Radiation Effects in Solution and on the Solid/Liquid Interface

The rates at which ²⁴¹Am and ²³⁹Pu are leached by triply distilled water from a candidate borosilicate glass 76-101 can be adequately correlated by the exponential, An = An₀l^−kt, where An is the concentration of the actinide in molar mass per square centimetre. The values for the parameters An₀ and k are 2.45 × 10⁻⁹ M/cm² and 0.024 ± 0.001 h⁻¹, respectively, over the period of 1 to 24 h. When the glass samples are irradiated with gamma rays from a ⁶⁰Co source of 1 Mrad/h, values of the parameters (1-to 24-h irradiation time) are A₀ = 5.6 × 10⁻⁹M/cm², k = 0.103 ± 0.004 h⁻¹ for ²³⁹Pu and A₀ = 2.2 × 10⁻¹¹ M/cm², k = 0.104 ± 0.003 h⁻¹ for ²⁴¹ Am.