Study of the interferences with the on-line radioiodine measurements under nuclear accident conditions

In this research the interferences with the on-line detection of radioiodines, under nuclear accident conditions, were studied. The special tool employed for this research is the developed on-line radioiodine monitor (the Penn State Radioiodine Monitor), which is capable of detecting low levels of radioiodine on-line in air containing orders of magnitude higher levels of radioactive noble gases. Most of the data reported in this thesis were collected during a series of experiments called Source Term Experiment Program (STEP). The experiments were conducted at the Argonne National Laboratory's TREAT reactor located at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). In these tests, fission products were released from the Light Water Reactor (LWR) test fuels as a result of simulating a reactor accident. The Penn State Monitor was then used to sample the fission products accumulated in a large container which simulated the reactor containment building. The Penn State Monitor proved itself to be a powerful research tool for the on-line source term studies since it can easily produce near noble-gas-free spectra during the real time studies occurring under simulated nuclear accident conditions