PNNL

Abstract

We report on a cryogenic gas irradiation facility in the 1.1 MW TRIGA reactor at The University of Texas at Austin. The system was designed to produce radioactive xenon and argon for environmental studies, and it can be applied to produce other gaseous radiotracers. The system design includes modeling accident scenarios to ensure operation does not risk damage to the reactor and minimizes risk of release of radioactive material. The SCALE code was used to model a 30-day irradiation of one liter of Xe-126 and the predicted activity is 0.9 Ci of Xe-127 at irradiation end.