Digital autoradiography on C-14-labelled PMMA impregnated rock samples using the BeaverTM

Abstract

In Finland and Sweden the KBS-3 concept has been chosen for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel in crystalline rock. Recent experiments have shown that heterogeneity of rock may play a major role in the transport of radionuclides. Autoradiographic methods have been proven to be able to assist the characterization of heterogeneous structures. In this study we tested a novel filmless autoradiographic device called BeaverTM which applies a micro patterned gaseous detector in order to quantitatively map beta emissions from C-14 atoms. The studied samples were impregnated with C-14-labelled methylmethacrylate (C-14-MMA) and polymerized to C-14-PMMA with thermal initiator. The BeaverTM was then used to determine the spatial distribution of the C-14-PMMA by measuring the C-14 emissions. The porosity is determined from the amount of C-14-PMMA in the rock sample and results were compared to ones from phosphor imaging plate autoradiography. The resulting images show a heterogeneous distribution of porosity which arises from the different minerals. The samples were chosen from three sites that have been used recently for in situ diffusion experiments: Olkiluoto (Finland), Äspö (Sweden) and Grimsel (Switzerland).