Radioactive iron is produced by neutron activation of stable iron. Its concentration in reactor coolant is used to monitor the corrosion of reactor parts such as reactor fuel-cladding material and reactor structural components.

This technique effectively removes other activation and fission products such as isotopes of iodine, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and cesium by the addition of hold-back carriers and an anion exchange technique. The fission products (zirconium-95 and niobium-95) are selectively eluted with hydrochloric-hydrofluoric acid washes. The iron is finally separated from Zn⁺² by precipitation of FePO₄ at a pH of 3.0.

1. Scope

1.1 This test method covers the determination of ⁵⁵Fe in the presence of ⁵⁹Fe by liquid scintillation counting. The a-priori minimum detectable concentration for this test method is 7.4 Bq/L.

1.2 This test method was developed principally for the quantitative determination of ⁵⁵Fe. However, after proper calibration of the liquid scintillation counter with reference standards of each nuclide, ⁵⁹Fe may also be quantified.

1.3 This test method was used successfully with Type III reagent water conforming to Specification D 1193. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure the validity of this test method for waters of untested matrices.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For a specific hazard statement, see Section 9.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D1068 Test Methods for Iron in Water

D1129 Terminology Relating to Water

D1193 Specification for Reagent Water

D2777 Practice for Determination of Precision and Bias of Applicable Test Methods of Committee D19 on Water

D3370 Practices for Sampling Water from Closed Conduits

D5847 Practice for Writing Quality Control Specifications for Standard Test Methods for Water Analysis

D7282 Practice for Set-up, Calibration, and Quality Control of Instruments Used for Radioactivity Measurements

Keywords

anion exchange; ⁵⁵Fe; liquid scintillation counting; radioactive iron; radioactivity; Anion exchange; Cesium isotope removal; Cobalt isotope removal; Corrosivity--water; Iodine isotope removal; Iron-55; Iron content--water; Isotope removal; Liquid scintillation counting; Manganese isotope removal; Radioactive iron; Radioactive water analysis; Spectrophotometry--atomic absorption (water/wastewater); Water corrosivity; Zinc isotope removal;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 13.060.50 (Examination of water for chemical substances); 13.060.60 (Examination of water for physical properties)

Citing ASTM Standards

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