Determination of hydrazine at Ontario nuclear power plants

Published in: [Analytical Methods Journal – October, 2015]

Authors:
[Slobodan V. Jovanovic, Thomas Zakharov, Hemendra Mulye, Duck Kim, and Kelly-Anne Fagan]
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)

Abstract

The CNSC has developed and validated a sensitive and accurate method for the environmental monitoring of hydrazine releases in fresh water, which can be used for regulatory compliance and monitoring purposes. Hydrazine is a colourless and flammable hazardous liquid, which is used as a corrosion inhibitor in nuclear power plants, and which is often difficult to accurately measure. 

The article titled Determination of Hydrazine at Ontario Nuclear Power Plants was published in the Analytical Methods Journal. It describes the method for the determination of hydrazine in lake and river water, using ion chromatography with an amperometric detector (a tool for detecting the ions in a solution based on electric current or changes in electric current) with very low limits of detection and quantification. To validate the method, water samples were taken from Lake Huron, near the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in August 2014, and from Lake Ontario near the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in October 2014. The concentrations of hydrazine in the lake water samples measured were from 0.02 to 0.03 micrograms per litre, well below the Canadian Federal Environmental Quality Guideline of 2.6 micrograms per litre.

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