Transuranic Contamination of Stainless Steel in Nitric Acid

Stainless steels coupons have been exposed to transuranic species in conditions representative of those found in a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. Stainless steel was prepared to different surface finishes and exposed to nitric acid of varying concentrations containing ²³⁷Np, ²³⁹Pu or ²⁴³Am for one month at 50 °C. Contamination by these transuranics has been observed on all surfaces exposed to the solution through the use of autoradiography. This technique showed that samples held in 4 M HNO₃ bind 2-3 times as much radionuclide as those held in 10.5 M HNO₃. It was also found that the polished steel surfaces generally took up more transuranic contamination than the etched and “as received” steel finishes. The extent of corrosion on the steel surfaces was found, by scanning electron microscopy, to be greater in solutions containing Np and Pu in comparison to that observed from contact with Am containing solutions, indicating that redox activity of transuranics can influence the mechanism of stainless steel corrosion.