Sensing ruthenium tetroxide Emissions : a spectroscopic study

V. Boudon (1) , D. Bermejo (2) , J. Vander Auwera (3) , G. Ducros (4) , S. Reymond-Laruinaz (4) , D. Doizi (4) , L. Manceron (5)

1 ICB - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne
2 IEM - Instituto de Estructura de la Materia
3 Service de Chimie Quantique et Photophysique
4 CEA-DES (ex-DEN) - CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire)
5 SSOLEIL - Synchrotron SOLEIL

After the Fukushima accident, it became essential to have a way to monitor in real time the evolution of a nuclear reactor during a severe accident, in order to react efficiently and minimize the industrial, ecological and health consequences of the accident. Ruthenium is a low volatile fission product but in case of the rupture of the vessel lower head by the molten corium, the air entering into the vessel oxidizes Ru into a gaseous form RuO$_4$. To monitor the presence of RuO4 allows making a diagnosis of the core degradation and quantifying the potential release into the atmosphere. RuO$_4$ is of prime importance since it can have a significant radiological impact. Here, we present the study of the feasibility of the monitoring by an optical measurement.

Domains: Physics [physics]; Nuclear Experiment [nucl-ex]; Physics [physics]; Nuclear Theory [nucl-th]

V. Boudon, D. Bermejo, J. Vander Auwera, G. Ducros, S. Reymond-Laruinaz, et al.. Sensing ruthenium tetroxide Emissions : a spectroscopic study. Journées du GDRI HiResMIR, Oct 2015, Creteil, France. ⟨cea-02509738⟩