Evaluation of Arklone for the Decontamination of Non-Combustible Plutonium Contaminated Materials

摘要

The use of Arklone (1,1,2 trichloro-, 1,2,2 trifluoroethane) as a decontamination reagent for plutonium contaminated non-combustible wastes has been investigated on a laboratory scale. Arklone has been found to be effective for the removal of loose Pu0 sub 2 contamination -in particular from organic surfaces - from both synthetic and genuine waste. Of the range of contacting techniques investigated, ultrasonics was the best, though vibrocleaning and low pressure spraying performed well. For painted mild steel, paint stripping followed by treatment with Marshall's solution (an aqueous solution of oxalic acid and hydrogen peroxide) cleaned the surface to below 10 sup -4 mu Ci/cm sup 2 . Alternatively , electrochemical techniques could be used - particularly electrodissolution in nitric acid for stainless steel - to reduce contamination levels to 10 sup -5 mu Ci/cm sup 2 . (ERA citation 13:008512)