Research and development in radiation chemistry

It is since the start of Japanese Association for Radiation Research on Polymers in 1956 that the research on radiation chemistry has become active in Japan, especially for the purpose of industrial application. The industrial application of radiation chemistry is increasing gradually, and now 25 accelerators are installed for industrial use. The most popular application is that to the cross-linking of polyethylene coating for cables and wires by irradiation. Fabrication of wood-plastic composites has been started. Cobalt-60 sources for practical application are few in number, and used for preventing germination of potatoes and sterilizing medical supplies. Takasaki laboratory of JAERI was established to practice the researches which are difficult to be carried out in other laboratories because of high dose radiation, where the radiation polymerization of ehtylene, the solid phase polymerization of trioxane, the improvement of plastics and textile fibers by graft-polymerization, and the application of radiation to the preservation of environment are the main important research items. An example of the last item is the promising removal of SO2 and NOsub(x) in exhaust gas. (Wakatsuki, Y.)