In-toto non-destructive assay methodology for the elimination of metallic waste from particle accelerators after melting

Patrycja Dyrcz; Nabil Menaa; Matteo Magistris; Chris Theis; Luca Bruno; Gerald Dumont; Renaud Charousset

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110991

In-toto non-destructive assay methodology for the elimination of metallic waste from particle accelerators after melting

Appl Radiat Isot. 2023 Nov:201:110991. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110991. Epub 2023 Aug 19.

Authors

Patrycja Dyrcz¹, Nabil Menaa², Matteo Magistris², Chris Theis², Luca Bruno², Gerald Dumont², Renaud Charousset²

Affiliations

¹ CERN, CH-1211 Meyrin, Switzerland. Electronic address: patrycja.kinga.dyrcz@cern.ch.
² CERN, CH-1211 Meyrin, Switzerland.

PMID: 37643555
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110991

Abstract

Melting of metallic waste reduces the waste volume, allows more accurate radiological characterization, and minimizes handling at the waste production site. This paper proposes a new non-destructive assay methodology to radiologically characterize low- and intermediate-level (LILW) waste before melting. A non-destructive assay technique is developed and qualified using geometry optimization technique and sample analysis after melting. Additionally, we present an operational methodology to predict the activity values of the major gamma emitters based on the average dose rate measurements.

Keywords: Gamma spectrometry; Geometry modelling; Geometry optimization; Melting; Radioactive waste characterization; Radiochemical analysis.