DECONTAMINATION FLANGE FILM CHARACTERIZATION FOR A BOILING WATER-REACTOR UNDER HYDROGEN WATER CHEMISTRY

Stainless steel artifacts removed from a boiling water reactor class 4 plant that operated under hydrogen wafer chemistry and experienced a difficult decontamination were submitted for oxide film characterizati on. The results reported for the corrosion film composition and struct ure are consistent with existing theoretical concepts for stainless st eel corrosion, spinel structure site preferences (octahedral or tetrah edral) for transition metal ions, and potential-pH diagrams. The obser ved zinc effects on film stability and lower cobalt incorporation are also consistent with these theoretical concepts.