Impact of gamma radiation on the ruthenium deposited materials in a nuclear power plant

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2016

© 2016 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary During a severe nuclear accident ruthenium can form deposits on various surfaces inside the containment building in the form of ruthenium dioxide. Oxidizing air radiolysis products can interact with these deposits and volatilize ruthenium into the form of radiotoxic RuO4. The scope of this study was the gamma radiation induced re-vaporization of ruthenium from deposits on various materials representing surfaces inside the containment building. It was shown that humidity had an effect on the re-vaporization rates of ruthenium from epoxy paint. Some corrosion of various ruthenium deposited metal samples after gamma irradiation was also observed.