Determination of elemental impurities in polymer materials of electrical cables for use in safety systems of nuclear power plants and for data transfer in the Large Hadron Collider by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Using instrumental neutron activation analysis with both short- and long-time irradiations, we determined up to 38 elements in polymers used in cables for new nuclear power plants (NPP) generation and for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Contrary to our previous work concerning the element contents in polymers presently used in several NPP, the values found in new cables for NPP were mostly below maximum allowable contents set by European regulations. In case of cables for LHC, several trials were needed to obtain a cable, whose polymer materials satisfied the requirement of an international guide on halogen-free composition.