Decontamination of irradiated Be from radioactive impurities by precipitation of hydroxides.

Decontamination of TV-56 grade Be irradiated in an SM reactor to a neutron fluence of 6 × 10 cm ( E > 0.1 MeV) from radioactive impurities by precipitation of its hydroxide with ammonia in the presence of a complexone, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), was studied. The decontamination procedure involved dissolution in hydrochloric acid, addition of the complexone, precipitation of beryllium hydroxide with ammonia, separation of the hydroxide from solution, and washing of the hydroxide precipitate. The radioactivity of the solutions obtained after each decontamination step was determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]