On October 26 a single week training course on the advanced radionuclide activity measurement techniques was completed at Chornobyl NPP. Experts from the LOKMIS company (Lithuania) shared their expertise with ChNPP staff.
Continual improvement of radiochemical analysis approaches and methods as well as operations during sample preparation and measurements using complex equipment has become the prerequisite for conducting the training course, since the up-to-date methods of radiochemical analysis and radionuclide activity measurements require continual practical and theoretical sustainment and enhancement for personnel.
The main task of the course was to provide the personnel of ChNPP laboratory with qualified training on methods of measuring alpha, beta and gamma activity of radionuclides. Special attention was focused on Agilent 7500 ICP MS mass spectrometer, which is used by the ChNPP water and radiochemistry measuring laboratory.
Mass spectrometry is a method of analyzing the substance which involves ionization of molecules of the substance, separation of the ions formed, and their registration. This method allows for quantitative and qualitative analysis of the substance.
The training course was carried out as part of the IAEA technical cooperation project UKR9038 “Supporting Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plant Units and Radioactive Waste Management at Chernobyl Site and in the Exclusion Zone”.
According to ChNPP water and radiochemistry measuring laboratory radiochemist Valerii Pyroh, such training courses are important both for the laboratory personnel and the ChNPP as a whole. “Using mass spectrometry analysis methods with the help of the equipment available in our laboratory allows to determine the radionuclide composition of ChNPP waste requiring processing and disposal in volumes determined by the regulations of Ukraine”.
“Continuation and expansion of such trainings will allow us to deepen knowledge on the practical use of radiochemistry, as well as to develop new methods and techniques of separating and measuring radionuclides, and to use the entire complex of mass spectrometric analysis more efficiently”, — emphasizes Valerii.
