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Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 133

Evaluated nuclear structure and decay data for all nuclei within the A=133 mass chain are presented. The experimental data are evaluated and best values for level and gamma-ray energies, quantum numbers, lifetimes, gamma-ray intensities, and other nuclear properties are recommended. Inconsistencies and discrepancies that exist in the literature are noted. This work supersedes the earlier evaluation by S. Raab (1995Ra12), published in Nuclear Data Sheets75, 491 (1995).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Reactor Fuel Isotopics and Code Validation for Nuclear Applications

Experimentally measured isotopic concentrations of well characterized spent nuclear fuel (SNF) samples have been collected and analyzed by previous researchers. These sets of experimental data have been used extensively to validate the accuracy of depletion code predictions for given sets of burnups, initial enrichments, and varying power histories for different reactor types. The purpose of this report is to present the diversity of data in a concise manner and summarize the current accuracy of depletion modeling. All calculations performed for this report were done using the Oak Ridge Isotope GENeration (ORIGEN) code, an internationally used irradiation and decay code solver within the SCALE comprehensive modeling and simulation code. The diversity of data given in this report includes key actinides, stable fission products, and radioactive fission products. In general, when using the current ENDF/B-VII.0 nuclear data libraries in SCALE, the major actinides are predicted to within 5% of the measured values. Large improvements were seen for several of the curium isotopes when using improved cross section data found in evaluated nuclear data file ENDF/B-VII.0 as compared to ENDF/B-V-based results. The impact of the flux spectrum on the plutonium isotope concentrations as a function of burnup was also shown. The general accuracy noted for the actinide samples for reactor types with burnups greater than 5,000 MWd/MTU was not observed for the low-burnup Hanford B samples. More work is needed in understanding these large discrepancies. The stable neodymium and samarium isotopes were predicted to within a few percent of the measured values. Large improvements were seen in prediction for a few of the samarium isotopes when using the ENDF/B-VII.0 libraries compared to results obtained with ENDF/B-V libraries. Very accurate predictions were obtained for 133 Cs and 153 Eu. However, the predicted values for the stable ruthenium and rhodium isotopes varied as much as 10% of the measured values, and 109 Ag was consistently over-predicted by as much as 170%. In general, there is a larger uncertainty for modeling radioactive fission products when compared to either the actinides or the stable fission products in SNF. The relative C/E ratios ranged from a few percent for 137 Cs up to 60% and 100% for 106 Ru and 125 Sb, respectively. Limited or no radioactive fission products data exist in the current data sets for reactor types other than PWRs and BWRs. More work is needed in obtaining a greater diversity of radioactive fission product data. While performing this survey, issues leading to inconsistencies in nuclear fission yield data were discovered that specifically impacted the fission product noble gases. Emphasis was given to this legacy data, and corrective actions were taken as described in this report. After the fission yield data were corrected, the stable xenon and krypton fission products were predicted to within 5% of their measurements. However, preliminary results not explicitly given in this report indicate that the relative C/E ratio for the radioactive isotope 85 Kr varied as much as 10%. Due to the complex migration and the difficulty in measuring noble gases in the fuel, a more thorough investigation is needed to understand how accurately depletion codes can calculate these gas concentrations.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Improved Cumulative Fission Yield Measurements with Fission Spectrum Neutrons on 235 U

Two isotopically-characterized targets of high-purity (99.84±0.03%) 235 U-oxide and a neutron dosimetry package were exposed to a pulsed neutron irradiation using the Godiva critical assembly at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center. Following irradiation, the fissioned targets were counted with a broad-energy germanium detector. Estimates of the total fissions for each target were made using measurements of well-known fission products. The total fission values were then used to measure the fission yields of 21 fission products with half-lives between 636 and 119,700 seconds. Mean values of seventeen of the measured fission products fell within the 95% confidence level of the Evaluated Nuclear Data Files VII.1/b (ENDF/B-VII.1) using the larger of the two uncertainties: 84g Br, 89 Rb, 91 Sr, 93 Y, 97 Zr, 101 Mo, 105 Ru, 128 Sn, 129 Sb, 130g Sb, 131 Sb, 131m Te, 133 I, 135 I, 141 Ba, 142 Ba, and 142 La. Seven isotopes were measured to better precision than is listed in the ENDF/B-VII.1 database: 89 Rb, 93 Y, 128 Sn, 129 Sb, 130g Sb, 131m Te, and 133 I. Four of the measured isotopes were found to be statistically different from the ENDF/B-VII.1 database: 94 Y, 134 Te, 134 I, and 138 Xe. Two of the isotopic analyses conducted in this paper fit the parent and daughter data simultaneously. The parent-daughter pairs measured in this way were the 134 Te/I and 142 Ba/La pairs. The fission yield results obtained in this way are unique, especially for 134 I, because the parent and daughter half-lives are so close. Here, given the limited number of direct measurements of the 134 Te/I pair from fast neutron induced fission and the seemingly high estimate for 134 Te from previous work, it is likely that the value in this paper is more accurate; however, additional measurements of this pair are needed to validate this assertion.

42 ENGINEERING↗

High Angle Remediation Antimony, Mercury, and Pu-239/240 Contaminated Soil at LANL near Los Alamos Town Site - 18579

The Manhattan Project and early Cold War era operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) left behind soil contaminated with antimony, mercury, and Pu-239/240. TerranearPMC (TPMC) successfully completed a phased three-year high-angle legacy cleanup project to excavate contaminated soil from a steep, difficult-to-access canyon wall in the Upper Los Alamos Canyon Aggregate Area bordering Los Alamos town site. The first and third phases of the project (years 2015 and 2017) utilized a Menzi Muck (spider excavator) in concert with a 275 US ton telescoping crane to remove ∼158 cubic yards (cy) of mercury-contaminated rock and soil (i.e. media) from one solid waste management unit (SWMU) in 2015; and ∼70 cy of antimony contaminated media, and ∼65 cy of collocated mercury and Pu-239/240 contaminated media from two SWMUs in 2017. All soil excavated from the site was containerized in soft-sided 1.0 cy, 1.77 cy, and 3.5 cy IP-1 containers and shipped to an approved, licensed, off-site disposal facility. The crane was also used to move the spider excavator, field personnel, tools, the packaged waste, and restoration materials into and out of the canyon. In 2016, conventional but miniaturized excavation equipment was used to remove about 133 cy of Pu-239/240 contaminated media from four SWMUs west of both the 2015 and 2017 excavations. A total of 398 soil screening, waste composite, characterization/bounding, and confirmation samples were collected during the project. Media that was left in place after the excavation was sampled to confirm that human health concerns and environmental risk issues had been mitigated. This proven technical approach was the preferred method for cleaning up ∼426 cy of contaminated media from steep, difficult-to-access legacy waste sites within the Upper Los Alamos Canyon Aggregate Area between 2015 and 2017. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗