Nuclear Seminar - RNDr. Marek Hupian (2.4.2025)
Wednesday 2.4.2025 at 14:00, Lecture room F1/364
RNDr. Marek Hupian (Department of Nuclear Chemistry Faculty of Natural Sciences CU):
Validation of spectrophotometric method for Ni-63 activity determination in radioactive waste
Abstract:
Radiochemical analysis plays a crucial role in environmental monitoring, nuclear facility decommissioning, and radioactive waste processing. Ni-63 is an activation product with a relatively long half-life and is classified as a difficult-to-measure radionuclide. Traditional separation methods for activity determination of such radionuclides are often time-consuming and resource-intensive. The presented results demonstrate the validation of a spectrophotometric method that replaces conventional gravimetric yield determination, significantly reducing the total analysis time and chemical consumption. By combining ion-exchange and extraction chromatography with cuvette-based spectrophotometric yield measurement and liquid scintillation counting, the accurate activity of Ni-63 was determined in both a certified reference material and radioactive waste. The method was validated using NPL-certified material and subsequently applied to a real sample of radioactive waste leachate. Compared to gravimetry, the method resulted in approximately 80% time savings while maintaining comparable accuracy.