Study on CCN activity of fission product aerosols (CsI and CsOH) and their effect on size and other properties

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses the size resolved cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) properties of two cesium bound compounds viz. CsI and CsOH. These properties are important in context of risk analysis and management of probable environmental releases during postulated nuclear reactor accident conditions. If released as fission product aerosols, these particles have potential to act as CCN, when exposed to humid environment. On activation, their evolution-deposition dynamics and consequently fate is expected to be affected in closed and/or open atmosphere. Size resolved CCN efficiency spectra (20–300 nm) are obtained for 0.2–1% supersaturation (SS) for pure CsI and CsOH particles employing a DMT-CCN counter. The essential parameters estimated from these measurements are activation diameter and size-averaged hygroscopicity (κ) at targeted SS levels. Experimental results were also compared with the standard theories available in the literature. Accuracy of the deposition rates for these particles (if released) in reactor component systems estimated by nuclear reactor accident analyses codes will improve when CCN properties are also taken into account. CCN efficiency spectra and activation diameters at specific SS for CsI and CsOH particles are being reported for the first time. Information on these properties strengthen the database which is vital for simulating behavioral characteristics of these particles. This in turn has capability to improve environmental source term estimations in the most unlikely scenario of containment breach during severe reactor accident conditions.