Electrochemical Decontamination of Metallic Surfaces Contaminated by Spent-Fuel Storage Pool Water

Abstract

It was earlier shown theoretically that the radioactivity released by spent-fuel elements into storage pool water is predominantly carried by positive ions. A new decontamination method is described in which freshly contaminated metallic surfaces are decontaminated electrochemically, resulting in smooth, shiny surfaces. This method, which uses current densities of ∼15 μ A/cm², is quantitatively and qualitatively different from earlier electrochemical procedures, where higher current densities of the order of milliamperes per square centimetre or even amperes per square centimetre were used.