexible configurations and fuel cycle scenarioswhich can operate with different loadings and make up based on TRU from used LWR fuel as specialactinide burner, as self-sustainable system (CR=1) or even as a breeder (CR>1). In second part thispaper is focused on chemical peculiarities of fuel recycle and fission product clean up for MOSARTsystem without and with Th-U support.

Session 12 / 112

Cyclotron production of Sc-44 - new radionuclide for PET tech-niqueAuthor: Aleksander Bilewicz1

Co-authors: Agata Kasperek 1; Federica Simonell 2; Izabela Cydzik 2; Kamel Abbas 2; Seweryn Krajewski 1

1 Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology2 European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Ispra Italy


Objectives: Two isotopes of scandium, 47Sc and 44Sc, are perspective radionuclides respectively forradiotherapy and diagnostic imaging. 47Sc decays with the half-life of 3.35 days and maximum β-energy of 600 keV. It also emits low-energy γ-radiation (Eγ = 159 keV) suitable for simultaneousimaging. The other scandium radionuclide, 44Sc (t1/2 = 3.92h) is an ideal β+-emitter in PET diag-nosis. It can be used as an alternative to 68Ga, because 44Sc has longer half-life and forms stableradiobioconjugates with a structure similar to 90Y and 177Lu, that is important in planning radionu-clide therapy [1]. 44Sc can be obtained as a daughter radionuclide of long-lived 44Ti (t1/2 = 60.4y)from 44Ti/44Sc generator or can be produced by nuclear reaction 44Ca(p, n)44Sc in small cyclotrons.The aim of our work was to find optimal parameters for 44CaCO3 target irradiation in order to max-imize the production of 44Sc with minimal impurities of the longer half-life 44mSc and to develop asimple chemical procedure for separation of 44Sc from the calcium target.

Methods: In the present work, we used highly enriched 44CaCO3 (Isoflex, Russia). The irradiationshave been performed with the Scanditronix MC 40 Cyclotron of the Joint Research Centre (Ispra,Italy). Designed aluminum capsules were filled with 2 mg of dry 44CaCO3 powder, inserted into awater cooled target holder and were irradiated at different beam proton energies. For each of theirradiation, a Ti foil was used as a proton beam energy monitor. The activity of the different sampleswere measured with high resolution -ray spectrometry.Longer-lived 46Sc was used instead of 44Sc in the separation procedure. The CaCO3 target wasdissolved in 1 ml of 0.1 M HCl. Then, the solution was passed through a column filled with iminodi-acetic resin Chelex-100. After adsorption of 46Sc the column was washed with 30 ml of 0.01 M HCland the effluent containing enriched calcium was collected for further irradiations. The 46Sc wasquantitatively eluted with 1 M HCl in the second 0.5 ml fraction.

Results: The 44CaCO3 target was irradiated by protons in the range of 5.5-23MeV. The analysis ofseveral irradiations indicate that the amount of 44Sc reached the maximum, with the lowest produc-tion (0.16%) of 44mSc impurity in the energy range of 9-10MeV.

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46Sc was separated from the target on iminodiacetic resin with efficiency of more than 95%, elutedin volume of 0.5 ml. The recovery of the calcium target is nearly quantitative. The level of Ca2+ in46Sc fraction is less than3 g/ml.

Conclusions: The low-energy irradiation of 44Ca gives opportunity to produce Ci level activities of44Sc. The separation process proposed of 44Sc from the target is simple and fast. The 44Sc obtainedcan be used instead of 68Ga in PET diagnosis and planning radionuclide receptor therapy..

Research Support: This work was carried out as a part of the project of the Ministry of Science andHigher Education of Poland DWM/N166/COST/2007 and COST Action D38.

References: [1] A.Majkowska, A.Bilewicz, (2011), J.Inorg.Biochem. 105, 313–320.


Nanozeolites as carriers for radium radionuclides.Author: Aleksander Bilewicz1

1 Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology


Objectives: The aim of the work was to study the possibility of using nanozeolites as carriers forvery perspective therapeutic radionuclides -emiters 223,224,225Ra. These metals do not form stablecomplexes so they can hardly be bound to biomolecules via chemical bonds. Zeolites are crystallinealuminosilicates composed of tetrahedral elements that build open framework structures - a systemof channels and cages of molecular dimensions [1]. Moreover, these molecular sieves are good ionexchangers with high affinity to mono and divalent cations, therefore radium radionuclides can beeasy encapsulated inside the zeolite structure.Methods: Nanozeolites were synthesized by hydrothermal method [2]. The synthesis was con-ducted in a temperature controlling magnetic stirrer. Chemical reagents included sodium hydrox-ide (Chempur), aluminum hydroxide (Aldrich), colloidal silica 45 wt. % suspension in water (Lu-dox CL-X, Aldrich), fumed silica (Aldrich), distilled water. Aluminate and silicate solutions weremixing together in the molar ratio 5.5 Na2O : 1.0 Al2O3 : 4.0 SiO2 : 190 H2O to obtain faujasite(FAU) or NaX type of zeolite. The influence of silicate source, aging time of precursor sols, rotationrate and temperature on the size of final nanozeolite have been studied.In the preliminary experi-ments the obtained samples were examined for adsorption of 133Ba which was used as the modelfor 223,224,225Ra.

Result: The studied nanozeolites exhibited high affinity for both 133Ba. The distribution coefficientvalue for 133Ba exceeds 104 cm3•g-1. The stability of radiolabelled nanozeolites was studied invarious solutions containing: physiological salt, competitive cations (K+, Ca2+), complexing agent(EDTA) or buffer (PBS). The leakage of 133Ba from the nanozeolites was below 0.2%. In the nextstage, 224Ra (milked from 228Th/224Ra generator) was absorbed in the nanozeolites. No leakage ofactivity to the solution after shaking NaX-224Ra with 0.9% NaCl, 0.02 M PBS, 10-3 M KCl, 10-3 MCuSO4 was observed. The only exception was for EDTA (the leakage was above 50%). Thus, in thenext step, the same sample was examined in human serum. About 15% of -radioactivity was foundin the solution, which has been attributed to 212Pb - the decay product of 224Ra.

Conclusions: Nanosized zeoliteswere successfully prepared via hydrothermal synthesis. The nanoze-olite NaX exhibits high affinity for 224Ra. In the future experiments nanozeolites of other types, withsmaller cages and channels, will be synthesized. The studies on their stability in vitro will be contin-ued.

References1. Grieken R. V., Sotelo J. L., Menendez J. M., Melero J. A., Microporus and Mesoporous Materials,39, 135-147, (2000);2. Zhan B.-Z., White M. A., Robertson K. N., Cameron T. S., Gharghouri M., Chem. Mater., 14, 3636– 3642, (2002).

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Session 5 / 114

A system for radwaste storage real-timemonitoring: lab and realtestsAuthors: Alfio Pappalardo1; Carlotta Scirè1; Luigi Cosentino1; Paolo Finocchiaro1; Sergio Scirè1

Co-authors: Claudio Calì 1; Fabio Li Puma 2; Giovanni De Luca 1; Massimo Piscopo 1; Pietro Litrico 1; ValentinaFinocchiaro 2

1 INFN2 INFN - Università Catania


A prototype array of modular sensors for online monitoring of radioactive waste was developed atINFN-LNS.With the main purpose of counting gamma radiation, we implemented a new kind of mini-sensor,based on Silicon PhotoMultipliers and scintillating fibres, that behaves like a cheap scintillatingGeiger-Muller counter. It can be replicated, for instance, in shape of a fine grid around each singlewaste drum in a repository.After simulating the counting response of thin scintillating fibers to gamma radiation, we verifiedour simulation results with precision measurements on the bench with laboratory sources.Front-end electronics and an FPGA-based counting system was developed, in order to handle thedata flow coming from the field sensors. Such a system also deals with the redundant data trans-mission toward a console with a graphical user interface and a data storage system. The redundanttransmission is done on differential cables and also foreseen wireless using low-power ZigBee units.The log data are foreseen to be stored onto a database system navigable by means of a web browserinterface.A robotic arm demonstrator was developed and is being finalized for remote ad-hoc inspection andoperations around the waste drums, and for this purpose we also designed and constructed a 1:1prototype platform holding 4 phantom drums and equipped with sensors.Test results with radioactive sources showed very encouraging performance in terms of sensitiv-ity, therefore we are planning to install a small demonstrator system around real radioactive wastedrums quite soon.A possible final system will be distributed, fine-grained, robust, reliable, and based on low-cost com-ponents.An overview of the prototype system, along with the test procedures and results of real tests, willbe shown at the conference.


Newmethod for Sc-47 production innuclear reactorMaria at Świerk

Authors: Agata Kasperek1; Aleksander Bilewicz1; Barbara Bartos1

1 Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology


ProblemsRadionuclides with medium energy beta emission and a several day half-life are attractive candi-dates for radioimmunotherapy. Among the most promising in this category is 47Sc. The methods ofproduction high activities of carrier free 47Sc was already described. Enriched 47TiO2 targets wereirradiated with high energy neutrons (En>1 MeV) to produce 47Sc via the 47Ti(n,p)47Sc reaction.Authors also developed a new separation scheme based on dissolution of TiO2 target in hot con-centrated H2SO4 and slow evaporation of the solution. To avoid slow dissolution and complicatedseparation process we propose new method based on irradiation Li247TiF6 salt and easy dissolutionof irradiated target in diluted HF solution.

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Materials and MethodsSample of 10 mg of Li247TiF6 was irradiated for 20 h in fast neutron flux about 1014 n cm-2 s-1. Theirradiated target was dissolved in 1 M HF solution. The 47Sc was separated from the target using an-ion exchange resin Dowex-1 with 0.4 M HF + 0.1 HNO3 solution as eluent. The eluted 47Sc fractionwas 2 times evaporated with concentrated HCl and dissolved in 0.1 M HCl. The 47Sc was adsorbedon cation exchange resin and eluted with 0.5 M molar of amonium acetate.Results and conclusionsUsing presented procedure we obtained carrier free 30 MBq activity sample of 47Sc. The obtainedsamples were used for labeling DOTATATE bioconjugate with more than 90% efficiency.


Basic information about nuclear power energy to mexican citi-zens

Author: Manuel Navarrete1

1 UNAM


Mexico remains a country of vast territory; therefore, with increasing and more urgent energy de-mands, we consider indispensable the acceptance of Nuclear Power as a clean energy source, andthus fight back among the population the misconceptions which lead to irrational rejection as aviable alternative in the development of our country.

As background, we will point out some facts made by ourselves, and others made by government oreducational institutions, both nationally and internationally.

We can present as precedent the inclusion in a secondary education book of a project for the preser-vation of monuments, which originally was designed as a typical research project in Nuclear Chem-istry. There have also been bibliographic studies to verify that currently very few books talk aboutthe nuclear problem in specialized texts of General Chemistry.

In December 2010, an international seminar was organized with the participation of researchersfrom Toshiba Co., representatives from the National Institute for Nuclear Research, the EngineeringAcademy, the Mexican Nuclear Society, the World Energy Council, the Energy Regulatory Commit-tee and the Ministry of Energy, etc.

We believe that the most important issue of these projects is to raise public awareness about thesafety in the use of nuclear energy as a clean and necessary source to enable a country’s sustainabledevelopment.

Mexico has only one nuclear plant with two reactors at Laguna Verde, in Veracruz, whereas mostdeveloped countries smaller in size have as many as six or seven of them favorable for their devel-opment, such as Finland and France.

It is necessary that the population in general is educated and, therefore, accepts the installation ofnew plants to revitalize the economy and the development of any growing country.

Session 11 / 117

Detection of ultratrace amounts of Np-237 with resonance ioniza-tion mass spectrometry (RIMS)

Author: Nils Stoebener1

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Co-authors: Gerd Passler 2; Klaus Wendt 2; Norbert Trautmann 1; Sebastian Raeder 2; Tina Gottwald 2; TobiasReich 1

1 University of Mainz - Institute of Nuclear Chemistry2 University of Mainz - Institute of Physics


Long-lived isotopes of the actinides are the major contributors to the radiotoxicity of spent nuclearfuel after a storage time of 1000 years. Especially Np-237 is considered as a potential hazard to theenvironment because of its long half-life of 2.14 million years and high mobility in aquatic systems.Since the concentration of Np-237 expected in case of a leakage of a nuclear waste repository isless than 0.1 nM, migration studies require very sensitive methods for the determination of Np-237.Resonance ionization mass spectrometry (RIMS) has proven to be a powerful method for ultratraceanalysis of actinides. Therefore, a RIMS method for the detection of Np-237 has been developed byus and will be presented.In RIMS, an atomic beam of Np-237 is evaporated from a heated filament, and the atoms are ionizedwith radiation from three tuneable lasers. The wavelengths of the lasers match subsequent opticaltransitions of the element. The laser ions are detected by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Sincethe involved optical transitions are unique for Np-237, this kind of ionization process is elementspecific. Thus, mass spectra free of isobaric interferences and with a very low background can berecorded.Since only few high lying energy levels of Np-237 suitable for excitation and ionization were known,extensive spectroscopic studies were carried out [1]. With the identified energy levels, several three-step excitations schemes have been developed. Currently, an overall detection efficiency for Np-237of 2E-6 has be obtained by RIMS.

[1] S. Raeder, N. Stöbener, T. Gottwald, G. Passler, T. Reich, N. Trautmann, K. Wendt: Determinationof a three-step excitation and ionization scheme for resonance ionization and ultratrace analysis ofNp-237, Spectrochim. Acta B, in press,doi:10.1016/j.sab.2011.02.002

Session 7 / 119

Highlights of the 2010 Topical Meeting on Isotopes for Medicineand IndustryAuthor: Rolf Zeisler1

Co-author: Mauro Bonardi 2

1 NIST2 Università degli Studi di Milano

The 2010 Topical Meeting on Isotopes for Medicine and Industry, the second in a new series of em-bedded topical meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), was held at the Society’s WinterMeeting, Las Vegas, NV, November 7 – 11, 2010. The meeting series reflects the continuing growthof radioisotopes for both medical and industrial applications and the rapidly expanding research atthis forefront of nuclear science. As the recent global crisis in the supply of molybdenum-99 hasgenerated public attention to the nuclear science, research and developments on alternate routesto supplement or replace current sources has intensified. Program goals in the USA have targeted2013 for the establishment of a national supply chain. One day of the meeting focused on reactor-and accelerator-based production of molybdenum-99. This was followed by presentations on thedevelopment and production of other isotopes for medical research, diagnostics, and therapeutics.New research involving accelerator- cyclotron-produced isotopes was highlighted in the sessions;the broad activities involving alpha emitters were detailed. Contributions illustrated how the in-jection of new money and resources into isotope production research had already invigorated thefield, excitingly demonstrated with the production of heavy elements from californium-252 overberkelium-249 to the creation of element 117. A panel discussion again pointed out recent success,

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but also remaining critical gaps, in the development and rejuvenation of academia and work forcein this field.

Session 2 / 120

Computational electrochemo-fluid dynamics modeling in a ura-nium electrowinning cellAuthor: K. R. Kim1

Co-authors: D. H. Ahn 1; I. S. Hwang 2; J. Y. Park 2; S. Paek 1; T. J. Kim 1

1 Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute2 Seoul National University


Metal electrowinning is the process of winning metal ions from an electrolyte to a solid form ona cathode by passing an electric current through the electrolyte. In the uranium electrowinningliterature, only a limited number of multiphysics modeling studies have been taken place for thecomprehensive understanding of the complexity in this process. A computational electrochemo-fluid dynamics model has been developed to describe the electrowinning separation behavior in anelectrolyte stream through the planar electrode cell system. Multiple electrochemical reactions ofuranium electrowinning process from amolten-salt electrolyte streamwere modeled to illustrate thedetails of the flow-assisted mass transfer of ions to the cathode. The electrochemo-fluid dynamicsthat occurs in the electrolyte space between the planar electrode in uranium electrowinning cell weresimulated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) platform. Thismodel solves for the fluid phaseof electrolyte using the Navier-Stokes equations in a CFD framework. The simulation includes themass transport of the ionic species and associated electrochemical kinetics under laminar electrolyteflow condition. This approach was taken into account the concentration profile at the electrodesurface, to represent the variation of the convective diffusion-limited current density as a functionof the flow characteristics and of applied current density. It was able to predict conventional current-voltage relation in addition to details of electrolyte fluid dynamics and electrochemical variable, suchas flow field, species concentrations, potential, and current density distributions throughout the celldriven by applying a constant current.

Session 1 / 121

Activation cross-sections for proton-induced reactions on natu-ral NdAuthor: Ondrej Lebeda1

Co-authors: Jan Stursa 1; Kai Zuber 2; Philipp Schrock 2; Valentina Lozza 2

1 Nuclear Physics Institute AS CR, p.r.i.2 Technical University Dresden


Cross-section data on proton-induced reactions on natural neodymium are almost entirely missing.The data are of interest for testing predictivity of the nuclear reaction model codes, some of the acti-vation products might have potential in nuclear medicine application, and last, but not least, rate ofproduction of the longer-lived radionuclides is needed for estimating possible disturbing effects andincrease of the background during neutrinoless double beta decay experiments like SNO+. We have,therefore, measured cross-sections for formation of 141Pm, 143Pm, 144Pm, 146Pm, 148Pm, 148mPm,

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149Pm, 150Pm, 140Nd, 141Nd, 147Nd, 149Nd, 138mPr, 139Pr, 142Pr and 139Ce by 10–30 MeV pro-tons. Several stacks of metal foil targets of natural isotopic abundance protected against oxidationwere irradiated on the external proton beam of the cyclotron U-120M at the Nuclear Physics Instituteat Řež. Special attention was paid to the excitation functions of the long-lived radionuclides. Themeasured data were compared with results of the TENDL code and the thick target yields for therelevant radionuclides were calculated.


Synthesis and characterization of novel asymmetrical M(III) (M= Re, Tc-99g) complexes as models for the development of newpotential tracers for SPECT imaging and radiotherapyAuthor: Nicolò Morellato1

Co-authors: Alessandro Dolmella 1; Alfonso Venzo 2; Cristina Bolzati 3; Davide Carta 1; Fiorenzo Refosco 3; NicolaSalvarese 1

1 University of Padova, Italy2 I.S.T.M.-C.N.R., Padova, Italy3 I.C.I.S.-C.N.R., Padova, Italy


Development of new 99mTc and 186/188Re radiopharmaceuticals still remain an interesting researchtopic thanks to their ideal nuclear properties. 99mTc is the radioisotope of election for SPECT-imaging (Eγ=140 keV, t1/2=6.02 h), and 186/188Re are important radionuclides with therapeutic po-tential (186Re: Eβ=1.07 MeV, Eγ=137 keV, t1/2=90.6 h; 188Re: Eβ=2.12 MeV, Eγ=155 keV, t1/2=17h). Despite the rich and diverse coordination chemistry of these two congeners, very few M(III)-complexes are reported in literature and none have clinical applications.Within we report the synthesis and the characterization of a new series of neutral, asymmetrical,hexacoordinated Re/99gTc-complexes of the type [MIII(PS)2(L)] where PS is the strong π-acceptor 2-(dipheny1phosphino)ethanethiolate (PS2) or the completely alkylic non-π-acceptor 2-(diisopropyl)ethanetiolate(PSiso) P,S-bidentate ligands, while L is a dithiocarbamate (DTCn) or pyridine-2-thiolate (MPy) lig-ands.The [MIII(PS)2(L)] complexes were synthesized starting from precursors where the metal is in dif-ferent oxidation states, involving ligand exchange reactions and/or reduction-ligand exchange reac-tions. All the complexes were obtained in moderate to good yield and were found to be diamagnetic,neutral and stable and were characterized by elemental analysis, multinuclear NMR, ESI(+)-QTOF-MS, and cyclic voltammetry. X-ray diffraction analysiswas performed on crystallized [ReIII(PS2)2(DTC1)],[ReIII(PS2)2(DTC2)], [99gTcIII(PS2)2(DTC1)] (DTC1 = pyrrolidine-1-carbodithioate; DTC2 = 4-(ethoxycarbonyl)piperidine-1-carbodithioate), and [ReIII(PS2)2(MPy)].TheX-ray structural analysis of [ReIII(PS2)2(DTC1)], [ReIII(PS2)2(DTC2)] and [99gTcIII(PS2)2(DTC1)]revealed for these complexes a distorted octahedral geometry, where the four Sulfur atoms occupythe equatorial plane and the two Phosphorus atoms span the apical positions. [99gTcIII(PS2)2(DTC1)]is isostructural and isomorphic with [Re(PS2)2(DTC1)]. X-rays diffraction data of [ReIII(PS2)2(MPy)]confirm the presence of the pyridine-2-thiolate moiety instead of the MPyO.The collected results indicate the possibility to consider this new class of complexes suitable forthe development of novel 99mTc/186/188Re-agents useful in theragnostic applications. Studies arecurrently in progress in order to transfer this technology at tracer level.

Session 12 / 123

99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) from cardiology to oncology: preliminaryin vitro studyAuthor: Alessandro Dolmella1

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Co-authors: Cristina Bolzati 2; Cristina Marzano 1; Davide Carta 1; Francesco Berardi 3; Nicola Antonio Colabufo3; Nicola Salvarese 1; Nicolò Morellato 1; Roberto Perrone 3; Valentina Gandin 1

1 University of Padova, Italy2 I.C.I.S.-C.N.R., Padova, Italy3 University of Bari, Italy


99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) is a lipophilic cationic mixed-compound currently under clinical investigationas potential myocardial imaging agent. The findings that this complex accumulates in mitochon-drial structures through a mechanism mediated by the negative mitochondrial membrane potential,and that the rapid efflux of 99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) from non-target tissues seems correlated to thePgp/MDR-Pgp transport function opens the possibility to extend the clinical applications of thisclass of complexes to tumor imaging and non invasive multidrug resistance studies.Standing on this ground, the kinetic of uptake at 4 and 37 ℃ of 99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) was evaluatedin vitro in suitable human cancer cell lines, and in the corresponding sub-lines, before and afterMDR-modulator treatment, using 99mTc-Sestamibi as reference.Results from this study clearly indicated that: ì) the uptake of both 99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) and 99mTc-Sestamibi was correlated to metabolic activity of the cells. In fact, low temperature inhibited thecellular uptake of both 99mTc-tracers indicating that there was no binding to the cell membranes orto the hydrophobic regions of the cell membrane protein. ìì) The cellular accumulation is correlatedto the level of Pgp/MRP expression, in fact an enhancement of uptake in resistant cells was observedafter treatment with a MDR inhibitor/modulator, indicating the selective blockade of Pgp/MPR pre-vents efflux of the tracers.This study give a preliminary indication on the applicability of 99mTc(N)-DBODC(5) to tumour imag-ing and to the detection of MDR-mediate drug resistance in human cancer.


[188Re(N)(cys~)(PNP)]+/0mixed ligand compounds asmodels forthe development of target specific agentsAuthor: Alessandro Dolmella1

Co-authors: Cristina Bolzati 2; Davide Carta 3; Fiorenzo Refosco 2; Jens Pietzsch 4; Nicola Salvarese 3; RalfBergmann 4; Stefan Thieme 4; Stefania Agostini 3

1 University of Padova2 I.C.I.S.-C.N.R., Padova, Italy3 University of Padova, Italy4 Inst. of Radiopharmacy, Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany


An efficient procedure for the preparation of [188Re(N)(PNP)]-based complexes is reported. The ra-diochemical yield (RCY) of the compounds was optimized considering reaction parameters such as:nature of nitrido nitrogen donors, reaction times and pH.The chemical identity of 188Re-agents was established by HPLC comparison with the correspond-ing well characterized cold Re-compounds. The stability of the [188Re(N)(PNP)]-complexes towardtranschelation with GSH and degradation by serum enzymes was assessed. The clearance of selectedradiolabeled agents from normal tissues was evaluated in rats.[188Re(N)(cys~)(PNP)]+/0 asymmetrical compounds were prepared in aqueous solution from per-rhenate using a multistep procedure based on the preliminary formation of the labile 188ReIIIEDTAspecies which easily undergo to oxidation/ligand exchange reaction to afford in presence of DTCZthe [188ReV≡N]2+ core. The final compounds were obtained by adding to the [188ReV≡N]int 2+the two bidentate ligands. However, a relative high amount of cys~ ligand was required to obtain aquantitative RCY.The complexes were stable toward reoxidation to perrhenate and ligand exchange reactions. In vivostudies showed a rapid distribution and elimination of the complexes from the body. No specific

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uptakes in radiation sensitive tissues/organs were detected.A positive correlation of the distribution of the complexes estimated with biodistribution studies(%ID) and with micro-SPECT semiquantification imaging analysis (SUV) was observed.The low labeling efficiency limits but not excludes the possibility to apply [188Re(N)(PNP)]-technologyto the preparation of target specific radiotherapeutical agents.


A recoil method for Be-7 radiolabelling of nanoparticlesAuthor: Izabela Cydzik1

Co-authors: Antonio Bulgheroni 2; Federica Simonelli 2; Giulio Cotogno 2; Jan Kozempel 2; Kamel Abbas 2; NeilGibson 2; Uwe Holzwarth 2

1 Joint Research Centre European Commission, IHCP2 Joint Research Centre, European Commission IHCP


Nanoparticles (NPs) have been used in a variety of applications for many decades, without specificattention being given to safety issues that may be due to their small dimensions. Examples of prod-ucts in which NPs are used are suncreams, printer toners, car tyres, and pigments. In recent years,the rapid growth of the field of nanotechnology has seen surge in the number of different typesof NPs used in industrial processes and consumer products. This has given rise to concern as towhether materials in the form of nanoparticles can be considered equivalent to the same materialin coarser powder form for safety assessments. Safety studies require knowledge of the behaviourof NPs, and this in turn requires a method of reliably detecting them and assessing their concentra-tions. Radiolabelling represents one of the most sensitive and quantitative techniques for this, butalso poses several practical difficulties.

For safety studies, ideally the material produced and supplied by industry should be used. How-ever radiotracers cannot easily be incorporated into the industrial process, so post-synthesis radio-labelling needs to be used. While surface attachment of radiolabels, via chelating molecules, is anoption, this also poses questions regarding changed NP properties due to the surface modifications,and also the stability of the NP-radiolabel construct in different environments. Alternatively, neu-tron or ion-beam irradiation can be used, under carefully controlled conditions, to directly activatemost industrial NPs, but some types cannot be activated to useful levels due to the absence of asuitable reaction product under irradiation. More specifically silica and alumina cannot be directlyactivated to useful activity levels, and carbon-based NPs (nanotubes, etc.) need a proton beam ofmore than about 32 MeV to achieve reasonable activity levels. We describe here a recoil method for7Be labelling of such NPs, based on the 7Li(p,n) 7Be reaction. The NPs of interest are mixed with apowder of an appropriate Li-containing compound, and the mixture is irradiated with a proton beamof approximately 5 to 3MeV on target. The 7Be radionuclides recoil as a result of momentum transferand energy release during the nuclear reaction process, and a fraction of these are implanted into theNPs to be labelled. The Li containing compound may then be “washed” off the NPs, leaving stably7Be radiolabelled material. Theoretical considerations on various aspects, including recoil range andthermal effects, are presented, and initial experimental results are given for recoil labelling of SiO2,Al2O3, carbon nanotubes, carbon “buckyballs” and nanodiamonds.


Gamma-ray spectroscopic characterization of radioactive prepa-ration for production process validation in a PET cyclotron facil-ityAuthor: Ignazio Vilardi1

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Co-authors: Andrea Busdraghi 2; Angelo Nacca 2; Annarita Savi 2; Emilia Buriova 2; Luigi Gianolli 2; Maria CarlaGilardi 3; Maria Grazia Minotti 2; Mario Matarrese 3; Massimo Gasparini 1; Valeria Masiello 2

1 Nuclear Medicine Department, Multimedica Scientific Institute, Sesto San Giovanni (MI), Italy2 Nuclear Medicine Department, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy3 IBFM-CNR, Milan, Italy


IntroductionThe Pharmaceutical Industry in European Community applies very strict rules for quality assurancein production and control of pharmaceuticals. A manufacturer’s authorization guarantees that allauthorized pharmaceuticals satisfy the GoodManufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements for medic-inal products. Many national Governments have created their own GMP guidelines. In Italy, thesupplement of Gazzetta Ufficiale of Italian Republic n° 274 (23 November 2010) states the guidelinesto define and to control manufacturing processes, and for inspections in pharmaceutical laborato-ries. One of the requirements is related to validation: a new process or after significant changes tothe facilities, the equipments or the process, which may affect the quality of the product, should bevalidated. This validation is requested to verify the accuracy of parameters included in the processand the reproducibility.GMP guidelines fixes to 0.1% for 18F and 1% for 11C and 13N the limits of the total radioactivity dueto radionuclide impurities present in the pharmaceutical preparation at the administration time. Inthis study gamma-ray spectroscopic characterization of radioactive preparation from proton bom-bardment for production process validation of 11C, 13N and 18F are presented.

Materials and methodsThe PET centre at San Raffaele Scientific Institute is equipped with two cyclotrons, IBA Cyclone(18/9 MeV) and CTI Eclipse (11 MeV).11C is produced with both cyclotrons by 14N(p,n)11C nuclear reaction with Al target and Havar foils(CTI) or Al foils (IBA), respectively. With CTI 12.4±0.2 GBq are produced with a 60 min irradiationat a beam current of 25 microAmpere, while with IBA 59.7±5.3 GBq are produced with a 60 minirradiation at a beam current of 35 microAmpere.13N is produced with CTI by 16O(p,alpha)13N nuclear reaction with Al target and Ti foils. Produced0.23±0.01 GBq/ml, with a 20 min irradiation at a beam current of 40 microAmpere.18F is produced with both cyclotrons by 18O(p,n)18F nuclear reaction: CTI uses Ag/Nb target (dualbombardment) and Havar foils, while IBA uses Nb target and Havar foils, respectively. With CTI2.1±0.2 GBq/ml are produced with a 60 min irradiation at a beam current of 20 microAmpere, whilewith IBA 0.7±0.1 GBq/ml are produced with a 10/12 min irradiation at a beam current of 32 microAm-pere.Spectroscopic measurements were performed using an High-Purity Germanium detector with 18%relative efficiency and 0.14% energy resolution at 1332 keV. Detector calibrations were performedwith 152Eu and 133Ba certified sources. For the detection and quantification of impurities, the prepa-rations were examined, after an adequate time to allow the decay of nuclide to a level that permitsthe detection of impurities, for at least 24 hours. The measured activity values were normalized atthe end of bombardment and to the preparation volume.

ResultsAnalysis of produced radioactive preparations showed the presence of impurities: 44Sc, 44mSc, 46Sc,47Sc, 48V, 52Mn, 56Co for a 13N sample, 52Mn, 54Mn, 56Co, 57Co, 58Co, 67Ga, 109Cd for a 18F-CTIsample and 51Cr, 52Mn, 55Co, 56Co, 57Co, 57Ni, 58Co, 67Ga for a 18F-IBA. No nuclide was detectedon 11C sample of both cyclotrons. The 13N sample showed also the presence of 18F, identified withits lifetime. Measured impurities activities ranged from 120 Bq to 700 Bq, resulting in 2.7±0.1•10-6 %for 13N, 6.9±1.5•10-7 % for 18F-CTI and 4.0±1.4•10-6 % for 18F-IBA. The type of radionuclides foundin this study are inherent with the targets and foils employed for proton irradiation. In particular Scis likely obtained from the nuclear reaction Ti(p,x)Sc, 48V from 48Ti(p,n)48V, all Co isotopes fromnatFe(p,x)Co or natNi(p,x)Co, Mn isotopes from 54Fe(p,x)Mn, 51Cr from 54Fe(n,alpha)51Cr, 57Nifrom 58Ni(p,d)57Ni, 67Ga from 67Zn(p,n)67Ga and 109Cd from 109Ag(p,n)109Cd.

ConclusionMeasured activities of impurities are much less than the fixed limit, therefore the production pro-cesses of 11C, 13N and 18F can be considered validated concerning the radionuclide purity. We

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conclude that our production processes have a high degree of confidence and can permit to detectand correct deviations which could cause problems during nuclide production.

Session 8 / 128

Study of bioaccumulation and effect biomarker in mussels Pernaperna (LINNAEUS, 1758: mollusca, bivalvia) from coastal regionsof São Paulo State, BrazilAuthor: Marina B. Agostini Vasconcellos1

Co-authors: Aline A. Kirschbaum 2; Claudia C. Minei 2; Daniele Seo 1; E. Ceci P.M. de Sousa 2; Edson G. Moreira1; Marcia R. Gasparro 2; Marília G.M. Catharino 1

1 IPEN - CNEN/SP2 IOUSP


Studies on the coast of São Paulo identified contamination in water and sediment samples in theregion of Santos, and bioaccumulation of contaminants in marine organisms. Based on these studies,there was a need to assess exposure and effects of trace elements in a sentinel organism in thisregion, by using the bivalve Perna perna. The mussels were evaluated for bioaccumulation of As,Co, Cr, Fe, Se and Zn by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and Cd, Pb and Hg weredetermined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Effect biomarker was assessed by evaluationof lysosomal membrane stability, using the Neutral Red assay (NR). The organisms were collectedat two sites in São Paulo State coast (23º58´-23º39´S, 46º30´-45º25´W): Cocanha (mussel farm) beachin São Sebastião and Santos Bay (Itaipu and Palmas). Seasonally, the Perna perna were collectedbetween September/08 and July/09 in each study site. Among the sites of collection of the mussels,it was verified that Cocanha was the site where the concentrations of the determined elements werehigher in most cases. Concerning the seasonal variations, higher values of studied elements werefound in wintertime. Opposite to winter, in the summer the highest NR retention (110±22, 76±25 e100±25 minutes, Cocanha, Itaipu and Palmas, respectively) indicated less stress. NR results foundin Santos were significantly higher than those found in Cocanha, being the highest stress ratesattributed to Itaipu. Correlations between the trace elements studied and the integrity of lysosomalmembrane are being studied.

Session 9 / 129

Thedynamics of radioactive aerosols in the atmosphere ofMoscowby the ”Fukushima” nuclear power plant accident.Author: Sergey Gordeev1

Co-author: Oleg Polskiy 2

1 Scientific and Industrial Association ”Radon”2 Scientific and Industrial Association


As a result of the accident at the “Fukushima” nuclear power plant, caused by an earthquake, therewere releases of radioactive substances into the environment.To date, many countries reported on the flow of radioactive aerosols from Japan and the radioactivecontamination of the environment, as well as food (1,2,3,4).Intake of radioactive aerosols in Moscow was registered at radiation monitoring stations of SIA“Radon”, “March 23, 2011.

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Using powerful air sampler led to the identification of radioactive aerosols in the atmospheric sur-face layer of Moscow: 131I, 132Te, 134Cs, 136Cs and 137Cs. Maximum volume concentration ofthese radionuclides were, respectively: 2,7•10-3 Bq/m3, 7,7•10-5 Bq/m3, 4,8•10-4 Bq/m3,2,1•10-5Bq/m3, 6,8•10-4Bq/m3. Simultaneously, it was determined the ratio of volume activity con-centration of the aerosol form of iodine to the volume activity concentration in gaseous form, whichamounted to 3,3 ± 0,2.In addition, it was determined the ratio of activity concentration of 137Cs and 134Cs. This ratio isequal to 1,4 ± 0,2.Method of stack filters have produced baseline data for evaluating the dispersion characteristics ofradioactive aerosols originating from Fukushima accident in Moscow surface air.References1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/radiation effects from Fukushima 1 nuclear accidents2.http://www.syracuse/com/news/index/ssf/2011/03/fucushima fallout reaches euro.html3.http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Radiation fallout detected in Glasgow.6742690.jp4. http://www. the totalcollapse.com/independent-french-radiation-commision-warns-europe


Deep purification of uranium extract from technetiumAuthor: Vitaly Vidanov1

Co-authors: Konstantin Dvoyeglazov 1; Lubov Sergeeva 1; Vladimir Volk 1

1 Open Joint Stock Company “Academician A.A. Bochvar High-Tech Research Institute of Inorganic Materials”


Uranium purification from technetium in the process of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing is one of themost complex problems.Uranium reclaim for separating plant is to be extremely decontaminated from Tc because of the prob-lems at the sublimation stage caused by volatile TcF6 formation during uranium recycling process.There is a conflict betweenThorp plant requirements for uranium product after the second extractioncycle (Tc content 4 mg/kg U) and ASTM С787-03 standard, which requires Tc content in uraniumhexafluoride less than 0.5 mg/kg U and in some cases the level of uranium decontamination from Tcin this product should be less than 1.6 mkg/kg U. This conflict could be resolved by uranium reclaimadditional radiochemical reprocessing for supplying purified product to the sublimation plant. It isevident that such technology makes reprocessing process rather expensive.The aim of the research work was to find and work out such a process, that can provide effective andnot expensive deep uranium purification from Tc on the basis of extraction spent fuel reprocessingtechnology.The solution of mentioned problem is an extraction-chromatographic purification of uranium extractby usage of aqueous reducing agents solution as a purifying stream. These agents reduce Tc(VII) tononextractable Tc(IV).The process of purifying is carried out in cyclically-countercurrent feed mode of purified and puri-fying streams in a column filled with porous excipient (charged with aqueous purifying stream).It is shown that depending on composition of the aqueous phase concentration factor varies from40 and above. These conditions provide practically complete treatment of uranium extract.

Session 5 / 132

Plutonium speciation during sorption on natural clayAuthor: Tobias Reich1

Co-authors: Daniel Grolimund 2; Daniel R. Fröhlich 1; Jakob Drebert 1; Samer Amayri 1; Ugras Kaplan 1

1 Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

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2 Paul Scherrer Institut


Plutoniumwill be a major contributor to the radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel after storage times ofmore than 1,000 years due to the long half-lives of Pu-239 and Pu-240. Several European countries areconsidering argillaceous rocks as potential host rock formation for high-level nuclear waste reposi-tories. Plutonium has a very rich and complex chemistry in aqueous solution, where up to three Puoxidation states can coexist. Therefore, detailed studies on the migration behavior of Pu are requiredfor assessing the safety of deep geological disposal of nuclear waste in clay formations.

We investigated the sorption of Pu in oxidation states III-VI on Opalinus clay (OPA, Mont Terri,Switzerland) using several synchrotron-based techniques: X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy(EXAFS, µXANES), X-ray fluorescence (µXRF), and X-ray diffraction (µXRD). Pu L3-edge EXAFSmeasurements on OPA suspensions showed that inner-sphere surface complexes of tetravalent Pudominate its speciation in the clay, independent from the initial Pu oxidation state in the aqueousphase. Similar results have been observed previously for the sorption of Pu on kaolinite [1], whichis with 22 ± 2% an important clay constituent of OPA.

To determine which mineral phases of OPA are responsible for the uptake of Pu, thin sections ofOPA bore cores were exposed to different Pu solutions and analyzed with high spatial resolution (≤1.5 µm) at the SLS MicroXAS Beamline. µXRF mapping revealed areas that were enriched in Pu. Pu-µXANES measurements showed that Pu(IV) is the major oxidation state in these areas. According toµXRD, clay minerals (kaolinite, illite), Fe(II) minerals (siderite, pyrite), calcite, and quartz dominatethe mineralogy of the Pu-rich areas.

[1] T. Reich et al., Application of XAFS to Actinide Environmental Science, AIP Conf. Proc. 882(2007) 179.

Session 13 / 133

Measurements of the spatial distribution of each dose componentin tissue exposed to an epithermal neutron beam for BNCTAuthor: Grazia Gambarini1

Co-authors: Anna Negri 1; Jiri Burian 2; Ladislav Viererbl 2; Luciana Pirola 3; Mauro Carrara 4; Milan Marek 2; VitKlupak 2

1 Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Milano, Italy2 Department of Reactor Physics, NRI Řež, plc, Czech Republic3 Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy4 The Fondazione IRCCS “Istituto Nazionale Tumori”, Milan, Italy


In tissue exposed to high-flux epithermal neutron beams, the reactions mainly responsible for theabsorbed dose in tissue are those with hydrogen and nitrogen, that is 1H(n,γ)2H (σ = 0.33 b), whoseγ-rays of 2.2 MeV can travel many centimetres through tissue, and 14N(n,p)14C (σ = 1.81 b), whoseemitted protons of about 0.6 MeV have short range in tissue, giving local dose deposition. The fastneutron component of epithermal neutron beams, gives a not negligible contribution to the absorbeddose mainly due to elastic scattering with hydrogen nuclei. If the isotope 10B is selectively accumu-lated in tumour tissue, the reaction with thermal neutrons 10B(n,α)7Li (σ = 3837 b) causes localisedenergy absorption in cancerous cells; this is exploited by boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). Itis mandatory to separate the various dose contributions, owing to their different biological effective-ness.The dosimetry method based on Fricke-Xylenol-Orange-infused gels in form of layers has shownnoticeable potentiality for in-phantom or in-free-beam dose distribution measurements in the highfluxes of thermal or epithermal neutrons. In fact, a method has been developed that gives the possi-bility of obtaining the spatial distribution of each dose component. The discrimination of the various

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dose contributions is achieved by means of pixel-to-pixel manipulations, with suitable algorithms, ofpairs of dose images obtained with gel-dosimeters having different isotopic composition. It is possi-ble to place large dosimeters, detecting in such a way large dose images, because the layer geometryof dosimeters avoids sensitive variation of neutron transport due to the gel isotopic composition.Various measurements, both in phantom and in free-beam, have been carried out at the collimatorof the epithermal column of the LVR-15 research reactor in Řež (CZ), which is suitably designed forBNCT treatments.


In-vivo dosimetry inHDRbrachyterapywith Fricke-gel catheters:preliminary results

Author: Grazia Gambarini1

Co-authors: Giancarlo Zonca 2; Marta Borroni 2; Marta Invernizzi 3; Mauro Carrara 2; Stefano Tomatis 2

1 Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Milan, Italy2 The Fondazione IRCCS “Istituto Nazionale Tumori”, Milan, Italy3 Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy


In-vivo dose measurements during complex conformal radiotherapy treatments are very important,in order to check the dose delivered to the patient and compare this dose with the prescribed one,improving in such a way the treatment quality. A method has been studied and developed aimed toperform in vivo dosimetry during brachytherapy treatments. Themethod is based on a radiochromicFricke-gel injected in plastic catheters with length of 14 cm and external diameter of 0.3 cm. The gelis infused with a modified Fricke solution, having the following composition: ferrous sulphate solu-tion [1mM Fe(NH4)2(SO4)2 · 6H2O], sulphuric acid [25mM H2SO4] and Xylenol-Orange [0.165mMC31H27N2Na5O13S]. The gelling agent was Agarose, in the amount of 3% of the final weight. Ion-izing radiation produces a conversion of ferrous ions to ferric ions whose yield is proportional tothe absorbed dose. The absorption spectrum of the chemical compound XO-Fe3+ has a peak around585 nm, whereas the absorption spectrum of the non-bounded XO molecule has a peak around 430nm. The dosimeter analysis is executed evaluating the variation in optical density, in the region ofwavelengths around 585 nm, of the optical transmittance images detected by a CCD camera. Propersoftware was developed, to achieve light absorbance through dosimeters having cylindrical shape.After having outlined a suitable analysis protocol and developed the due software, the dose-responsecurve was studied. Finally, in-phantom measurements have been carried out, with a Microselectron(Nucletron, Veenendaal, The Netherlands) high dose-rate remote afterloading device. The resultingdose profiles were compared with the dose values calculated by the treatment planning system (TPS)along all the dosimeter position and the reliability of the proposed method was confirmed.

Session 7 / 142

Attempts to developnew synthesizingmethods of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose radiolabelled with fluorine-18 (18F-FDG)

Author: Gülcan Ünak1

Co-authors: Cigdem Cetin 2; Gozde Sarican 2; Selen Ekim 2; Turan Ünak 2

1 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry2 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Division of Nuclear Chemistry

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2-Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose radiolabeled with Fluorine-18 (18F-FDG) is routinely used in nuclearmedicine as a PET imaging radiopharmaceutical and nucleophilicly synthesised, in general, usingmannose triflate as a precursor in the presence of Kryptofix 222TM as a catalyst in acetonitrile as apolar aprotic solvent, which involves the SN2 nucleophilic substitution reaction of 18F to 2-positionof mannose triflate. The excess of 18F in the reaction medium has been removed by the use ofa quaternary ammonium anion exchange Sep-Pak column, known QMA (QMA Sep-PakTM). Thisreaction process has been applied in routine 18F-FDG synthesis, using fully automatic commercialsynthesizing modules. The total synthesizing time of 18F-FDG, using this procedure, requires about30 - 45 min, which means that an important 18F activity, produced by cyclotron, is lost at the end ofthis synthesizing procedure. Of course, this raises the cost of 18F-FDG used for PET imaging. In thisstudy, we have tried to develop two different easier and quicker ways for 18F-FDG synthesis, whichwill be able to be used in routine applications. The first is the isotopic exchange reaction between18F ion and 19F of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose molecule was realised in water, at 95 ºC, for about10 min. The second is Selectfluor TM, first tried to be labeled with 18F, then it was used to label2-deoxy-D-glucose. In both cases, high radiolabeling yields were obtained.

Session 14 / 143

Thepresent role of radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA)for determination of essential and toxic trace elements in biolog-ical materials as–compared with ICP-MS and AASAuthor: Jan Kucera1

Co-authors: Jiri Dedina 2; Viktor Kanicky 3

1 Nuclear Physics Institute ASCR, Rez, Czech Republic2 Institute of Analytical Chemistry ASCR, Laboratory of Trace Element Analysis, Prague, Czech Republic3 Masaryk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Brno, Czech Republic


There is a need for reliable determination of low levels of essential elements in human, animal andplant tissues, as well as for elements, which are toxic to organisms at trace concentrations. Theformer category of essential elements comprises B, Co, Cr, Cu, F, Fe, I, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, Si and Zn(sometimes, depending upon the definition Li and V are added to this list), while in the latter categorythe toxic metals As, Cd, Hg, Pb and Tl are mostly mentioned (additionally Be, Sb and organic Sn com-pounds may also be considered in this category). For low-level determination of the elements As, Cd,Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, I, Mo, Ni, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Tl various RNAA procedures were developed over the years,which frequently provided a unique possibility of determination of the above elements. Highly com-petitive bulk sample analytical techniques, namely various modes of AAS and ICP-MS have beendeveloped in the last decades. Nowadays, these techniques surpassed RNAA not only in the usagefrequency (which has never been a precedence of RNAA), but also in other performance characteris-tics. Nevertheless, there are still unique features of RNAA, such as its essentially blank-free nature,high specificity, the possibility of the chemical yield determination that yield high accuracy and lowuncertainty of determination of selected elements at extremely low levels and make this techniqueviable and indispensable in various application fields. This paper presents a comparison of selectedRNAA procedures with AAS and ICP-MS methods for most of the above elements. It aims at identifi-cation of possibilities and limitations of these techniques and applications in which RNAA should beconsidered a premier analytical technique for trace element analysis of biological materials. Futuretrends in RNAA are also outlined.


In-vivo dosimetry in prostate HDR brachytherapy with thermo-luminescence detectors (TLDs)

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Author: Simone Alessandro Grisotto1

Co-authors: Annamaria Cerrotta 2; AntonioMaucione 2; Carlo Fallai 2; Chiara Tenconi 3; Giancarlo Zonca 2; GraziaGambarini 3; Luciana Pirola 1; Marta Borroni 2; Mauro Carrara 2

1 Physics Department of the Università degli Studi, Milan, Italy2 Fondazione IRCCS “Istituto Nazionale Tumori”, Milan, Italy3 Physics Department of the Università degli Studi, Milan, Italy and INFN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Section

of Milan, Milan, Italy


During complex conformal radiotherapy treatments it is very important, also if not mandatory, per-form in-vivo dose measurements. In fact, in-vivo dosimetry allows monitoring the dose delivered tothe patient and to compare this dose with the prescribed one, improving in such a way the qualityassurance. Currently, the most utilised methods for the in-vivo dosimetry are based on thermolu-minescent detectors (TLDs) and silicon diodes. TLDs are sometimes preferred, for small size (inthis case 3x3x0.9 mm3), the lower dependence of the response on photon energy, the dose rateand the direction of incidence. In external beam radiotherapy, the dosimeters are placed on the pa-tient’s skin, in suitable positions in order to perform measurements at entrance and exit points. Forbrachytherapy, where treatments are carried out introducing the source within the patient’s body,in-vivo measurements inside the patient are required.Amethod for performing in-vivo dosimetry inside the patient body during brachytherapy treatmentsusing LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-100) has been studied and set up. A TLD calibration protocol has been defined,aimed at achieving absorbed dose values with the due precision. Some calibrated TLDs were usedto perform control measurements during the brachytherapy treatments of the prostate in a few pa-tients with the 192Ir source of a Microselectron-HDR high dose rate remote afterloading device. FiveTLDs were fixed to the echographic probe that remains inside the patient during the treatment. Theresults have been compared with those calculated by the treatment plane software (TPS) and theconsistency of the technique has been verified.


Calibration protocol of Fricke-gel layers for absolute dose mea-surements in radiotherapy.Author: Roberta Guilizzoni1

Co-authors: Bukra RRUSHI 2; Grazia GAMBARINI 3; Luciana PIROLA 2; Marta BORRONI 4; Mauro CARRARA 4;Stefano TOMATIS 4

1 Università degli Studi di Milano2 Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy3 Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Milan, Italy4 The Fondazione IRCCS ”Istituto Nazionale Tumori”, Milan, Italy


The continuous development of new approaches and skills in modern radiotherapy, aimed to achievehighly conformal dose volumes, havemade heavy demands on dosimetrymethodology development.The three-dimensional treatment planning computerized systems, adopted in the clinical praxis forradiation therapy, require dosimetry methods capable of reliable 3D dose measurements in order toensure that the calculated values agree with the delivered dose distributions, also in complex treat-ments.The good tissue equivalence of Fricke-Gel Layer Dosimeters, which consist in a diluted water solu-tion, and the independence of their response on photon energy in the range of interest for radiother-apy, constitute valuable characteristics for appropriate in-phantom dosimetry. Moreover, their layergeometry has allowed the development of a calibration procedure that enable achieving a precisionwithin 3% in absolute dose measurements.The calibration is performed irradiating the dosimeter at a uniform and precisely known dose, in

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order to get a calibration matrix that must be used, with pixel-to-pixel manipulation, to obtain thedose image.A study of the trend in time of dosimeter response after successive exposures was carried out to drawup two protocols allowing to perform calibration and measurement or on the same day or on twosubsequent days. As a final protocol, if calibration and measurement are carried out on the same day,it has been established to perform an irradiation of all dosimeters at 4 Gy, a second irradiation at 5Gy for calibration purpose and the measurement with the calibrated dosimeters. On the opposite, ifthe measurement is performed the day after calibration, it has been established to perform only oneirradiation of all dosimeters at 5 Gy and the measurement the day after.The comparison of the in-phantom experimental results with the values calculated by the treatmentplanning system has showed the validity of the proposed protocol.


EBT2 radiochromic films for absolute dose measurements in ra-diotherapy: prototype of an innovative system for their analy-sisAuthor: Nicole Mantaut1

Co-authors: Emanuele Pignoli 2; Giancarlo Zonca 2; Grazia Gambarini 3; Marta Borroni 2; Mauro Carrara 2

1 Università degli studi di Milano2 Fondazione IRCCS ”Istituto Nazionale Tumori”, Milano, Italia3 Università degli studi di Milano and INFN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, sezione di Milano, Italia


One of the most important progress reached in radiotherapy in the last decade is intensity modu-lated radiation therapy (IMRT). This modern radiotherapy permits to achieve a conformed high dosedistribution around the target volume, sparing at the same time the surrounding critical organs andhealthy tissues. Since the radiation fields are very complex and the absorbed doses during IMRTtreatments are very high, it’s important to verify the effective dose distribution. Usually dose distri-bution verification is obtained by two dimensional detectors, such as diode or ion chamber arrays,or by film dosimetry. Film dosimetry is more time consuming if compared to detector arrays, buthas the important advantage of gathering higher spatial resolution. The new GAFCHROMIC® EBT2is the most modern film dosimeter. Previous GAFCHROMIC® film dosimeters, EBT, were modifiedto decrease their response dependence on energy and dose rate. GAFCHROMIC® EBT2 has a gooddose and spatial resolution; therefore it’s convenient to design a new analysis system more sensi-tive and precise than commercial scanners. The proposed system is composed by a planar uniformwhite light source and a CCD camera with an optical filter around 630nm. The system has beenset up and optimized to achieve GAFCHROMIC® EBT2 analysis. A measure procedure was estab-lished to investigate EBT2 dose response over the adopted range of energies as well as to evaluateEBT2 sensitivity variation as a function of time after irradiation. Finally, absolute dosimetry of com-plex IMRT radiation fields was achieved with EBT2 films. Obtained results have been compared totreatment planning system calculations and the goodness of the proposed system has in such wayconfirmed.


Development and characterisation of a new miniaturised detec-tor for in vivo dosimetry in HDR brachytherapy.Author: Claudia Cavatorta1

Co-authors: Anna Vedda 2; Giancarlo Zonca 3; Grazia Gambarini 1; Marta Borroni 3; Mauro Carrara 3

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1 Department of Physics, Università degli Studi, Milan, Italy and INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Milan,Italy

2 Department of Materials Science, Università degli Studi Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy and INFN Istituto Nazionale diFisica Nucleare, Milan, Italy

3 Medical Physics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS “Istituto Nazionale Tumori”, Milan, Italy


Due to the recent development of new conformal radiotherapy techniques, it’s important to gen-erate an improvement of dosimetric instruments especially in brachytherapy, in order to obtain aremarkable improvement of the measurement accuracy and precision of the absorbed dose both byhealthy and pathologic tissues.The HDR brachytherapy requires the use of an interstitial implant or an intracavitary applicatorwhere an Ir-192 source runs with its highest activity (10Ci) and gradient. The interest in in-vivomeasurement of the dose delivered to the target or to the neighbouring healthy organs is gettinghigher, due to the strong complexity of the treatment. For this reason a real time miniaturized sys-tem for in-vivo dosimetry based on a Ce3+-doped SiO2 optical fibre is now under study. A carefulanalysis was made in order to define one of the most important aspects of the measurement pro-cess: the detector sensibility connected to the source distance, to the dose rate and to the radiationincidence angle. The results of that investigation were very encouraging as they have proved a verygood response linearity of the detector with the dose such as the independence of the response fromenergy and dose rate. Moreover it was tested that the response of the detector depends on the ir-radiation temperature with consequent determination of the correction factor. The results indicatethat the use of this new system is very promising both for quality control measurements and in-vivodosimetry, especially for gynaecological and prostatic treatments.

Session 14 / 149

A nuclear measurement technique for comparison of the wash-ing machine detergent qualities used on the marketAuthor: Selen Ekim1

Co-authors: Atakan Sahsuvar 1; Cetin Cigdem 1; Gök Mutlu 1; Gülcan Ünak 1; Sarıcan Gözde 1; Turan Ünak1

1 Ege University


Many washing machine detergents with different marks can easily found on the market. In thisstudy, we have investigated the cleaning qualities of the washing machine detergents which areused in homes applying a nuclear measurement technique. Small tissue pieces (3 x 3 cm) made incotton, have been used as a reference material which is commonly used by individuals or by relatedcommercial companies. For measurement and comparison of cleaning qualities of the washing ma-chine detergents, the tissue pieces were first contaminated plunging into the MIBI complex of 99mTcradioactivity and waited about 30 min. Then, the tissue pieces were washed two times with purewater. It was clearly observed that the 99mTc radioactivity has strongly incorporated into the struc-ture of tissue pieces and could not be practically more removed from the tissue pieces by additionalwashing with pure water. Then, the tissue pieces were separately immersed into the different markof diluted aqueous detergent solutions obtained heating to boiling point, waited 15 min, dried by ahair drier machine, and counted in a well NaI(Tl) detector counting system. Finally, it was observedthat the detergents with different marks which are sold on the market expressed different cleaningqualities under the same experimental conditions applied in this study. We believe that this kindof quality measurement technique of washing machine detergents applying a nuclear measurementtechnique was first applied in the literature and this technique is, of course, very sensible respect-ing to other probable classical techniques applied in this sector. For this reason, we recommendthis measurement technique to the detergent manufacturers for testing the quality controls of theirproducts before to place on sale on the markets. It is also very interesting to note that the detergentqualities were not really correlated with their market prices.

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Limiting transport properties of lanthanide and actinide ions inwater.Hydration number and hydrolysis phenomena.Author: Habib Latrous1

Co-author: Rafik BESBES 2

1 Faculté des sciences de tunis2 Unité de recherche physico-chimique moléculaire (IPEST) la Marsa Tunisia


AbstractWe start with the idea that there is no second layer of hydration for trivalent ions La, Ac; Since itis an illogical model that first layer may contains between eight and nine molecules of water, andsecond layer would have a larger radius and no more than five or closessix water molecules.In this paper, we present a new simplistic model for estimation of trivalent actinides and lanthanidesions self diffusion coefficients. We take account hydrolysis phenomena. We use Fuoss theory andBjerrum approach to calculate Kh the thermodynamic hydrolysis constant using Marcus summa-rized data for different radius.We suppose that ion structure stills the same in solid state (salt) or in aqueous solution, regarding thewater molecules surrounding central ions (M≡ La3+ , Ac3+). Taking account hydrolysis, experimen-tal self diffusion coefficient D of ion is equal to the sum of two contributions: free and associatedion.D° = αD°free + (1-α)D°h ,free ≡ M3+(H20)n=8,9 , h ≡ M3+(H20)nOH-with Kh = [h].[H+] /[free]= 10-7 (1-α)/α ;α is the molar fraction of free La/Ac ions.At infinite dilution, pH = 7 (Oswald dilution Principle)

In our recent paper, we have verified our simplistic calculus method with experimental data forLanthanum and Gadolinium (first and middle 4f element series).Our model will end the disconcordances results by Spectral and crystallographic methods in solidstate or by measurement methods solution…

Key worlds: Lanthanides , actinides , hydrolysis , hydration shell.

151

Sampling/detecting airborne radionuclides and/or nanoparticles

Author: Luigi Tommasino1

1 Consultant


Four passive sampling elements (termed quatrefoil) have been recently developed, which transformvolume-distributed radionuclides (Bq/m3) into surface-distributed radionuclides (Bq/cm2). For whatconcerns airborne particles, these elements exploit the mechanisms of surface-deposition for the se-lective sampling of particles with nanometer- and micrometer-sizes respectively. In the case ofgases, the sampling occurs by trapping the nanometer particles formed by the gas-atoms and/or gas-molecules into the nanoholes of technological advanced materials.Once exposed, these samplers result in thin radiation sources which can be detected with any real-time or passive detector. While these 4 samplers are in principle useful for all types of airborne

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radionuclides, results will be reported to demonstrate that it is finally possible to carry out the mea-surements of radon and its decay products simply by a pancake Geiger-Muller counter. In spiteof the 4 different sampling elements, the assessment of both the radon and its decay products canbe carried out by using the same exposure time-frames, the same radiation detector, and the samecounting procedures.In particular, emphasis will be given to those measurements, which are difficult, if not impossible,to carry out with existing technology. Alternatively, these new passive samplers make it possibleto use radon-decay products as tracers for the detection of all airborne nanoparticles, simply by apancake G.M. counter.The possibility to use the G.M. counter to measure radon and its progeny (and/or other airborneradionuclides) with passive low-cost samplers (no need of a pump), appears attractive to obtain adetection system with consumer-product-types of characteristics.However, it is in the field of nanotechnology and/or nanotoxicology that these new passive samplingelements show promise for advanced research and new developments.


Lu-177g produced with high specific activity by deuteron irradia-tion for metabolic radiotherapyAuthor: Simone Manenti1

Co-authors: Flavia Groppi 1; Luigi Gini 2; Mauro Bonardi 1

1 LASA, Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN-Milano2 LASA, INFN-Milano


Lu-177g is a low energy negatron emitter that, thanks to its favourable decay properties (t(1/2) =6.734 d, negatron emission 100 %, E(β,max) = 489.3 keV, <Eβ> = 163 keV, Eγ = 208.4 keV), is one ofthemost promising radionuclide to be used in nuclear medicine, especially inmetabolic radiotherapyof cancer of small dimensions. This RN ismainly produced in thermal nuclear reactor in two differentways: the first in carrier added (CA) form by (n,γ) reaction on enriched target of Lu-176 leading to alower specific activity (AS), compared with the theoretical carrier free value AS(CF) = 4.05 GBq•μg^-1, the second in no carrier added (NCA) form by (n,γ) reaction on enriched target of Yb-176 followedby negatron decay leading, after selective separation of Lu from Yb, to a higher AS. This latter caseshows no evidence of production of the long-lived impurity Lu-177m. An alternative method is toproduce Lu-177 by the deuteron activation of natural or enriched in 176Yb targets. In this case, theroutes of interest are the indirect reaction Yb-176(d,p)Yb-177 that decays by negatron emission toLu-177g and the direct reaction Yb-176(d,n)Lu-177(g+m).

In order to optimize the Lu-177g production the thin target yields (ttys) of the nuclear reactionsinvolved were measured as a function of the projectiles energy by the stacked-foil technique irradi-ating Yb targets of natural composition at the MC40 cyclotron of the JRC, Ispra, Italy, that can deliverdeuterons with energies up to 19 MeV. The measurements, done at the radiochemistry laboratory ofLASA by high resolution gamma spectrometry (HPGe detectors), were started few hours from theEOB (end of bombardment) and were carried on for many months, till more than one year, after theirradiation.

The excitation functions of all radionuclides produced were measured and compared with the data, ifpresent, published in the unique previous literature publication. It was determined the decay curveof Yb-177 and the growth curve of the cumulative (direct and indirect) production of Lu-177g. Theanalysis of these curves conduct to the evidence that the predominant route for the production ofLu-177g is the indirect reaction Yb-176(d,p)Yb-177, that decays to Lu-177g. The direct reaction Yb-176(d,n)Lu-177(g+m) is observable only above 13 MeV and contributes for only 4% of the total incorrespondence of 14.6 MeV. In the spectra acquired one year from the EOB the γ lines of Lu-177mare not presented. By detection limit method the activity of Lu-177m at the EOB is been evaluated,in the worst case, less than 0.07% of total activity of Lu-177.

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The production of Lu-117g by deuteron irradiation of Yb targets will be competitive with neutronactivation. The deuteron activation for 12 hours of a thick target of Yb-176 (100% enriched) with E(in)= 12.5 MeV, ΔE = 10.0 MeV, I = 100 μA can produce up to 10 GBq of cumulative Lu-177g.

Session 11 / 153

Radiological study of transport and processing of naturally oc-curring radioactive materials.Author: Wouter Schroeyers1

Co-authors: Chris Vandervelpen 2; Jan Yperman 3; Leen Hulshagen 2; Marc Stals 2; Robert Carleer 3; Sonja Schreurs2; Veerle Pellens 2

1 CMK (UHasselt) and NuTeC (XIOS Hogeschool Limburg)2 NuTeC (XIOS Hogeschool Limburg)3 CMK (UHasselt)


Background: Recently the European Commission is recasting the Euratom Basic Safety Standards(BSS) in order to further limit the exposure of the public and workers to radioactivity. The new BSS isexpected in 2015 and contains a broad list of industries, processing Naturally Occurring RadioactiveMaterial (NORM), that will become subject to more strict regulation. The list contains, among others,zirconium-, thorium-, and titanium-mineral processing plants, phosphate-ore industries and oil andgas extraction facilities. In addition the new BSS provides additional regulation for the incorporationof residues of NORM (fly ash, phosphogypsum, phosphorus/tin/copper slag, red mud, …) in buildingmaterials.

Materials&methods: A large scale radiological study of the container traffic in the port of Antwerpwas conducted by means of portal monitors. Geometry corrected in-situ measurements were per-formed on materials in industrial processes with LaBr(Ce) and Na(Tl) probes. These results werecompared with analysis of samples by means of a Ge detector.

Results: (1) A database of the NORM traffic through the port of Antwerp (2008 – 2010) was con-structed. (2) Though measurements in the port of Antwerp and at companies a new user-friendlymethod for the determination of the activity concentration was developed. The determined activityconcentrations were compared with the limits set by the BSS.The results obtained with several typesof probes in industrial setting are compared. (3) In case-studies dose on workers was assessed. (4)The initial results of the measurement on building materials are shown.

Outlook: A new strategy for the treatment of NORM contaminated waste will be investigated. IAFand NuTeC organize the 4th EAN-NORM workshop in Hasselt, Belgium (Nov 29th – Dec 1st 2011).The workshop focuses on transportation of NORM, measurements strategies and building materials(http://www.ean-norm.net/).

Acknowledgement: Funding for the research projects is provide by the ministry of the Flemish com-munity, EFRO and LRM.

Session 13 / 154

Radiation protection relevant to Nuclear Chemistry in the lightof recent International RecommendationsAuthor: Jozef Sabol1

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1 Czech Technical University, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering


The paper discusses the requirements for radiation protection in nuclear chemistry which are relatedto the recent recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Theserecommendations are currently being incorporated into the International Basic Safety Standards tobe issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency later this year as well as into new relevantDirectives of the European Union based on which the legislature of the Member States have to beupdated. New international requirements are aimed at further improvement of strict control ofradiation sources, their safety and security as well as the minimization of the exposure to workersand members of the public. These tasks would require not only some changes in national systemsof radiation protection and nuclear safety, but also appropriate measures should to be taken to trainpersonnel responsible for the implementation of new regulations in order to achieve compliancewithinternational standards. It would only be appropriate if nuclear chemistry community is familiarwith the forthcoming changes in radiation protection well in advance so that it would be easier fornuclear chemists to adopt new requirements in their everyday practical work where they handlevarious radioactive sources and have to be familiar how to protect themselves and others in linewith these new requirements.


Development of an original radiochemical protocol in a view ofSn-121mand Sn-126measurements in Lowand Intermediate LevelNuclear WastesAuthor: Celine Gautier1

Co-authors: Carole Fréchou 2; Florence Goutelard 2; Gilles Kerlau 2; Ivan Laszak 2; Jean-Pierre Degros 2; ThomasGrangeon 2

1 CEA Saclay DEN/DANS/DPC/SECR/LANIE2 CEA


The LANIE (Elemental, Isotopic and Nuclear Analysis Laboratory) develops and implements a setof radiochemical protocols associated with radiological and elemental measurement techniques de-voted to the characterization of Long Lived Radionuclides in Low and Intermediate Level NuclearWastes.

121mSn and 126Sn are two radionuclides of interest for the performance assessment of waste stor-age or disposal. Both isotopes are produced from the fission of 235U occurring in nuclear reactors,with thermal fission yields estimated to be about 0.00003% and 0.06% respectively. 121mSn can alsobe produced by activation of tin present as a minor additive in zircaloys, inconels and steels usedin the nuclear industry. Due to their half-lives (55 and 250000 years for 121mSn and 126Sn respec-tively [1,2]), the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA, France) requests theirmonitoring in waste packages before their disposal in specific sites. Due to their low activities innuclear wastes, 121mSn and 126Sn need a thorough chemical separation before any measurementcan be performed.

The radiochemical protocol was first developed on various synthetic solutions to separate tin fromthe matrices and concentrate it prior to any nuclear or mass spectrometry measurements. The pro-tocol starts with a microwave digestion or alkaline fusion with the addition of a natural tin carrierand a 113Sn radioactive spiker. The following steps are constituted of ion exchange separations com-bined with co-precipitations and a highly selective ethylation step. The final purified fractions thusobtained are suitable for X spectrometry analysis of 121mSn and Q-ICPMS measurements of 126Sn.The protocol yield is evaluated by gamma measurement of 113Sn.

The protocol was then optimized to be applicable to various sample types. As no 121mSn or 126Snsources are commercially available, the protocol was first applied to zircaloys and spent nuclear fuel

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dissolution solutions to obtain in-house standards. The radiochemical procedurewas validated subse-quently on ion exchange resins spiked with 113Sn, 121mSn and 126Sn. Afterward, it was completedfor the analyses of radioactive sludges and activated steels. This procedure enables to achieve highdecontamination factors and to eliminate specifically all isobaric interferences (126Te, 110Pd16O,110Cd16O) for 126Sn analysis by Q-ICPMS. The overall separation yields obtained range from 45%up to 70%.

References:[1] S.A. Catlow et al., “Half-life measurement of 126Sn isolated fromHanford nuclear defense waste”,Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear chemistry, vol 236, no3, p599-603, 2005.[2] P. Bienvenu et al., “Determination of 126Sn half-life from ICP-MS and gamma spectrometrymeasurements”, Radiochimica Acta, vol 97, no 12, p687-694, 2009.


Neutron andphoton activation analyses of anomalous phonolitesfrom Lusatian Mountains in Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic

Author: Zdeněk Řanda1

Co-authors: Ivana Krausová 1; Jiří Mizera 1

1 Nuclear Physics Institute ASCR


The studied phonolites from the Lusatian Mountains in northern part of the Czech Republic are ter-tiary, highly evolved alkaline volcanic rocks associated with continental interplate magmatism withanomalous contents of incompatible and volatile components. From the geochemical point of view,these rocks are residue of parent magma concentrating many incompatible and volatile elements.Phonolites solidified at relatively low temperature similarly to other residue liquids, and thus dur-ing ascent of magma towards the Earth surface such rocks consolidated in shallow depths (less thanone kilometer) in the upper bed. Therefore, phonolites can be classified among the so-called subvol-canic (or hypabyssal) rocks. The studied anomalous phonolites are strongly depleted by compatibleelements as Mg, V, Cr, Fe, Ni, Sr, whereas contents of Al, alkaline elements Na, K, Rb, and incompati-ble elements such as Zr, Nb, REE, Hf, Ta, Th, U reach extremely high values. Contents of halogens (Fand Cl) are also very high. For a detailed geochemical study, various modes of nondestructive neu-tron (including the epithermal and fast neutron mode) and photon activation analyses were utilized.Combination of these modes allowed assaying major elements as well as most trace elements (48 el-ements in total). The study has been aimed at elucidation of source materials and processes leadingto formation of these anomalous phonolites (partial melting and contamination by crust materials).Potential host accesory minerals for some abundant elements such as F (up to 1800 ppm, possiblyhainite or apatite), Cl (up to 5700 ppm, possibly sodalite), Zr and Hf (up to 3000 ppm Zr, possiblyzircon or hainite), Nb (up to 900 ppm), and rare earth elements (up to 700 ppm for their sum, possiblyapatite or perovskite) have been suggested.This study has been supported by the project IAA300130902 of the Grant Agency of the Academy ofSciences of the Czech Republic.


Comparison of composition of lechatelierites in moldavites andsilica phytolithsAuthor: Jan Kameník1

Co-authors: Jiří Mizera 1; Zdeněk Řanda 1

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Formation of moldavites (tektites from Central Europe) was connected with a large meteorite im-pact to Ries region in western Bavaria in Germany 14.5 million years ago. The parent materials formoldavites have usually been assigned to the uppermost layer of pre-impact sediments and sedimen-tary rocks dated to Middle Miocene. According to several geochemical indicators, ash from biomassburned at the early stage of the impact may have contributed to the parent materials. Moldavitescontain in the glass matrix small inclusions of pure silica – lechatelierites. To evidence the possi-ble biogenic component in moldavites, composition of lechatelierites separated from moldavites hasbeen compared with composition of silica phytoliths extracted from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) –a representative of a Poaceae (grass) plant family. Silica phytoliths are biogenic opal objects formedby solidification of dissolved forms of silicon by some higher plants. They are, after plant’s deathand decay, preserved in soil and sediments.The samples of lechatelierites and barley silica phytoliths were analysed by instrumental neutronactivation analysis (INAA) in the short and long time irradiation modes. Both types of materialsconsist mainly of silica, but many other elements are present in minor and trace quantities. Despiteseveral differences, the overall elemental pattern observed in phytoliths for both major and traceelements is similar to that observed in lechatelierites, especially the high K/Na ratios.This study has been supported by the Czech Science Foundation grant 205/09/0991.


Unconventional component of parentmaterials ofmoldavitesAuthor: Jiří Mizera1

Co-authors: Jan Kameník 1; Zdeněk Řanda 1



Formation of the Central European tektites - moldavites - has unequivocally been associated with alarge meteorite impact to Ries region in western Bavaria in Germany 14.5 million years ago. How-ever, after several decades of investigation, unambiguous assigning all sourcematerials of moldavitesand processes of their chemical differentiation still remains open. Despite some similarity of chem-ical composition between moldavites and isochronous sediments from vicinity of the Ries crater,there are some significant differences in both major and trace element contents, which cannot beattributed solely to the variability of sediments or later weathering processes. Geochemical char-acterization of a large collection of moldavites using various modes of instrumental neutron andphoton activation analyses supported a novel hypothesis, according to which ash from biomassburned at the early stage of the meteorite impact contributed to the source materials. As shownby the geochemical data acquired in the study, this unconventional “biogenic component” could beindicated by enrichment in elements essential for plants (e.g., K, Ca, Mg) and depletion of nonessen-tial elements (e.g., Na, Rb, Sr, Ba), similarly to redistribution of these elements during their transferfrom soil to plants. Differentiation similar to that occuring during the soil/plant interaction has beenobserved also for other, nonessential elements, e.g., U and Th. Correlations between the K/Na ratioand Ca/Sr, Ca/Ba, K/Rb, U/Th ratios, as well as some other indicators of the “biogenic component”observed in moldavites from various parts of the Central European tektite strewn field are presentedand discussed.This study has been supported by the Czech Science Foundation grant 205/09/0991.


Hyaluronic acid labeled with radioiodine: Optimization of label-ing procedure and preclinical evaluation

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Author: Alice Laznickova1

Co-authors: Dagmar Cozikova 2; Lukas Palek 2; Milan Laznicek 1; Vladimir Velebny 2

1 Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic2 CPN s.r.o, Dolni Dobrouc, Czech Republic


Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a high molecular weight glycosaminoglycan composed of repetitive disac-charide units. HA participates in various physiological and pathological processes in the body andis typically used as a medical device, dietary supplements etc. Ubiquitous in all tissues and fluids,the fate of exogenously administered HA in the body cannot be directly determined by any classicalanalytical method. Labeling of HA with radiotracer is one of the few ways to determine the fateof HA in the organisms. The aim of this work was to label HA by radioiodination via prostheticgroup of reactive aromatic amino acid residues thyrosine and tyramine and to determine biodistri-bution profiles of 125I-labeled HA in rats. For labeling of adducts of HA with tyrosine and tyramine,oxidative iodinatation was employed. The higher radiochemical yield for HA-tyramine adduct wasreached in comparison with HA-tyramine. Reaction products were purified by molecular size exclu-sion chromatography and administered intravenously to male Wistar rats. Biodistribution profile ofboth agents was characterized by a rapid uptake from the bloodstream by the liver mediated by CD44receptors and by relatively long liver radioactivity wash-out time. In the liver, both HA adducts un-der study were partly degraded and the fragments redistributed in the body. The main eliminationpathway was radioactivity excretion to the urine. The results might be usable for a better under-standing of biological behavior of HA in the body.This study was supported by the the grant of Ministry of the Czech Republic No.OC08006 as well asby CPN s.r.o, Dolni Dobrouc.


Evaluation of Y-90 labeled PANAM dendrimers of the 1st and 4thgenerationsAuthors: Alice Laznickova1; Milan Laznicek2; Petr Hermann3; Veronika Biricova2

1 faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic2 Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic3 Charles University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic


Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies and their fragments represent promising agents for radioim-munotherapy of cancers. For labeling with radiometals, macrocyclic chelating agents with highcomplex stability are usually attached to the biomacromolecule. To achieve specific activity of theantibody sufficient for a cancer treatment, large numbers of chelating groups have to be conjugatedto a single macromolecule that usually results in a drop of its immunoreactivity. The problem couldbe overcome by an employment of biocompatible dendrimer-based agents. Dendrimers are hyper-branched artificial macromolecules with tree-like structure enabling multifunctional modification oftheir surface. The purpose of this study was to optimize the procedure for radiolabeling with Y-90 ofPANAM dendrimers of the first (G1) and fourth generation (G4) conjugated with a DOTA derivativeDO3A-py/NO-C/ (10-/4-carboxy-1-oxidopyridin-2-yl/methyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-triaceticacid) and to analyze stability of the labeled products. 8 and 57 chelators were conjugated to a singleG1 and G4 molecule, respectively. For the analysis, thin-layer chromatography and size exclusionchromatographywere used. Results showed that 90Y-labeled dendrimers G1 and G4 conjugatedwithDO3A-py/NO-C/ can be prepared with a high specific activity and radiochemical purity at 37℃. Ra-diolabeled species were stable for at least 24 hrs both in saline and in plasma. Our results indicatethat an employment of dendrimer-radiometal chelate conjugates represents a prospective way forradiolabeling of antibodies and their fragments to obtain markedly high specific activity and mini-mal loss of their immunoreactivity.

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The work originated within Action COST BM 0607 and was supported by Czech Ministry of Edu-cation Grant No. OC08006 and by the Grant Agency of Czech Republic – grant No. P304/10/1738.


Radiolabeling of insuline with fluorine-18 using a new radioflu-orination techniqueAuthor: Cigdem Cetin1

Co-author: Gülcan Ünak 2

1 Ege University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Division of Nuclear Chemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100,Turkey

2 Ege University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100, Turkey


As is known well, insulin is a very important hormone in the body and in case of its absent or itslevel in the blood is low, glucose is not taken up by most body cells and the body begins to use fatas an energy source. As its level is a central metabolic control mechanism, its status is also usedas a control signal to other body systems. For this reason, the sensitively measurement of insulinlevel in the body is a very important tool in insulin related studies. On the other hand, insulinimproves tumor uptake of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose radiolabeled with 18F (18FDG) and its role indiabetic rats with mammary carcinomawas reported in literature. In this context, insulin was earlierlabeled by different radionuclides such as 111In, 125I, 18F. It should be also noted that radiolabedform of insulin has expressed the same activity of original insulin in the metabolism. In this study,we have tried to label insulin by using an easier and faster radiofluorination technique. For this,SelectfluorTM has been tried first to be labeled with 18F, then it was used to label insulin. Theradiofluorination yield of insuline was found very satisfied.


Radioionidation of tyrosine by the use of exchange reactionAuthor: Gözde Sarican1

Co-authors: Cigdem Cetin 1; Gülcan Ünak 2

1 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Division of Nuclear Chemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100,Turkey

2 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100, Turkey


Tyrosine is one of the 20 standard amino acids commonly takes place in the structures of animal pro-teins and it is required for normal functioning in humans and found in most proteins, for example ininsulin. It is converted from the essential amino acid phenylalanin in the human metabolism and isa precursor of adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, thyroid hormones, melanin, etc. In humans, theL-isomer of tyrosine which is the only form, that is involved in protein syntheses. However, tyrosineis considered to be a non-essential amino acid since it does not have to be taken in with the diet,but can be synthesized by the human body from chemical reactions of phenylalanine. Tyrosine isconverted into dopamine and norepinephrine. Phenylalanine and tyrosine are sometimes prescribedas antidepressants, usually in combination with other herbal nutrients. In last decade, radiolabeledL-tyrosine with 123I, 125I, 18F, 11C has been subjected in interesting researches in nuclear medical

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applications. For example, 11C labeled L-tyrosine was used for PET visualization and quantifica-tion of protein synthesis rate and 18F radiofluorinated o-(2-18F-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine has showeda clinical potential in brain tumor diagnosis, 123I-L-tyrosine showed a long tumor retention in RIMrhabdomyosarcoma tumor-bearing Wag / Rij rats, 6-125I-L-tyrosine has been incorporated into theliterature to be a new radiopharmaceutical which is useful in assessing cerebral amino acid transportmechanism and quantifying metabolically active DOPA decarboxylase. In this context, the radioio-dination processes have become important tools for preparation of radioiodinated L-tyrosine withdifferent iodine radioisotopes and in this study, the radioiodination of tyrosine using an isotopicexchange technique between 131I ion and 127I atom of 2-iodo-L-tyrosine has been investigated as anew radioiodination procedure of L-tyrosine. This isotopic exchange reaction was realized in waterat 95 ºC in about 30 min. Then, water was evaporated to dryness and it was solved in water again.In this way, the ioiodination yield was found to be about 90 - 95 %.


Test of isotopic exchanges between O-18 and O-16 when oxygen-18 enriched water contacts with air oxygen

Author: Selen Ekim1

1 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Division of Nuclear Chemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100,Turkey


Nowadays, 2-deoxy-2-D-glucose radiolabeled with Fluorine-18 (18FDG) is widely used in cancerimaging studies as a popular PET radiopharmaceutical. For synthesis of 18FDG, 18F radionuclide isfirst produced by 18O (p, n) 18F nuclear reaction in a Medical Cyclotron. For this nuclear reaction,18O enriched water (H218O) with about 97 % enrichment level is used as a target material in theMedical Cyclotrons. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the probable exchangesbetween 18O and 16O isotopes when H218O contacts considerably long time with air Oxygen. Thus,it would be determined that H218O should be avoided to contact with air Oxygen and to keep in aninert gas for long time storages or not. For this experiment, natural Oxygen and Argon gases wereseparately passed through H218O with 1 % 18O enrichment during long times up to about 8 days.Samples of about 1.5 mL taken fromH218Owith 1 % 18O enrichment have been analyzed by IsotopicRatio Mass Spectrometry (IR-MS) technique in England. 18O analyses have showed that air Oxygencontact causes the decrease of 18O / 16O ratio and contrarily, Argon contact causes the increase of18O / 16O ration. This means that H218O should be avoided to contact air Oxygen and during longtime storages H218O is recommended to keep under an inert atmosphere like Argon. Otherwise, theenrichment level of H218O may considerably be decreased.


A new radiofluorination method of select fluor as a new and ef-fective F-18 fluorinating reagent

Author: Gülcan Ünak1

Co-authors: Cigdem Cetin 2; Gözde Sarican 2; Selen Ekim 2; Turan Ünak 2

1 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100, Turkey2 Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Division of Nuclear Chemistry, Bornova, Izmir 35100,

Turkey


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1-(Chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane ditetrafluoroborate is known as Select-fluorTM (Sigma-Aldrich Cas no. 140681-55-6) and is a widely used as an electrophilic fluorinat-ing agent for different kinds of organic compounds. Contrarily, it was not used for 18F fluorina-tion processes, but recently a research team at Oxford University in the UK has tried to label 1-(Chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bis(triflate) with 18F as another form of Se-lectfluorTM. For this procedure, direct fluorination of 1-chloro-methyl-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo [2.2.2]octanetriflate (accessible in two steps from triethylenediamine, TEDA)was performed in dry CH3CNat -10℃with fluorine (10 % F2 inN2). In this study, 1-(Chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octaneditetrafluoroborate form of SelectfluorTM was radiolabeled with 18F. For this radiolabeling proce-dure 250 mL saturated solution of SelectfluorTM in water was prepared and 250 µCi (9.25 MBq) 18Fwas added. Then, this mixture was evaporated in a water bath up to dryness in about 10 min. Thedried mater was again dissolved in 50 µL water and the samples taken from this solution were ana-lyzed using TLC technique. The TLC analyses have showed that SelectfluorTMwas radiofluorinatedwith 18F with about 95 % radiofluorination yield. This radiofluorinated SelectfluorTM with 18F wassuccessfully used for 18F fluorination of 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose and insulin. Thus, a new andeffective 18F fluorinating agent has been introduced as a widely usable agent in 18F fluorinationchemistry.


The production and isolation of Cu-64 after production by thebombardment of a natural Zn targetAuthor: Tjaart Nicolaas (Nico) van der Walt1

Co-authors: Nicholas van der Meulen 2; Stuart Dolley 3

1 Cape Peninsula University of Technology2 iThemba LABS3 Cape mPeninsula University of Technology / iThemba LABS


Theproduction possibility of different copper radionuclides has been investigated by several groups[1-7]. Szelecsényi et al.[8]measured new cross-section data for the 66Zn(p,2pn)64Cu and 68Zn(p,x)64Cunuclear processes from their respective threshold energies up to 100 MeV and concluded that bothprocesses are suitable for the routine production of 64Cu. A 66Zn target and a 68Zn target can beused, respectively, in the energy windows 70 → 35 MeV and 37 → 10 MeV for the production of64Cu. At iThemba LABS a natZn target is bombarded with the 66 MeV proton beam for the routineproduction of 64Cu (and 67Ga).

Variousmethods have been published for the separation of Cu fromZn[1,9-11]. An improvedmethodis presented for the selective purification of Cu radionuclides (specifically 64Cu) from gram amountsof zinc using an ion exchange column containing 5.0 mL XAD-8 which had been impregnated withdithizone (diphenylthiocarbazone). 64Cu was recovered from the 67Ga waste solution which con-tained ca 8 g Zn. The waste solution was evaporated to dryness and the salts dissolved in 0.05 MHCl (ca pH 2) and passed through the ion exchange column, which had been equilibrated with 0.05M HCl, Zn was eluted with 0.05 M HCl. Particular attention was paid to the development of optimalelution profiles using respectively 10 M HNO3, 3 M HNO3 and 5 M HCl-1% H2O2.

References1. T. Stoll, S. Kastleiner, Yu. N.Shubin, H.H. Coenen, S.M. Qaim, Radiochim. Acta 90 (2002) 309.2. F.Szelecsényi, Z. Kovács, T.N van der Walt, G.F. Steyn, K. Suzuki, K. Okada, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 58(2003) 377.3. K.Hilgers, T.Stoll, Y. Skakun, H.H Coenen, S.M Qaim, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 59 (2003) 343.4. M.L. Bonardi, F. Groppi, C. Biratarri, L. Gini, C. Mainardi, A. Ghioni, E. Menapace, K. Abbas, U.Hotzwarth, M.F. Stroosnijder, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 257 (2003) 229.5. F. Tárkányi, S. Takács, F. Ditrói, A. Hermanne, M. Sonck, Yu. Subin, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B 217(2004) 531.6. F.Szelecsényi, Z.Kovács, K. Suzuki, K. Okada, T.N van der Walt, G.F. Steyn, S. Mukherjee, J. Ra-dioanal. Nucl. Chem. 263 (2005) 539.

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7. M.L. Bonardi, F. Groppi, H.S. Mainardi, V.M. Kokhanyuk, E.V. Lapsina, M.V. Mebel, B.L. Zhuikov,J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 264 (2005) 101.8. F.Szelecsényi, G.F. Steyn, Z.Kovács, C. Vermeulen, N.P. van der Meulen, S.G. Dolley, T.N van derWalt, K. Suzuki, K. Mukai, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics B 240 (2005) 625.9. F.W.E. Strelow, Talanta 35 (1988) 385.10. R. Scharczbach, K. Zimmermann, P. Blauenstein, A. Smith, P.A. Schubiger, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 46(1995) 329.11. C. Naidoo, T.N. van der Walt, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 54 (2001) 915.

Session 13 / 166

Decontamination of radioactive concrete in nuclear facilities bychemical separation method.Author: Yuichi Tanimoto1

Co-authors: Hajimu Yamana 2; Hiroshi Kimura 1; Kazuo Murakami 1; Kazuyuki Torii 1; Koichi Takamiya 2; KojiOishi 1; Seiichi Shibata 2; Shun Sekimoto 2

1 Shimizu Corporation2 Kyoto University


Europium and cobalt etc., contained in the biological shield concrete, are made a radiation withthe neutron during the nuclear power plant and the accelerator facilities in operation. At the end ofoperation, biological shield concretemay be considered as radioactivewastes due to these radioactivenuclides. However, it is thought europium and cobalt content in the biological shield concrete is verylittle, thus trace amount of the radionuclide determined entire biological shield concrete as radiowaste and the handling cost is severe. Therefore, the introduction of chemical processing, and thepossibility of a significant amount of waste volume reduction had been found.

Session 9 / 167

Ultra low-level radionuclide analysisAuthor: Pavel Povinec1

1 Comenius University of Bratislava

The recent developments in ultra low-level radionuclide analyses include in the radiometrics sectoravailability of large volume HPGe detectors operating in underground laboratories very often withadditional anti-cosmic shielding. In the mass spectrometry sector they include applications of Ac-celerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS) andResonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RIMS) for analysis of long-lived radionuclides. Couplingof AMS with GC allowed transfer of analyses from bulk samples to compound specific isotope anal-yses of environmental samples. Very recent developments include a new ultra sensitive laser-basedanalytical technique, intracavity optogalvanic spectroscopy (ICOGS), allowing extremely high sen-sitivity for detection of tracers 14C, which is competing well with the AMS technique. Anotherexample represents applications of ion trap mass spectrometry for ultra sensitive radionuclide anal-yses. These developments in both sectors did not only considerably decrease the detection limits forseveral radionuclides (up to several orders of magnitude), but they also enable to carry out investiga-tions which were not feasible before either because of lack of sensitivity or because they required toolarge samples. Applications of radiometrics and mass spectrometry techniques in isotope oceanog-raphy, specifically on the distribution of 3H, 14C, 90Sr, 129I, 137Cs, 239Pu and 240Pu in the watercolumn of the Pacific and Indian Oceans are presented and discussed in detail.

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Removal of volatile, organic iodines from vented containmentgas streams bywet-scrubbing during severe nuclear accidentsAuthor: Sabrina Tietze1

1 Chalmers University of Technology


During severe nuclear accidents several hazardous and radiotoxic gaseous fission products can bereleased and constitute a threat to the environment.Significant amounts of the radiotoxic fission product iodine, mainly as particular caesium iodideand gaseous elemental iodine, are released into the containment and coolant system assuming acore melt down accident. The distribution of iodine species in the containment follows a seriesof complex processes. Considerable amounts of gaseous iodine will dissolve in the water pools,condensing steam or water sprays and be converted into non-volatile species such as iodide andiodate ions.

Remaining gaseous elemental iodine can react in numerous complex reactions with volatile organicsubstances like hydrocarbons released from organic materials such as cable isolations to form iodo-organics. Thus highly volatile airborne organic iodine species like methyl iodide and ethyl iodidecan be formed from e.g. the reaction of methane with iodine.

In e.g. Swedish light water reactors gaseous iodine species in excess gas streams being vented fromthe containment in case of a pressure increase are scrubbed off with an alkaline sodium thiosulfatesolution.The removal efficiency for volatile iodo-organics is about 20 times lower than for elemental iodine.Those species of the isotope I-131 have a high potential to cause biological harm to humans bybioaccumulation when getting released to the environment due to their long enough half-life of app.8 days.

In response to improve the removal efficiency a modified scrubber solution has been developedcontaining nucleophilic organic compounds to achieve a rapid break of the organic iodines intonon-volatile inorganic iodides maintaining in the scrubbing solution.


Compare plutonium isotopes activity in humans bones on thearea where only global fallout was present and the area whereGlobal and Chernobyl fallouts ware present.Author: Kamil Brudecki1

Co-authors: Elżbieta Szczygieł 2; Ewa Tomankiewicz 3; Golec Edward 4; Jerzy Mietelski 1; Joanna Golec 3; Kon-stanty Kuźma 5; Sebastian Nowak 3

1 The Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences2 Physical Therapy Department, Institute of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Heath Science, Jagiellonian University, Med-

ical College3 Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Department, Chair of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Motor of the Bronislaw Czech’s

Academy of Physical Education4 Traumatology and Orthopaedic Clinic, 5th Military Clinical Hospital and Polyclinic, Independent Public Healthcare

Facility5 Traumatology and Orthopaedic Department, General Hospital in Bielsk Podlaski

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Plutonium isotopes are present in investigated samples mainly as a result of nuclear weapons testsin last century and Chernobyl disaster. In human body plutonium is accumulated mainly in liverand bones and main exposure pathway is inhalation. Bone tissue samples were obtained duringroutine surgeries – the replacement if knee or hip joints by implants. Patients belong to generalpopulation, not exposed in any special way to radioactive contamination. Surgeries were conductedin a V Military Hospital in Kraków in Southern Poland and in a general Hospital in Bielsk Podlaskiin Northeastern Poland,. The patients originated from vicinity of hospital thus Pu from only GlobalFallout was expected in case of Kraków and mixed Global and Chernobyl fallout was expected incase of Bielsk Podlaski. Studies got an approval of council for ethics in medical research.Sampels were ashen in 600oC for two days. The ashes were gently soaked of 6M HCl. Precipitationof calcium oxalates at pH=3 was completed to obtain transuranic fractions. Calcium oxalates wasdissolved of 1M HNO3. The oxidation state of Pu was adjusted to +4 using hydrazine and NaNO2and after conversion into 8M HNO3, the fractions were passed through Dowex-1x8. Pu remains inthe column was eluted using 50 ml. of 0.1M HF - 0.1M HCl. Alpha spectrometric Pu sources wereprepared directly in the solutions using NdF3 method.In Southern Poland in investigation involved 23 people, 9 men, 11 women, and 3 person who didnot specified their gender in a quastionary. . The youngest patient was 56, while the oldest 88 yearsold. The obtained values for 239+240Pu activity ranged between 5.7 1.1 mBq kg-1 and 25.0 3.2 mBqkg-1. In all the samples 238Pu activity fell below the minimum detection activity, which was on thelevel of a single mBqkg-1, so suggesting global fallout as main source radioactive contamination insouthern Poland. In case Northeastern Poland in study involved 25 people, 10 men and 15 women.Age range was between 32 to 85 years old. Minimum activity of 239+240Pu was equal to 5.4 1 mBqkg-1, whereas the maximum activity reached 34.3 5.7 mBq kg-1. In 6 samples 238Pu activity fellbelow the minimum detection activity, in rest activity was between 1.9 1.4 to 10.6 3.1 mBq kg-1.The measurable amounts of 238Pu suggest presence of traces of Pu of Chernobyl origin in bodies ofinhabitants of Northeastern Poland.


Uranium in dog foods commercialized in BrazilAuthor: Camila Elias1

Co-authors: Elisabete A. De Nadai Fernandes 1; Márcio Arruda Bacchi 1

1 University of São Paulo / Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture / Radioisotopes Laboratory


Commercial dog food is supposed to be a complete and balanced diet, formulated by mixing severalingredients, aiming at being the exclusive source of all nutrients for a healthy life of dogs. However,for reducing costs, low quality ingredients are often used in the composition of dog food, includingbyproducts from meat and grain processing and byproducts from other food industries, as well asmineral substances. Low quality ingredients can introduce residues of pesticides, mycotoxins andother toxic substances, like uranium, causing health problems to the animals. The overexposureto uranium may cause pathological alterations in the kidneys. In this context, the objective of thiswork was to further investigate the presence of uranium in dry dog foods of various brands commer-cialized in Brazil. Thirty-four samples, including food for puppies and adults, were acquired in thelocal market of Piracicaba. The dog food samples were ground in titanium knife mill, homogenizedand evaluated by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The results were expressed indry mass basis. The U concentration ranged from <0.46 to 3.99 mg/kg, with the three highest valuesfor the same brand (2.07 mg/kg, 3.15 mg/kg and 3.99 mg/kg). Furthermore, there were correlationbetween U and Sc (R=0.968) and U and La (R=0.617). Such correlations indicated that the high val-ues of uranium originate from mineral ingredients or from contamination with geological material,since Sc and La are rare earth elements used as tracers of geological material. Uranium is naturallypresent at high levels in some phosphate rocks, which are the main economically viable source ofphosphorus, widely used for the production of fertilizers, and for animal nutrition.

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Chemical composition of urban soils in the vicinity of steel in-dustryAuthors: Christian Turra1; Elisabete De Nadai Fernandes1; Luís Gustavo Cofani dos Santos1

Co-authors: André Luís de Lima Araújo 1; Caio Alexandre Prado da Cruz Maduro 1; Gabriel Adrián Sarriés 1;Márcio Arruda Bacchi 1; Rosenildo França de Souza 1; Simone S. N. S. Cofani dos Santos 1

1 University of Sao Paulo


Contamination of soil due to human activities has become a serious concern to both environmentand public health. The Piracicaba city, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, is a highly industrializedarea with a large concentration of steel industries. The fumes, liquid and solid waste generated bythese industries may contain chemical elements that cause environmental and health problems. Inthe past decades, due to the absence of environmental regulations and high costs of treatment anddisposal of residues, some companies deposited huge amounts of solid waste within the urban areaof Piracicaba. In this context, this work focuses on the determination of chemical elements in soilscollected in the vicinity of steel industries by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) toevaluate the influence of such solid waste deposits on the soil composition. Soil samples were takenat 3 depths in 21 sampling points, covering an area of about 80 km². As, Ba, Br, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe,K, La, Na, Nd, Rb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, Yb and Zn could be determined in the samples. Among suchelements, As and Cr should be emphasized for presenting high concentrations in various samplingpoints, with several values exceeding thewarning limits established by the environmental legislationof São Paulo State (15 mg/kg for As and 75 mg/kg for Cr).


In soil radon measurements to characterize fault systemsAuthors: Daniela Morelli1; Gabriella Mangano2; Giuseppina Immè1; Roberto Catalano1

1 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia -Università degli studi di Catania,INFN sezione di Catania2 Dipartimeno di Fisica e Astronomia Università di Catania, CSFNSM


In soil radon measurements are often a tool used to investigate geophysical events. The radon ex-halation depends on several parameters, the most important ones are the meteorological variables(temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind velocity and rain) and soil characteristics (poros-ity, permeability, ..).Areas in which fault systems insist, are characterized by specific profiles of emission of radon gasowing to the presence of visible or not visible faults in the soil with a defined spatial orientation.To study the behavior of in soil radon along a fault, we investigated as first a well known fault: thePernicana one.Three different methodologies were used to measure Radon. The first technique consisted in SolidState Nuclear Track Detectors, CR-39 type, and allowed integrated measurements. The second oneconsisted in a portable device for short time measurements. The last consisted in a continuous mea-surement device for long time monitoring, placed in selected sites. Two different soil gas horizontalprofiles were investigated across the fault. The results obtained with the three methodologies arein general in agreement with each other and reflect the tectonic settings of the investigated area.The lowest Radon values were recorded just on the fault plane, and relatively higher values wererecorded a few tens of meters from the fault axis on both of its sides. Comparing the methodologywe can affirm that, spot measurements are useful for the quick recognition of high emission sites, tobe later monitored for Radon variations in time. SSNTD measurements allow for the time monitor-ing of a relatively large number of sites, although they lose detail on the short-term changes due totheir long integration time. Continuous monitoring probes are optimal for detailed time monitoring,

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but they are expensive and can thus be used to complete the information acquired with SSNTD in anetwork of monitored sites.

Session 6 / 173

Physics dissemination through measurements of in-door radon

Author: Giuseppina Immè1

Co-authors: Daniela Morelli 1; Gabriella Mangano 2; Roberto Catalano 1

1 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia- Università di Catania, INFN Sezione di Catania2 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia- Università di Catania, CSFNSM


Many people associate the environmental radioactivity with the artificial radioactivity. The popula-tion knows few things about the natural radioactivity. From 2005 in the framework of both “LaureeScientifiche” project (PLS), funded by Italian Education Minister, and a project sponsored by theNational Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), scientific dissemination was promoted in the field ofradioactivity. The projects have involved high school students, in particular in measurements ofin-door radon. The collaborating students received introductory information explaining the radonconcern and the survey procedures. At the same time, they received radon detectors with instruc-tions and data sheets. Each student also received a questionnaire about the sampling site (address,building characteristics, room characteristics) and radon devices (device code, period and place ofexposure, device position within the room, etc.).The overall monitoring, spanned over a period of five years from 2005 to 2010, was carried out us-ing passive nuclear track detection technique, through the diglycol carbonate (C12H18O7) CR-39 Intotal, till now, we have placed about 500 detectors in dwellings and schools in 57 locations so as tocover the whole investigated region.. Detectors were placed once for each site for 90 days.The investigated area have shown medium-high indoor radon concentrations, higher than the Ital-ian average of about 70 Bq/m3, with peaks of 500 Bq/m3 or more in buildings near active faults.Fortunately, only a small fraction of the measurements, about 1.5% of total, was found greater thanEU and Italian action limits for houses and workplaces.

Session 4 / 174

Tritiummeasurements inwater springs onMt. EtnaVolcanoAuthors: Daniela Morelli1; Gabriella Mangano2; Giuseppina Immè1; Roberto Catalano1

1 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia -Università degli studi di Catania,INFN sezione di Catania2 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia -Università degli studi di Catania,CSFNSM


Tritium exists rather uniformly in the environment as a result of both natural production by cosmic-ray interaction with the upper layers of the atmosphere and residual fallout from nuclear weaponstests carried out from 1952 till 1980. Naturally occurring tritium mainly reaches the Earth’s surfacein the form of precipitation, becoming part of the hydrological cycle. Nowadays, the possibility ofmeasuring the low level of tritium radioactivity gives a chance to use tritium as a natural tracer inthe water systems. Surveys has been carried out on Mt. Etna and in the southern side of Nebrodi.The measurements have been carried out by liquid scintillation counting. The samples, collectedin natural springs, were prepared according to the International Standard ISO 9698:1989. For eachsample 250 mℓ of water were collected. For each one about 250 mg of sodium thiosulfate anhydrous(Na2S2O3) to convert iodine into iodide, and about 500mg of sodium carbonate anhydrous (Na2CO3)

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to make the sample alkaline, and some glass beads were added to prevent bumping. Afterwards, thesamples were distilled by means of an apparatus consisting of a round bottom flask of capacity 500mℓ, a Vigreux distillation column, an adapter (bent type) and a condenser. After discarding the first50-75 mℓ of distillate, about 100 mℓ were collected in polyethylene bottles. With this procedure therewas no significant isotopic fractionation in the distillation.The investigated areas show extremely low tritium concentrations, much below the Italian limit of100 Bq/ℓ for drinking water and even comparable with the minimum detectable activity value. Theeffective dose due to tritium consumption is also calculated.


The distribution of I-131 in the fractionated dust in the groundlayer of air in central PolandAuthor: Magdalena Długosz - Lisiecka1

Co-authors: Bem Henryk 1; Paweł Grabowski 1

1 Technical University of Lodz


March 11, 2011 as a result of earthquakes and tsunamis the reactor No. 1 in Fukushima Dai-ichi inJapan has been breakdown. As a consequence of failure the release of significant amounts of radionu-clides such as I-131, Cs-137, Cs-134, Te-131 and the other to the atmosphere was observed. Emittedisotopes were transported with air masses even at considerable distances. The concentrations ofsome these radionuclides were also observed over the Polish territory. The highest concentrationsof I-131 (about 8 mBq/m3) was observed in the central part of the Polish, the third week after theaccident. The maximum observed concentrations of Cs-137 and Cs-134 was 0,75 and 0,61 mBq/m3,respectively. In order to verify the exact radiological consequences of I-131 inhalation it is importantto know their distribution in air particulate matter.The highest concentration of I-131 [μBq/m3] is observed for the smallest aerosols, with diameterlower than 1 μm (filter number 9-this value is twice higher of that for bigger fractions in range from>2 μm). As we expect I-131 is predominantly linked to small and mobile fraction of aerosols.Information about the distribution of concentrations in different fractions of aerosols can be usedto estimate the rate of spread of the radionuclides. In addition, it is possible to estimate the deliv-ered dose for the occupants of the various regions. Monitoring the transport of radionuclides in theatmosphere is an important element of radiological exposure assessment. It should be emphasizedthat the observed isotope concentrations in the air in the central part of the Polish were not danger-ous for the residents, but their observation is an excellent test of the efficiency of use monitoringsystems.


Separation of Ra, Ba and Pb for determination of Ra-226 by iso-tope dilution alpha spectrometry and Pb-210 by liquid scintilla-tion spectrometryAuthor: Gyula Kis-Benedek1

Co-authors: Frederic-Amadeus Gaigl 1; Kristina Estrada 1

1 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)


The determination of 226Ra and 210Pb is important for characterization of new and existing refer-ence materials, for use as natural tracers in environmental studies and in environmental assessments

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when natural radionuclides are present at elevated levels. The 226Ra and 210Pb ratio of characterizedreference materials changes with time. Due to possible partial escape of 222Rn from the containers,the calculation of radioactive decay and ingrowth is not reliable after some years, therefore the val-ues have to be re-measured from time to time. In addition soil and sediment matrices usually containBa around 100-1000 mg kg-1. This barium content of the samples often disturbs the preparation ofthe Ra alpha sources and restricts the sample size.The method presented here is based on a simple but efficient separation of Pb and Ra from Ba. Afterthe chemical separation 226Ra is determined by isotope dilution alpha spectrometry (typical resolu-tion of226Ra alpha sources is 30-60 keV FWHM) and 210Pb by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Themethod is selective and sensitive and provides reliable determination of 226Ra and 210Pb in 0.5-2g of soil and sediment samples with limits of detectable activities of 0.00016 Bq/sample and 0.006Bq/sample respectively.

Session 4 / 177

Assessment of actinides contamination in environmental and re-actor structural samples by Accelerator Mass SpectrometryAuthors: Carlo Sabbarese1; D’Arco Annalisa2; Filippo Terrasi1; Mario De Cesare1; Vincenzo Roca3

Co-authors: Alfonso Esposito 4; Antonio D’Onofrio 1; Antonio Petraglia 1; Nicola De Cesare 1

1 2nd University of Naples2 ”nd University of Naples3 University of Naples Federico II4 SoGIN


Long lived anthropogenic alpha-emitting radionuclides have been, and stiil are, released in the envi-ronment by nuclear weapon tests, nuclear accidents, fuel reprocessing operations and nuclear powerplants decommissioning. Among these the most significant are 239,240Pu and 236U.Quantificationof releases and tracking their dispersion in the environment has traditionally been the task of alphaspectrometry (AS) or, more recently, of TIMS or ICP-MS. Even if these are mature methodologies,each of them has its own limitations, which are largely superseded by Accelerator Mass Spectrome-try (AMS).It is well known that in Italy no Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is in operation, but the four dismissedNPPs are nowbeing decommissioned; moreover, the advancement of nuclear technologies has pushedour country to reconsider its energetic policy, planning for the future the installation of new gener-ation NPPs. Both the operations of decommisssioning of the existing NPPs and the possible futureoperation of new plants demand accurate investigations about the possible contamination by radioac-tive releases of nuclear sites and neighboring territory and of structural materials of the reactors.The monitoring activity of surveillance institutions uses assessed radiometric techniques, but moreand more ultrasensitive methodologies for the detection and quantification of ultralow activity ra-dionuclides is requested at international level. Among these radionuclides the alfa-emitting isotopesof actinide elements are the most critical, because of their toxicity, not only radiological. The radia-tion counting methods, due to the long half lives, do not provide the necessary sensitivity (tipicallyof the order of 50 microBq) and, in some cases, resolution (e.g. 239Pu-240Pu). On the other hand,mass spectrometric techniques are potentially more sensitive than alpha counting, but suffer theproblem of molecular interferences (e.g. 239Pu-238UH-208Pb31P).In the present paper we present the state of the art of a project aiming to establish an ultrasensitivemethodology for the measurement of concentrations and isotopic abundances of U and Pu at theAMS facility CIRCE, and to exploit this technique for the characterization, from the point of view ofthe contamination by U and Pu, of both environmental samples from the Garigliano NPP site andsamples representative of the structural materials of the building and of the reactor of the same plant,at present being decommissioned.Besides the characterization of the contamination of the site by ultralow level radionuclides, thenew facility will provide a tool able to fulfill the analytical needs of IAEA for the campaigns fornuclear safeguards against illegal nuclear activities and the military use of weaponry with depleteduranium.

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Radiolabelling of nanoparticles for life-cycle studiesAuthor: Karsten Franke1

Co-authors: Heike Hildebrand 1; Uta Gottschalch 1

1 HZDR


An increasing number of products containing engineered nanoparticles (NP) raises the question ofpotential impacts of the applied NP on the environment. During production, application and fi-nal disposal, NP-containing products undergo multiple physical (e.g. abrasion) and chemical (e.g.weathering) processes, that potentially influence and alter the availability and mobility of NP. Cru-cial factors for the fate of NP in the environment are the degree of particle release from materials aswell as the degradability/modification and transport behavior. The investigation of these processesrequires experimental tools for extremely sensitive particle tracking.Radiolabelling of NP enables a highly sensitive detection in on-line and in-situ experiments andallows to distinguish sub-processes within complex interactions. It is essential for the applicationof radiolabelled NP in experimental studies that the radiolabelling process does not alter particleproperties and that the radioactive labelling remains stable within the chemical milieu of the exper-imental setup. Therefore, the use of radioactive basic material for NP-synthesis might be the mostappropriate radiolabelling method. However, in some cases the investigation of commercially avail-able NP is required to represent the original properties of the materials used in industrial products.This study presents a method for the radiolabelling of Ag0-NP and TiO2-NP. The radiolabelling wasdone with 110mAg and 44Ti/45Ti, respectively. Labelling yields, stability tests and comparativeNP-characterization are presented.


A sequential procedure for determing Pu-238, Pu-(239+240), Am-241, Sr-90 activities in human bones obtained from joint replace-ment surgeryAuthor: Jerzy Mietelski1

Co-authors: Edward Golec 2; Elżbieta Szczygiel 3; Ewa Tomankiewicz 1; Joanna Golec 4; Kamil Brudecki 1; Sebas-tian Nowak 2

1 Institute of Nuclear Physics, PAS, Radzikowskiego 152,31-342 Kraków, Poland2 Traumatology and Orthopaedic Clinic, 5th Military Clinical Hospital and Polyclinic, Independent Public Healthcare

Facility, Wrocławska 1-3, 30-901 Kraków, Poland3 Physical Therapy Department, Institute of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Heath Science, Jagiellonian University, Med-

ical College, Kraków, Poland4 Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Department, Chair of Clinical Rehabilitation, Faculty of Motor of the Bronislaw Czech

University School of Physical Education, Kraków, Poland


This poster presents results of application of a sequential radiochemical procedure formulti-elementalanalyses for samples human bones obtained from joint replacement surgery.The grounded ashes of bones were dissolved in 6mol/L HCl. Samples were left for two days un-til bubbles disappeared. The tracers, i.e. 242Pu, 243Am and 85Sr, were added using an automaticpipette and analytical balance to determine the mass of the tracer solutions added. After completedissolution two subsequent precipitation of calcium oxalates was completed to obtain two fractions:1) transuranic (Pu+Am) and 2) strontium at pH 3 and 6, respectively.The pH was adjusted using am-monia. The centrifuged transuranic fraction was re-dissolved and oxalates were precipitated againat pH=3. It was performed to remove traces of phosphates which may cause problems during the

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anion-exchange procedure on Dowex-1 resin. In both fractions the oxalates were destroyed withhot concentrated nitric acid. The solutions were evaporated to dryness.Each transuranic fraction was dissolved in 100 mL of 1 mol/L HNO3. The oxidation state of Puwas adjusted to +4 using hydrazine and NaNO2 and after filtration and conversion into 8 mol/LHNO3, the fractions were passed through Dowex-1x8 (100-200 mesh). Am passes the column with-out retention. Th which together with Pu remains in the column, was eluted with 12 mol/L HCland then Pu was eluted using 50 mL of 0.1 mol/L HF-0.1 mol/L HCl. Effluents containing Am ionswere evaporated nearly to dryness, then diluted and next Am was co-precipitated with Fe(OH)3 atpH=9 adjusted using ammonia. Each centrifuged residue was dissolved in 4 mol/L HNO3 and passedthrough conditioned TEVA column (by Triskem International) to remove traces of Th. Am was sepa-rated from any traces of rare-earth elements usingmethanol-acid solutions. Both Pu and Am sourceswere made using NdF3 method and were measured using alpha spectrometer with Canberra PIPSdetectors.Each Sr fraction was dissolved in 100 mL of 3 mol/L HNO3, filtrated and then directly passed throughthe conditioned Sr-Resin (by Triskem International) column. After washing the column with 20 mLof 3 mol/L HNO3, strontium was eluted using 30 mL of deionized water, evaporated and purifiedfrom traces of 210Pb. The purified Sr solutions of 3 mL of 0.5 mol/L HNO3 were transferred intoa LSC vials and following determination of 85Sr recovery by means of gamma-spectrometry, theywere stored for at least 2 weeks to achieve equilibration between 90Sr and 90Y. Finally, each of thesolutions was mixed with 10 mL of HiSafe3 liquid scintillation cocktail and measured using Wallac1414 Guardian LSC spectrometer.The radiochemical procedure described above was developed over more than 10 years, and we prof-ited much from the experience we gained while completing many projects on Pu, Am and Sr deter-mination in animal bones Due to world-wide shortage of animal bones reference materials (RM) inmany of our projects, the soil matrix RMs were applied instead. However, the RM by NIST SRMAsh Bone 4356 have been recently certified for Pu isotopes and 90Sr. This material, as well as IAEAsoil-375, were thus analyzed to assure the measurements quality.


Relationship between size distribution of radiation-induced aerosolparticles and the deposited energy to the air in high-energy pro-ton irradiation.Author: Naoyuki OSADA1

Co-authors: Kaoru SATO 2; Kentaro MANABE 2; Sumi YOKOYAMA 3; Susumu TANAKA 4; Takao IIDA 5; YuichiOKI 6; Yukio KANDA 7

1 Graduate school of Engineering, Kyoto University2 Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency3 Fujita Health University4 Nippon Advanced Technology Co., Ltd.5 Nagoya University6 Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University7 High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)


High-energy proton accelerator produces radiation which induces radiation-chemical reactions ofthe air in accelerator rooms. The radiolytic product, such as nitrogen oxide, in the accelerator roomair forms a huge amount of aerosol particles. In this work, an air chamber was bombarded with a 50-MeV proton beam, and the number concentration and the size distribution of the particles formedin the chamber were measured. Irradiated air was aerosol-free pure air (N2 80%, O2 20%). Thebeam current, irradiation duration and relative humidity of the air were controlled precisely duringthe irradiation. The number concentration and geometric mean diameter were found to depend onthe beam current which indicated deposited energy to the air. The larger energy was deposited, thelarger size and amount of particles were formed. The smallest size of the observed particles was 8 nmin geometric mean diameter. One particle formation required the deposited energy of 15 MeV/cm3.

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Themeasurement indicated the formation of the particles had the threshold energy. In the beginningof the irradiation in the aerosol-free air, the radiolytic product is used to form the particles; however,after the formation of the particles the product was mainly consumed in the growth of the particles.The total volume of all particles had a linear relationship with the deposited energy.


Elemental characterization of bread and durum wheat by INAA

Author: Catarina Galinha1

Co-authors: Adriano Pacheco 1; Maria do Carmo Freitas 2

1 CERENA-IST, Technical University of Lisbon2 URSN-ITN, Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear


Cereals are the most significant agricultural crops not only by the sheer magnitude of their gross-tonnage production and prevalence in human diets worldwide, but also as food vehicles of importantitems for human nutrition and wellness at large – proteins, dietary fibres and oligoelements, suchas selenium, calcium, zinc and iron, to name just a few. Still, some micronutrients feature an un-even distribution in the upper continental crust, and thus in cultivation soils deriving therefrom.Whether soils have always been poor in an essential element, or have just become deprived of itby intensive farming, the result is the same: insufficient soil-plant transfer, feeble-to-nonexistentplant uptake, and, therefore, unsatisfactory dietary distribution of that element through the foodchain. Countries that implemented corrective programs of crop biofortification and consumer edu-cation have been successful in dealing with some micronutrients’ deficiencies. Given their relativeweight in Portuguese diets, cereals are obvious candidates for crop-supplementation strategies thatmay contribute to an upgrade in the health status of the whole population. A good knowledge ofelement-baseline data for major cereal varieties (plants) and main production areas (soils) is a pre-requisite though. The present work was aimed at an elemental characterization of cereals and soilsfrom relevant wheat-producing areas of mainland Portugal. This paper is focused on wheat samples– bread and durum wheats; Triticum aestivum L. and Triticum durum Desf., respectively – from the2009 campaign, collected at Alto and Baixo Alentejo (inland regions). Elemental concentrations weredetermined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA; k0-variant), and assessed with thek0-IAEA software. Quality control of the procedure was asserted through the analysis of NIST-SRM1568a (Rice Flour), NIST-SRM 1572 (Citrus Leaves) and GBW 07404 (Limy-yellow Soil). Results arediscussed and compared to available data from abroad.

Session 10 / 184

Revisiting the ultimate condition for applicability of k0-NAA: theconstancy of neutron flux parameters during irradiationAuthor: Frans De Corte1

1 (em.) UGent and FWO-VL, Neerstraat 20, B-9921 Vinderhoute, Belgium


In the development of k0-standardized neutron activation analysis (k0-NAA), a number of criteriawere identified and worked out both theoretically and practically, that should be taken into accountfor achieving reliable analysis results. Among these, the ones most frequently considered and re-ported upon in publications dealing with the implementation and the application of k0-NAA are: i)the choice of accurate input nuclear data (k0-factors; Q0-values; effective resonance energies; half

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lives etc.), ii) the characterization of the irradiation facility (f - thermal to epithermal neutron fluxratio; alpha - epithermal neutron flux shape factor), and iii) the calibration of the Ge-detector (de-tection efficiency; peak-to-total ratio). However, a hardly mentioned and indeed often overlookedcriterium, which was nevertheless identified to be the ultimate condition and restriction for the ap-plicability of k0-NAA, is the constancy of the neutron flux parameters during irradiation. Therefore,in the present paper this topic is again brought to the attention, not only dealing with theoreticalconsiderations but also considering practical aspects and giving examples taken from the daily prac-tice.


Characterisation of a Cu selective resin for use in the productionof Cu isotopes for medical purposeAuthor: A. Bombard1

Co-authors: A. Zulauf 2; B. Scholten 3; C. Dirks 4; H. Jungclas 4; S. Happel 1

1 Triskem International2 NUKEM Technologies GmbH3 Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine, INM-5: Nuclear chemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich4 Radiochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg


Cu isotopes (e.g. Cu-64) increasingly find use in radiopharmaceutical applications; accordingly fast,reliable and easily automatable methods for the production of these isotopes are of great interest. ACu selective extraction chromatographic resin (CU Resin, TrisKem International) developed for thefast and selective separation of Cu was characterized and a method for the separation of Cu from dif-ferent target materials was developed. The characterization of the resin included the determinationof k’ values of Cu, Ni, Zn and other potentially interfering elements and impurities for varying acidsand pH values as well as the influence of macro amounts of Ni and Zn on the extraction of Cu. Basedon the obtained results, a method for the separation of Cu, and its purification from irradiated Ni orZn targets was developed and tested on simulated Ni and Zn targets, and on an irradiated natural Nitarget. Cu yields and decontamination factors for potential interferents have been determined, andthe conversion of the Cu eluate to lower acid concentrations studied for the developed method. Itcould be shown that the CU resin has high selectivity over the tested interferents and that Cu canbe recovered with high yield and purity in a small volume of 8M HCl within few minutes separationtime.

Session 14 / 186

Ultra sensitive measurements ofTh-232 in copper by RNAAAuthors: Andrea Salvini1; Ezio Previtali2; Massimiliano Clemenza3

Co-author: Andrea Borio di Tigliole 1

1 Università di Pavia2 INFN3 Università di Milano Bicocca


Copper, thanks to its low content in radioactive contaminations, is a material widely used for shields,holders and others objects close to sensitive parts of the detectors in many experiments on Rare

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Events Physics. This imply that tools able to reach sensitivity of the order of <10-12 g of contami-nants / g of Copper are of crucial importance.A methodology based on Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) has been developed to obtain an ex-tremely high sensitivity in the analysis of 232Th in Copper samples. A detection limits of 5 x 10-13g 232Th /g Cu have been achieved through the irradiation of 200 g of copper sample which sub-sequently was been radiochemical concentrated using Nitric Acids and then Actinide Resin fromEichrom Inc. Several elutions with various inorganic acids were done to concentrate the 232Th acti-vation product (233Pa) from copper matrix and to also eliminate the radioactive background inducedby the neutron bombardment to reach an higher sensitivity.


Application of the CL resin to the separation and determinationof Cl-36 and I-129 in environmental and decommissioning sam-plesAuthor: Aude Bombard1

Co-authors: A. Zulauf 2; B. M. Mokili 3; H. Junclas 4; Phil Warwick 5; S. Happel 6

1 TrisKem International - FRANCE2 NUKEM Technologies GmbH - GERMANY3 Laboratoire SUBATECH (CNRS/IN2P3 / Ecole des Mines de Nantes / Université de Nantes) - FRANCE4 Radiochemistry, Department of Chemistry - GERMANY5 GAU-Radioanalytical, University of Southampton - UK6 Triskem International - FRANCE


The monitoring of long-lived radionuclides is of great importance for the surveillance of nuclearfacilities such as power plants, waste repositories and reprocessing plants, during their operation aswell as during their decommissioning. This is especially true for radionuclides of rather volatile ele-ments such as chlorine and iodine, main interest being in Cl-36 and I-129. Measurement techniquesfrequently employed for the analysis of these radionuclides like e.g. liquid scintillation counting,require a thorough and selective sample preparation in order to give accurate results. Sample prepa-ration methods employed are often elaborate and time consuming. An extraction chromatographicresin that allows extraction, and subsequent separation, of Cl-36 and I-129- from pretreated environ-mental and decommissioning samples was developed and characterized to overcome these issuesand facilitate Cl-36 and I-129 analysis. Some results of the resin, characterization including weightdistribution values (Dw values) of various cations and of Cl- and I- on Ag+ loaded CL resin, arepresented. Several methods for the separation and determination of Cl-36 and I-129 have been de-veloped based on determined resin characteristics and tested on spiked real samples. The results ofthese tests will be presented.


Fabrication and thermo-mechanical characterization of HEMAgrafted UV photo-cured biodegradable chitosan filmAuthor: Kamol Dey1

Co-authors: A.M.Sarwaruddin Chowdhury 2; Ruhul Khan 3

1 Department of Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh2 Department of Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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3 Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission


Life is polymeric in its essence: the most important components of living cell (proteins, carbohy-drates and nucleic acids) are all polymers. Nature uses polymers both for construction and as partof the complicated cell machinery. Development of polymer is a continuous process for achievingpolymer in a specific application under certain environmental condition. The bombardment of theinvention of different polymer field is increasing day by day. The natural polymer is biodegradable,easily decomposable and environmentally friendly. Natural polymer, chitosan was extracted fromdried prawn shell waste through the preparation of chitin and was characterized by FTIR. Thin filmof chitosan was prepared by casting from its 2% chitosan in 2% acetic acid solution. Mechanicalproperties like tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (Eb) of chitosan film were studied. Eightformulations (M1: 5% HEMA to M8: 40% HEMA) were developed with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate(HEMA) monomer in methanol along with photoinitator Darocur-4043 (2%). The film was soaked inthose formulations in dissimilar soaking times and irradiated under UV radiation at different radia-tion intensities for the improvement of physico-mechanical properties of the films. The cured filmswere then subjected to various characterization tests like Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy,Polymer Loading (PL), Tensile Strength (TS), Elongation at Break (Eb), DifferentialThermal Analysis(DTA), Thermo gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Water Uptake Tests. The formulation (M6) contain-ing 30% HEMA showed the best performance at 20th UV pass for 1 min soaking time. The highestTS, Eb and PL were found to be 31MPa, 71.25% and 26.38%, respectively, for the same formulation at20th UV pass for 1 min soaking time. The DTA/TG study showed that the film with M6 formulationat 20th UV pass for 1 min soaking time was more thermally stable than non-radiated chitosan filmand the other monomer formulations. The FTIR analysis revealed the crosslinking between HEMAand chitosan. This study creates a new field of research on chitosan using acrylic monomers and UVradiation to improve the inherent chitosan films properties for biomedical application.


Precipitation and purification of uranium from rock phosphate

Author: ELSHAFEEA ABOWSLAMA1

Co-authors: Adam Sam 1; Etmad Ebraheem 2

1 Sudan Atomic Energy Commission2 Sinnar University


This study was carried-out to leach uranium from rock phosphate using sulfuric acid in the presenceof potassium chlorate as an oxidant and to investigate the relative purity of different forms of yel-low cakes produced with ammonia {(NH4)2U2O7 }, magnesia (UO3.xH2O ) and sodium hydroxide(Na2U2O7) as precipitants, as well as purification of the products with TBP extraction and matchingits impurity levels with specifications of the commercial products.Alpha-particle spectrometry was used for determination of activity concentration of uranium iso-topes (234U and 238U) in rock phosphate, resulting green phosphoric acid solution, and in differ-ent forms of the yellow cake from which the equivalent mass concentration of uranium was de-duced. Likewise, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) was used for determination of impurities(Pb, Ni, Cd, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu). On the average, the equivalent mass concentration of uranium was119.38±79.66 ppm (rock phosphate) and 57.85±20.46 ppm (green solution) with corresponding lowpercent of dissolution (48%) which is considered low. The isotopic ratio (234U: 238U) in all stages ofhydrometallurgical process was not much differ from unity indicating lack of fractionation. Uponcomparing the levels of impurities in different form of crude yellow cakes, it was found that thelowest levels were measured in UO3.xH2O. This implies that saturated magnesia is least aggressiverelative to other precipitants and gives relatively pure crude cake. Therefore, it was used as an indexto judge the relative purity of other forms of yellow cakes by taking the respective elemental ratios.The levels of impurities (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb) in the purified yellow cake were foundcomparable with those specified for commercial products.

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Session 1 / 190

Development of a fast radiochemical method for the Tc-99m pro-duction by Neutron Activation and its cost analysisAuthors: Andrea Salvini1; Massimo Oddone1

1 Università di Pavia


The Tc99m is wide used in the world for SPECT diagnostic and its importance is great. In thisscenario Italy isn’t different and the lack of production for this isotope suggest to investigate otherway to achieve the needs satisfaction. Starting from well known production method by activation,the Laboratory of Nuclear Energy Applied (LENA) of the University of Pavia have developed themethod using Mo Oxide enriched in 98 isotope as target. The results consider also the analysis ofthe production cost.

Session 3 / 191

Nanotoxicology research:a great opportunity for the radionanoan-alytical chemistAuthor: Enrico Sabbioni1

1 Veneto Nanotech


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Session 10 / 192

Behavior of thorium on poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) grafted with cit-ric acid prepared using gamma radiationAuthor: Oussama Alhassanieh1

1 Atomic Energy Commission of Syria AECS


The behavior of thorium on poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) grafted with citric acid in HCl-media has beeninvestigated using -spectrometry. Various factors has been studied such as: treatment of PVP, con-centration of grafted acid, concentration of HCl, concentration of thorium, and contact time. Theresults have shown that thorium is adsorbed on the resins in high acid concentration (5-7 mol/l HCl)by grafting ratios of about 2%, provided that the prepared resin has been treated with hydrochloricacid or sodium hydroxide. The time needed to reach the adsorption equilibrium was relatively shortand the effect of the concentration of grafted acid is relatively strong.The resins were prepared by irradiation of ternary mixtures of PVP/Citric acid /water by gammarays at a dose of 25 kGy in air and at ambient temperature. The maximum swelling and the gela-tion % of the prepared resins were investigated. Swelling and gelation decrease with increasing theconcentration of grafting acid. The decrease of the maximum swelling is due to increased hydro-gen bonding between the carboxyl groups of the bonded/ trapped citric molecules and the hydroxylgroups of the polymer. The decrease in the gel fraction can be explained by the presence of the acid

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that leads to other reactions in the mixture and not preferably to building cross links between thepolymer chains.


Baseline background radiation dose and risk assessment studydue tonatural radionuclides in the edible biota ofDomiasiat,Megha-layaAuthor: Kumar Niranjan1

1 North-Eastern HilL University Shillong Meghalaya


A radiation dose and risk assessment exercise was carried out for the edible biota, Garra lamta,Brassica compestris var. dichotoma, Oryza sativa var.Shalum1 and Zea mays due to the naturallyavailable radionuclide 40K, 238U and 232Th in Domiasiat ecosystem of Meghalaya, India. A detailedmorph-physiological study of biota and the eco-geo-physiographical study of ecosystem had beencarried out prior to the dose -risk assessment. The activity in biota and the corresponding soil andwater sample was measured for the 12 months by precipitation method using NaI detector. The totalactivity of water was 0.3447 Bql-1 by the precipitationmethod using the 34.2% detector limit and 3000second counting time having detection limit of 0.03 Bql-1.The foremost point source dose distribution(source↔target) method and the recently developed FASSET were investigated in details. Garralamta was modeled using the former method whilst others uses FASSET and was concluded thatdeviation amongst two was negligible. The obtained transfer factor (TF) was Oryza spp. (1.00E-01-40K, 8.76E-05- 232Th, and 9.11E-05- 238U), for Brassica spp. (5.39E-01- 40K, 8.17E-04 232Thand 2.96E-04 238U) and for Zea spp. (3.41E-01-40K, 5.84E-05-232Th and 8.87E-05-238U) of each radionucliderespectively. The obtained total dose was 1.58E-04 in Oryza spp., 2.87E-04 in Brassica spp. and 6.90E-03μGyh-1 in Zea spp. and in Garra lamta 0.0199μGyh-1 finally compared with IAEA and UNSCEARdataset for the screening level dose for the fish (0.022-0.065) ,flora (0.1-1.0 mGyd-1) of fresh waterand forest ecosystem respectively. Zea spp. was found comparatively more susceptible for chronicradiation exposure.

Session 5 / 194

Principle and procedure for the baseline radiation risk assesmentto the non human biota of tropical ecosystem: an elaborative ap-proach at Domiasiat, IndiaAuthor: Kumar Niranjan1

1 North-Eastern HilL University Shillong Meghalaya


Radiation risk assessment in the radio ecological world is a crucial and complex process. The un-certainty associated with this need to be sort out. A closed system of natural forest of 5 kms atthe baseline level is taken into account. The varying radiation level was observed and the genericmachine data were simulated and the detail scenario characterization has been conducted using tenpremasters. The radiation (40K,232Th,238U )natural sink( Phudsyngkai) is identified and the refer-ence species (garra lamta fish ) of the prevailing scenario has been identified. Interaction matriceshas been drawned of the area. The BIOMASS model and FASSET has been implemented for au-thentication and it has been found that there is a great agreement between the prevailing naturalradiation accumulation scenario and the machine based simulated data(14 species). On the groundof that total of 40 edible biota has been assessed for the risk.It has been concluded that the natural

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phenomena in the universe has the great agreement with the machine intelligence and could beequate and described in the complex linear equation of physics.

Session 13 / 195

TENORM accumulation and management in refineriesAuthor: Enrico Rizzio1

Co-authors: Federica Devecchi 1; Giovanni Colombo 1; Roberto Fresca Fantoni 1

1 eni S.p.A. Exploration & Production Division


Naturally occurring radionuclides are present at varying concentrations in the Earth’s crust and canbe concentrated by processes associated with various industrial activities, such as the ones involvedin the recovery of oil and gas. This “enhanced” NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material)are also known as TENORM (Technologically Enhanced NORM) and their presence in the upstreamoil sector is a widely known phenomenon, that occurs because of the large quantities of productionwater usually present in the plants, that can carry up to the surface the radium-226 and radium-228 salts that form in the reservoir. In production plant therefore there might be presence of largeamounts of TENORM in the form of sludge, scale, mud, etc, with varying activity concentration andusually large presence of radium-226 and radium-228.

In the downstream oil sector, nevertheless, water percentage upon the total product (watercut) isusually very low, thus lacking the main reason of NORM presence in components for upstreamsector.

In this work, it is presented eni’s 4-step plan for the evaluation of TENORM presence in refineries,its characterization and the management of the risk coming from its presence.

The first step of the plan is a preliminary survey in various refineries, to detect the presence of ra-diometric anomalies on components caused by TENORM, comprising the collection of samples ofdifferent matrixes, potentially contaminated by natural radionuclides. Dose rate values higher thanenvironmental background were detected in some areas of the plants, i.e. the mud treatment area,the water storage tank, desalters, the cocking heater, the crude storage tank.Samples collected from these points showed increased concentrations of natural radionuclide, espe-cially lead-210 concentration up to 15000 Bq/kg, to be compared to radium-226 activity concentrationnot exceeding 200 Bq/kg.

Since TENORM are present at all, it was necessary to evaluate the exposure of the workers of theplant and to check that it is compliant to Italian Legislation dose limit, equal to 1 mSv/annum. Toperform the dose assessment, working activities are divided into 2 main categories, ordinary activ-ities that include plant surveillance and parameters registration, and extra-ordinary maintenancesuch as components cleaning, maintenance and decommissioning.

Next stage is the workers training, based on a general radioactivity induction and information aboutthe risk of the specific site. Eni also introduced contaminated components labelling with dedicatedsignals.

Finally, all the waste coming from these plants should be adequately sampled and characterized, toassure best disposal solution depending of their radiometric content.

Session 10 / 196

Chemiluminescence of luminol - sodiumhydroxide systemusinghemin as catalyst

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Author: Neeta Lala1

Co-authors: Mashitah Yusoff 2; Seeram Ramakrishna 3

1 Universiti Malaysia Pahang2 University Malaysia Pahang3 National University of Singapore


Abstract

The chemiluminescence (CL) emission spectra of luminol in aqueous sodium hydroxide [Na(OH)2]system has been recorded in presence of hemin using various oxidants. Hydrogen peroxide, potas-sium ferricyanide, potassium permangnate, and potassium persulphate are the various oxidants used.There is no emission of light observed when potassium persulphate has been used as an oxidant. Themicrophotometric traces of CL emission spectra are re-plotted on a linear wavelength scale. On thebasis of CL emission spectra resolultion the mechanism has been explained. A 460 nm band ap-pears for potassium ferricyanide when used as oxidant while two emission bands are observed forhydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate when used. The mechanism has been explainedby decomposition of transannular peroxide to form excited 3-APA which has been responsible forthe intense CL emission in presence of hemin.

Session 5 / 197

Half-lives of Pu isotopesAuthor: Suresh Aggarwal1

1 Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI)


Session 5 / 199

Half-lives of nuclides for geological use: 2011 evaluations for U-235 and U-234Author: Igor Villa1

Co-authors: Mauro L. Bonardi 2; N.E. Holden 3; P. De Brieve 4; P.R. Renne 5

1 Institut für Geologie, Universität Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche e Geotecnolo-gie, Università di Milano Bicocca, I-20126 Milano, Italy

2 LASA, Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN, I-20090 Segrate, Italy3 National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA4 Consultant on Metrology in Chemistry, Duineneind 9, B-2460 Kasterlee, Belgium5 Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science,

University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720

The IUPAC-IUGS joint Task Group “Isotopes in Gesciences”, TGIG, has evaluated the published mea-surement results for decay constants (i.e. half-lives) of U-235 and U-234 relative to that of U-238.A measurement result is generally expressed (VIM, 2008, entry 2.9) as a single measured quantityvalue and a measurement uncertainty. A significant part of the present evaluation was the assess-ment of the measurement uncertainties following strict metrological criteria (GUM, 2008).

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Following the counting experiments by Jaffey et al. (1971), which yielded the U-238 half-life stilldeemed reliable, albeit with a higher uncertainty, the endeavor in the geochronological community(Schoene et al., 2006; Mattinson, 2010) moved to determining the U-235 half-life indirectly, based onU-Pb dating of single crystals of zircon (natural ZrSiO4). The approach is based on the assumptionthat certain natural samples behave “ideally”, i.e. their 238U-206Pb and 235U-207Pb ages (hereaftert-206 and t-207, respectively) are expected a priori to be equal. However, in current practice only theconcentration N(U-238) is measured at present, and the concentration N(U-235) is calculated assum-ing a constant number ratio eta = N(238U)/N(235U) = 137.88. Recent reports on eta measurementsin magmatic rocks (Weyer et al., 2008) indicate that granites and basalts, typical magmatic rocksused for geochronology, have an eta lower by (0.031 ± 0.011)% relative to the NIST standard refer-ence material SRM 950a. In turn, the latter was measured by Condon et al. (2010), who report eta= 137.847 ± 0.012. Combining these two recent re-determinations, the typical granitic zircon grainsused for geological sample intercomparisons are predicted to have eta = 137.804 ± 0.021. From these,we calculate a provisional value for the 235U half-life of (703.44 ± 0.23) Ma (1s uncertainty), corre-sponding to lambda-235 = (0.98537 ± 0.00032) Ga-1.The 234U half-life (Cheng et al., 2000) was obtained following strict material traceability protocols,and had the explicit goal of ensuring the radioactive equilibrium of natural samples. The eta number-ratios of the NBL CRM 112a and U-500 reference materials that they used as spike and dectector cal-ibrators were subsequently revised (Condon et al., 2010). In particular, recalculating eta in Chenget al.’s (2000) spike using Condon et al.’s (2010) revised eta for U-500 also accounts for a shift in theeta for NBL CRM 112a. As a consequence, the half-life is modified by + 0.07 % to (245.44 ± 0.16) ka(1s uncertainty), corresponding to lambda-234 = (2.8241 ± 0.0018) Ma-1.

Cheng H., Edwards R.L., Hoff J., Gallup C.D., Richards D.A., Asmerom Y. (2000) The half-lives ofuranium-234 and thorium-230. Chem. Geol. 169, 17-33.Condon D., McLean N., Noble S.R., Bowring S.A. (2000) Isotopic composition (U-238/U-235) of somecommonly used uranium reference materials. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 74, 7127-7143.GUM (2008) Guide to the expression of uncertainty inmeasurement. www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/gum.htmlJaffey A.H., Flynn K.F., Glendenin L.E., Bentley W.C., Essling A.M. (1971) Precision measurement ofhalf-lives and specific activities of 235U and 238U. Phys. Rev. C4, 1889-1906.Mattinson J. (2010) Analysis of the Relative Decay Constants of 235U and 238U by Multi-step CA-TIMS Measurements of Closed-System Natural Zircon Samples. Chem. Geol. 275, 186-198.Richter S., Alonzo-Muñoz A., Eykens R., Jacobssen U., Kuehn H., Verbruggen A., Aregbe Y., WellumR., Keegan E. (2008) The isotopic composition of natural uranium samples—measurements using thenew N(233U)/N(236U) doublespike IRMM-3636. Internat. J. Mass Spectrometry 269, 145-148.Schoene B., Crowley J. L., Condon D. J., Schmitz M. D., Bowring S. A. (2006) Reassessing the uraniumdecay constants for geochronology using ID-TIMS U-Pb data. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta70, 426-445.VIM (2008) The International Vocabulary of metrology – Basic and general concepts and associatedterms, 3rd edition, JCGM 200:2008, http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/vim.htmlWeyer S., Anbar A.D., Gerdes A., Gordon G.W., Algeo T.J., Boyle E.A. (2008) Natural fractionation of238U/235U. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 72, 345-359.

Session 12 / 201

Paving the way to personalized medicine: production of sometheragnostic radionuclides at Brookhaven National Laboratory

Author: Suresh C. Srivastava1

1 Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, U.S.A.


This presentation will introduce a relatively novel paradigm that involves specific individual ra-dionuclides or radionuclide pairs that have emissions that allow pre-therapy low-dose imaging plushigher-dose therapy in the same patient. We have made an attempt to sort out and organize a num-ber of such theragnostic radionuclides and radionuclide pairs that may potentially bring us closer

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to the age-long dream of personalized medicine for performing tailored low-dose molecular imag-ing (SPECT/CT or PET/CT) to provide the necessary pre-therapy information on biodistribution,dosimetry, the limiting or critical organ or tissue, and the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), etc. Ifthe imaging results then warrant it, it would be possible to perform higher-dose targeted moleculartherapy in in the same patient with the same radiopharmaceutical. A major problem that remainsyet to be fully resolved is the lack of availability, in sufficient quantities, of a majority of the bestcandidate theragnostic radionuclides in a no-carrier-added (NCA) form. A brief description of therecently developed new or modified methods at BNL for the production of a number of theragnosticradionuclides, whose nuclear, physical, and chemical characteristics seem to show great promise forpersonalized cancer therapy will be described.

Session 1 / 202

National and regional capacity building for medical radioisotopeproduction: role of the IAEAAuthor: Adriano Duatti1

1 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)


Progress in nuclear medicine has been always closely connected to the availability of a variety ofradionuclides having both suitable decay characteristics and chemical properties to allow the devel-opment of useful diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Since there’s no ‘universal’ radionuclide capableto cover all clinical needs and imaging applications, nuclear medicine still relies on the supply of anumber of radioisotopes having different roles and relative clinical importance. For instance, de-spite the current emphasis on PET, Tc-99m still remains a key radionuclide for nuclear imaging withSPECT, and the recent decline of reliability of the supply chain of the father nuclide Mo-99, due tounexpected and extended shutdowns at the few ageing research reactors and processing facilities,has caused serious problems and patient’s damage particularly in those countries placed at the out-skirts of the radioisotope market. Similarly, the complexity of cyclotron-based technology requiredfor the production of positron-emitting radionuclides like F-18 and C-11, has partially hampered andslowed down the growth and diffusion of diagnostic PET in those countries having a limited networkof nuclear medicine centres. In this respect, the introduction of the Ge-68/Ga-68 transportable gen-erator system has provided a new convenient option for the widespread application of a new classof PET radiopharmaceuticals.The need of novel radiolabelled agents appears particularly urgent in the field of radionuclide ther-apy. Although radioiodine therapy is a well-established protocol, this specialty can be still con-sidered in its infancy mainly because of the difficulties supplying some relevant radioisotopes likeY-90 and Re-188. Recently, Lu-177 has attracted much interest due to the favourable nuclear proper-ties and ease of production through conventional research reactors. Since lutetium shares commonchemical properties with yttrium, the investigation of the clinical efficacy of analogous pairs of ra-diotherapeutic agents labelled with Y-90 and Lu-177 is currently an active field of research. It is alsoworth mentioning the rapid surge of interest in copper radiopharmaceuticals labelled with Cu-64or Cu-67. The rich chemical behaviour of the element copper combined with the attractive nuclearcharacteristics of many radioisotopes has strongly stimulated the research for this new class of ra-diopharmaceuticals and some promising product is already in the pipeline.In order to promote the introduction in Member States (MS) of new diagnostic and therapeutic ap-proaches based on the use of radiolabelled compounds, IAEA is deeply committed in the widespreaddevelopment of national and regional capacity building of reliable sources of medical radionuclides.This objective is commonly pursued through the implementation of both national and regionalprojects and by promoting research investigations in the field of radiopharmaceuticals by meansof Coordinated Research Projects involving a remarkable number of MS. All main topics and devel-opments are currently covered by on-going and programmed projects including the most relevantand promising radionuclides cited above. To mention a few examples, IAEA is supporting (i) thesearch of alternative methods of production of Mo-99 and Tc-99m including accelerator-based tech-nologies, (ii) the assessment of the clinical utility of antibody- and peptide-based Lu-177 radiophar-maceuticals, (iii) the optimization of the performance of the Ge-68/Ga-68 and Sr-90/Y-90 generatorsystems through the application of advanced separation methods, and (iv) the search of novel agentslabelled with Cu-64 and Re-188.

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Lectio Magistralis / 204

Epistemiological consideration on Radiochemistry during its 115years of developmentAuthor: Ignazio Renato Bellobono1

1 LASA, Department of Physics, University of Milan, and B.I.T. srl, Milan, Italy

In the first part of the presentation, some epistemological thoughts related to the connection be-tween CHEMISTRY and RADIOCHEMISTRY are introduced.About 40 years before the birth of RADIOCHEMISTRY, a great debate was taking course in CHEM-ISTRY, concerning the essence itself of this new-born science, from the question of atomic andmolec-ular weights to periodical properties of the elements and their compounds. Even if about further fourdecades before, the Avogrado’s principle, based on Gay-Lussac’s work, had been established, a greatconfusion existed. The first to have envisaged the potentiality of Avogadro’s principle and its cor-rectness has been a young researcher, Stanislao Cannizzaro, born in Palermo (July 13 th 1826), whowon the chair of chemistry in 1855, at the University of Genoa. In this University, he publishedin 1858 Sunto di un Corso di Filosofia Chimica, in which he gave the outmost value to Avogadro’sprinciple, by considering that if two gases, in the same temperature and pressure state, contain thesame number of molecules, the ratio of their two volumes gives directly the ratio of their molecularweights (what we now call formula weights).During the presentation of these principles by Cannizzaro, four years after Avogado’s death, atthe first International Congress of Chemistry of Karlsrule, in 1860, where also Dmitrij IvanovičMendeléev and Julius Lothar Meyer were present, the latter addressed to Cannizzaro a well knownappreciation (you gave us back our sight). Interpretation of CHEMISTRY on the light of Periodic Ta-ble of elements was the necessary presupposition, 36 years later, to the birth of RADIOCHEMISTRY.Two cases of epistemological significance of pseudo-discoveries in the history of Radioactivity arethen considered, the first one concerning Ausonium, Hesperium, and the discovery of nuclear fission,the second one connected to contamination by containers and to the eternal dream of alchemists,trying to convert lead or mercury into gold. Cameron and Ramsay (Le Radium, 1907, 4, 402) irradi-ated, by alpha particles, a very pure (or what they deemed so) aqueous solution, containing copper(II) nitrate and sulphate, and observed, by spectroscopy, the formation of traces of lithium, of neon,and of more considerable quantities of sodium. Their interpretation has been that radiochemicaldecomposition of copper (II) took place by this way.One year later, Marie Curie (M. Curie, E. Gleditsch, Le Radium, 1908, 5, 225) showed that it is ex-tremely difficult, by operating in glass or quartz containers, to obtain distilled water rigorously freeof lithium. By repeating the experiments of Cameron and Ramsay in platinum containers, no lithiumnor sodium could be detected. A lesson for all radiochemists.

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