Researchers used ultrabright x-rays at Brookhaven Lab’s NSLS-II to study the chemical makeup of simulated nuclear materials from Chernobyl, informing better containment strategies
Beamline scientist Sarah Nicholas is pictured at the X-ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM) beamline at NSLS-II, where researchers used ultrabright x-rays to visualize the chemical makeup of simulated nuclear materials from Chernobyl.
On this day 35 years ago, an accident at the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant created one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. As the reactor core melted, it generated a large amount of highly radioactive materials. Today, scientists continue to research those materials to determine the best methods of containment and cleanup.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, scientists at the University of Sheffield characterized the chemical makeup of a specific nuclear material found at Chernobyl, called lava-like fuel-containing materials (LFCMs). These materials, which are comprised of nuclear fuel and melted reactor components like stainless steel and concrete, behave like natural lava, solidifying to form a complex, highly radioactive glass-ceramic. While research has been conducted on LFCMs before, the level of detail those analyses could provide was significantly limited due to the challenges of handling these radioactive materials.
Read more on the BNL website
Image: Beamline scientist Sarah Nicholas is pictured at the X-ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM) beamline at NSLS-II, where researchers used ultrabright x-rays to visualize the chemical makeup of simulated nuclear materials from Chernobyl.
Credit: BNL