Polymeric gel for surface decontamination of long-lived gamma and beta-emitting radionuclides

Sara S Mahrous; Emad H Borai; Muhammad S Mansy

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110834

Polymeric gel for surface decontamination of long-lived gamma and beta-emitting radionuclides

Appl Radiat Isot. 2023 Jul:197:110834. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110834. Epub 2023 Apr 26.

Authors

Sara S Mahrous¹, Emad H Borai², Muhammad S Mansy³

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Radioactive Pollution Department, Hot Labs, and Waste Management Centre, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: drsaramahrous.eaea@yahoo.com.
² Analytical Chemistry and Control Department, Hot Labs and Waste Management Centre, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Analytical Chemistry and Control Department, Hot Labs and Waste Management Centre, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt; Radioactive Waste Management Unit, Hot Labs and Waste Management Centre, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt.

PMID: 37130468
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110834

Abstract

Synthesis and characterization of strippable polymeric-gel solution based on a water-soluble polymer (PVA), plasticizing agent (glycerol), and chelating agent (8-Hydroxyquinoline) for the surface decontamination from ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co was carried out. Decontamination of glass and PVC surfaces was investigated in the present study, as a function of various chelating agents, gel-layer thickness, and radioactivity level. The decontamination efficiency was up to 95% for both radionuclides after 24 h of contact time with the contaminated surface. The obtained results suggest that the decontamination process of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co by polymer gel is possible combined by two mechanisms: chemically and physically.

Keywords: Strippable coating-polymer gel; Surface decontamination- (137)Cs– (60)Co.