Determination of radio nuclides present in aluminium cut end rods from research reactors

Aluminium cut end rods from research reactors are decontaminated in Decontamination Centre of Waste Management Division prior to disposal or reuse of the equipment. This experiment is initiated to characterize the radionuclide present in the cut end rod which would help in controlling the exposure to the individuals working in the area. Health Physicist ensures that the limit of radiation field on the decontaminated cut end rods as set by the regulatory authority is complied. Present paper discusses about the efforts made to estimate the radio nuclides and their percentile in the material taken and thus the control of personnel exposure could be affected. Various techniques like chemical analysis, gamma spectrometry and range energy relativeness by aluminium absorbers could provide details about the presence of radio nuclides like 90Sr, 90Y, 137 Cs, 60Co, 99Tc. (author)