No abstract

No abstract

The possibilities of a non-destructive method of determination of the content of hafnium in zirconium alloys are studied. The method is based on excitation of the characteristic X-ray emission of the atoms of the object of interest, including the L-series of atom of Hf, by external beam of protons accelerated up to 2 MeV. The excited emission is modified by a wide band X-ray emission filter, which is made from pyrolytic graphite plates and measured by a Si-PIN detector. Optimal conditions for measurement of analytical signal were determined after experimental studying. It was shown that under the selected experimental conditions and the measurement time of 10 minutes, the detection limit of Hf in the zirconium matrix is equal 20 ppm. The ways for improving of the metrological characteristics of the technique in the presence of interfering elements are proposed. The content of hafnium and uniformity of its distribution in the cladding of nuclear fuel rod made from the alloy Zr1% Nb was determined.

The article deals with the influence of negative factors of working conditions on the health status of NSC KIPT personnel when working with beryllium. Beryllium and its compounds render a general toxic, allergenic and carcinogenic effect on the organism. The high biological activity and toxicity of Be is due to its chemical activity and penetrating ability. The chronic professional disease such as berylliosis occurs as a result of prolonged systematic exposure on the organism of adverse factors. Elemental analysis of biosubstrates provides important information, that in combination with symptoms and other laboratory parameters, can help in the early diagnostics of physiological violations associated with metabolic disorders and exposure of toxic elements. The blood and hair samples were taken from 28 people, among which 5 patients were selected as a control group, and a group of 23 people were former employees of the beryllium production. The content of chemical elements in the biological substrates (blood and hair) of employees was determined by nuclear-physical methods. An elemental analysis was performed on the analytical nuclear physics complex appliance “Sokol”. The methods based on registration of characteristic X-ray radiation of atoms and g-radiation of nuclei excited by accelerated protons is used. After measurements, data arrays were obtained on the content of 14 chemical elements (N, Na, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Sr, Pb) in blood and hair. The processing of data arrays was carried out using the principal component method which is related to chemometrics technologies. As a result of the work, an analytical program was composed in MATLAB codes which were used to determine the content of elements in biosubstrates that are most sensitive to changes in external conditions. This made it possible to identify certain groups of patients who have different health state indicators, as well as to see the similarities or differences between patients depending on the different concentrations of chemical elements in the blood or hair.