CANDU-6 Moderator Research Articles

Determination of36Cl and12C-to-14C ratios on spent moderator ion-exchange resins from Bruce Nuclear Generating Station A

Accumulation of spent ion-exchange resins occurs during the normal operation of nuclear reactors. The development of procedures for the permanent disposal of waste resins requires detailed information on their radiochemical inventories, particularly for long-lived and potentially mobile radionuclides such as36Cl and14C. Methods are described for the analysis of36Cl and12C-to-14C ratios of strippable carbon on ion-exchange resins from CANDU Moderator Purification Systems. The results are presented for four moderator resins (B3M1, B1M2, B2M3 and B2M4) from Bruce Nuclear Generating Station A. Chlorine-36 activities were found to be comparable to those reported in the literature for Swiss pressurized-water and boiling-water reactors and ranged from 1.1 Bq ml−1 to 3.9 Bq ml−1 for the four resins. The12C-to-14C ratios were measured to be 180∶1 and 850∶1 for two of the resins. These values were of the same magnitude as those reported by Ontario Hydro for moderator resins.