New research could make the task of decommissioning and decontaminating nuclear power plants more effective and less expensive. File photo by UPI/Stephen Shaver | License Photo

MANCHESTER, England, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Scientists in England have developed a new technique for sniffing out and removing radioactive cesium and strontium isotopes from nuclear reactor components.

The latest breakthrough involved the examination of a concrete core from a cooling pond at a former nuclear power station in Ayrshire, England.


Scientists analyzed the core, which was coated and painted, and found the strontium isotopes had bonded with titanium oxide molecules found in the paint's white pigment.

The core's coating did its job of sealing out radioactive contaminants from the concrete beneath, but researchers conducted experiments to better understand how cesium and strontium isotopes would behave should a coating be breached. They determined strontium would cling to binding materials while cesium would bond with clays and iron oxides found in the concrete's rock fragments.

The analysis was carried out at Diamond Light Source, the United Kingdom's national synchrotron science facility.

"This work shows the power of the techniques available at the Diamond synchrotron to meet the challenge of cleaning up our nuclear legacy and the university is working very closely with Diamond to develop facilities to support research across the whole of the nuclear industry," Richard Pattrick, a researcher with the University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, said in a news release.

Scientists hope their work will make future nuclear waste disposal and cleanup efforts more effective and significantly cheaper.

Researchers detailed their analysis of the concrete core in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.