Poly-borax complex-based spray coating

     a PVA-borax complex-based spray coating containing a Cs adsorbent was successfully developed for the decontamination of 137Cs-contaminated surfaces. The spray coating was self-generated onthe surface by borate-diol ester bonds after simultaneously mixing two solutions of borax and PVA with an adsorbent. The resulting coating showed better 137Cs removal performance than a commercial strippable coating (DeconGel) for 137Cs-contaminated surfaces of paint and cement due to the presence of Cs adsorbents such as PB and S-CHA, which have high Kd values. Compared with commercialized surface decontaminants, including strippable coatings, physical gels and SuperGel, which require special equipment for their removal after use and leave some residue when applied to porous surfaces, our coating could be easily removed from the surface after use by simply rinsing with water,including tap water, without leaving any residue, even on porous surfaces such as cement. Considering the simple separation process for each component (adsorbent, PVA, and borax) from the used coating using ultrafiltration, our spray coating represents a convenient, ecofriendly, and cost-effective option for the decontamination of large, contaminated surface areas after a nuclear accident. Although we carried out the radioactive test with only 137Cs, our spray coating could remove other radionuclides because bentonite and zeolite are wellknown ion exchangers with various radioactive ions, such as 90Sr2+ and 60Co2+. Therefore, it can be concluded that our adsorbent/PVA-borax complex-based spray coating has excellent potential as a new surface decontaminant and that it is suitable for various nuclear fields, including nuclear facilities during operation or decommissioning or emergency situations such as nuclear accidents or terrorist attacks.