Preliminary study of the removal of polonium contamination by neutron-irradiated lead-bismuth eutectic

A preliminary study was performed to remove polonium contamination by neutron-irradiated Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (LBE), which could act as a coolant and/or target for future fast reactors and accelerator-driven sub-critical systems. Experiments were performed to remove polonium contamination on quartz glass caused by neutron-irradiated LBE melted at high temperatures. Removal was achieved by baking contaminated materials in a vacuum. The polonium contamination could be removed to a great extent at high temperature, when samples were baked at above 300 °C. In particular, when the temperature was 300 °C, polonium contamination could be removed without removing other non-radioactive materials on the quartz glass.