Chemical alteration of 238Pu-loaded borosilicate glass under saturated leaching conditions

Highly radioactive 238Pu-doped and non-radioactive samples of borosilicate glass with chemical compositions and synthesis routine similar to SON68 glass were studied under static saturated leaching conditions in distilled water at 90 °C. Dramatic differences in behavior of the radioactive and model glasses were observed. On time scale of 4 months the radioactive glass is fully covered by mechanically unstable alteration layer, possibly consisting of aluminum hydroxides with small fraction of a separate secondary Pu bearing phase. The model glass remains virtually pristine. Addition of Eu3+ into the glass allowed examination of the glass radio- and photoluminescence and to assess changes or REE3+ impurity local environment during self-irradiation and leaching. Photoluminescence spectra suggest more ordered local environment of europium ions in the alteration “gel” than in the bulk glass. Peculiar behavior of the photoluminescence spectra excited at different laser power is observed for the alteration layer and is ascribed to optical bleaching of color centers.

Application of long time artificial optical bleaching of the E1’ centre to sediment ESR dating

Three quartz samples extracted from different origins were collected for ESR evaluation to appreciate the optical bleaching characteristics of the E1’ centre in a long time scale. After exposure of about 400 hours to artificial sunlight, the E1’ centre were bleached to a steady increasing level, about 2.5 times of its natural level, and the increase level also exhibit a small variability among different sample origins. The constant increasing level provide a significantly evidence for the potential use of the natural signal intensities of quartz E1’ centre in tracing sediment provenance. The results show that the signal intensity of E1’ centre increased within beginning 84 h and decreased after 202 h as previous researches have partly predicted. After long time exposed to sunlight, there is no correlation between irradiated samples’ dose rate and its E1’ centre ESR signal intensity. Thus, no new convenient indication shed light on the possible use of the E1’ centre for ESR sediment dating.