Developemnt of Rapid Monitoring for Dissolved Radioactive Cesium with a Cartridge Type of Prussian blue-impregnated Nonwoven Fabric

We have developed a rapid monitoring technology for measuring the level of radiocesium (Cs) dissolved in water. This developed technology uses a cartridge filled with a nonwoven fabric, impregnated with Prussian blue (PB). Dissolved Cs was absorbed and concentrated onto PB when water passed through the cartridge. Experiments were conducted by using water samples with 0.005-5 Bq L-1 of Cs. Results showed that the recovery rate was from 83% to 98% when passed through the first and second cartridge at a flow speed of 2.5 L min(-1) The recovery rate of Cs-137 at the first cartridge was over 89% at flow speeds of 0.4 L min(-1) Compared with the conventional pretreatment method, taking over 6 hours for the concentration of a 20 L water sample, this new technology should make available the perfolinance of water concentration more rapidly: about 10 mm for 20 L water concentration and about 50 mm for 100 L water concentration. Also, it is certain that an increase in the flow volume of a water sample would decrease the analysis time of a germanium semiconductor detector.