Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes

David Glasgow; Ramkumar Venkataraman; Kayron Rogers; Brian Ticknor; Justin Knowles; Stephen Croft

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2023.169068

Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes

David Glasgow, Ramkumar Venkataraman, Kayron Rogers, Brian Ticknor, Justin Knowles, Stephen Croft

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Detection and characterization of fissile traces are of interest to the international nuclear nonproliferation community, including the International Atomic Energy Agency. Pre-inspection check samples are analyzed by neutron activation analysis at the High Flux Isotope Reactor operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory under the umbrella of the IAEA Network of Analytical Laboratories. The simultaneous quantification of U and Pu mixtures was accomplished using the combined delayed neutron (DN) delayed gamma-ray (DG) method to analyze cellulose swipes with actinide loading <1 ng in a blind field trial. The total fissile quantity was measured by the DN counts and the relative proportions of U, Pu were determined by calibration of the ¹⁰⁴Tc/¹⁴¹Ba fission product count ratio using known mixtures. The DNDG method demonstrated high accuracy in flagging the presence of ²³⁹Pu in uranium down to <100 pg mass loading. Peak significance tests helped to control false positive Pu flagging and simultaneous quantification of U and Pu loading was accomplished on samples that passed the significance tests.

Original language	English
Article number	169068
Journal	Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume	1060
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2023.169068
State	Published - Mar 2024

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The publisher acknowledges the US government license to provide public access under the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Safeguards for funding this research and for their very helpful manuscript technical review. The detection and characterization of fissile traces as various matrices are of significant interest to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for international safeguards and nonproliferation assessments. For several years, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has participated in the IAEA Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL). NWAL serves the IAEA through the isotopic analysis of fissile traces in IAEA Environmental Samples with funding and direction from the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Safeguards (NA-241) and the U.S. Department of State. A wide range of techniques, from gamma-ray spectrometry to high-resolution mass spectrometry, are employed to accomplish the NWAL mission.The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Safeguards for funding this research and for their very helpful manuscript technical review. The detection and characterization of fissile traces as various matrices are of significant interest to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for international safeguards and nonproliferation assessments. For several years, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has participated in the IAEA Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL). NWAL serves the IAEA through the isotopic analysis of fissile traces in IAEA Environmental Samples with funding and direction from the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Safeguards (NA-241) and the U.S. Department of State. A wide range of techniques, from gamma-ray spectrometry to high-resolution mass spectrometry, are employed to accomplish the NWAL mission.

Funders	Funder number
IAEA Network of Analytical Laboratories
NWAL
National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Safeguards	NA-241
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of State
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
International Atomic Energy Agency

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10.1016/j.nima.2023.169068

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Glasgow, D., Venkataraman, R., Rogers, K., Ticknor, B., Knowles, J., & Croft, S. (2024). Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1060, Article 169068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2023.169068

Glasgow, David ; Venkataraman, Ramkumar ; Rogers, Kayron et al. / Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes. In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 2024 ; Vol. 1060.

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title = "Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes",

abstract = "Detection and characterization of fissile traces are of interest to the international nuclear nonproliferation community, including the International Atomic Energy Agency. Pre-inspection check samples are analyzed by neutron activation analysis at the High Flux Isotope Reactor operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory under the umbrella of the IAEA Network of Analytical Laboratories. The simultaneous quantification of U and Pu mixtures was accomplished using the combined delayed neutron (DN) delayed gamma-ray (DG) method to analyze cellulose swipes with actinide loading <1 ng in a blind field trial. The total fissile quantity was measured by the DN counts and the relative proportions of U, Pu were determined by calibration of the 104Tc/141Ba fission product count ratio using known mixtures. The DNDG method demonstrated high accuracy in flagging the presence of 239Pu in uranium down to <100 pg mass loading. Peak significance tests helped to control false positive Pu flagging and simultaneous quantification of U and Pu loading was accomplished on samples that passed the significance tests.",

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Glasgow, D , Venkataraman, R , Rogers, K , Ticknor, B, Knowles, J & Croft, S 2024, 'Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes', Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, vol. 1060, 169068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2023.169068

Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes. / Glasgow, David ; Venkataraman, Ramkumar ; Rogers, Kayron et al.
In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 1060, 169068, 03.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Glasgow D , Venkataraman R , Rogers K , Ticknor B, Knowles J, Croft S. Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 2024 Mar;1060:169068. doi: 10.1016/j.nima.2023.169068

Realistic application of short-lived fission product delayed neutron, gamma-ray analysis for simultaneous nondestructive trace quantification of U, Pu mixtures on cellulose swipes

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