Scientists find high stability of Chornobyl fuel particles — ScienceAlert

German scientists studied six radioactive fuel particles collected in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and found that the structure holding the nuclear fuel has largely remained intact. This indicates higher chemical stability of such particles than previously assumed, ScienceAlert reports.

The study was conducted by specialists from Leibniz University Hannover and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf in Germany. Their work was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Three types of particles

The studied samples ranged in size from 8 to 50 micrometres and came from two locations in the exclusion zone. The researchers divided them into three groups depending on how they formed during the reactor accident. Some particles are close to uranium dioxide — nuclear fuel — in their chemical and physical properties. Other samples are partially or completely coated with zirconium or fused with it. The third type formed as a result of the ignition of the graphite moderator.

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The different chemical composition may affect how these particles degrade over time. To analyse their internal structure, X-ray diffraction was used: each particle was rotated in a focused X-ray beam and measured from 2,000 different angles.

Radioactive material remains in the particles

The scientists found that in all three types of samples, the crystalline structure holding the fuel has been largely preserved. In their view, this may mean that radioactive substances are released into the environment more slowly than previously believed.

At the same time, the material has not disappeared, and such particles remain dangerous for decades. Inhaling them poses a serious health threat, while wind, erosion, or animals can lift them from the soil. The authors stressed that six samples are a small sample size, so broader research is needed to assess long-term environmental and health risks.