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New reference materials for trace-levels of actinide elements in plutonium

  • Richard M. Essex EMAIL logo , Lav Tandon , Amy Gaffney , Cole R. Hexel , Debbie A. Bostick , Lisa M. Colletti , Diana L. Decker , Casey C. Finstad , Joe M. Giaquinto , Elmer Lujan , John D. Partridge , Benjamin D. Roach , John Rolinson , Kyle Samperton , Alice K. Slemmons , Khalil J. Spencer , Floyd E. Stanley , Lisa E. Townsend , Kerri C. Treinen , Ross W. Williams , Christopher G. Worley and Ning Xu
Published/Copyright: November 12, 2021
Radiochimica Acta
From the journal Radiochimica Acta Volume 110 Issue 1

Abstract

Two plutonium oxides were prepared as unique reference materials for measurement of actinide elements present as trace constituents. Each reference material unit is approximately 200 mg of PuO2 powder in a quartz glass bottle. Characterized attributes of the oxides included mass fractions of plutonium, americium, neptunium, and uranium. Isotope-amount ratios were also determined for plutonium and uranium, but neptunium and americium were observed to be monoisotopic 237Np and 241Am. Measurements for characterization and verification of the attributes show that plutonium and trace actinides are homogeneous with the exception of limited heterogeneity for uranium, primarily observed for the 238U isotope. Model purification ages calculated from measured americium and uranium attribute values are consistent with material histories and indicate that these impurities are predominantly due to the decay of plutonium isotopes.

Keywords: americium; neptunium; nuclear forensics; plutonium; reference material; uranium
Corresponding author: Richard M. Essex, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8462, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA, E-mail:

Acknowledgements

Funding for the production, characterization, and verification work at LANL, LLNL and ORNL and project coordination activities at NIST was provided by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

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Received: 2021-08-24
Accepted: 2021-10-29
Published Online: 2021-11-12
Published in Print: 2022-01-27

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Papers
  3. Activation cross sections of some neutron-induced reactions in the energy range of 13.82–14.71 MeV
  4. New reference materials for trace-levels of actinide elements in plutonium
  5. Adsorption properties and mechanism of uranium by three biomass materials
  6. Synthesis of “(aminomethyl)phosphonic acid-functionalized graphene oxide”, and comparison of its adsorption properties for thorium(IV) ion, with plain graphene oxide
  7. Review
  8. Application of response surface method in the separation of radioactive material: a review
  9. Original Paper
  10. Preparation, characterization, and bioevaluation of 99mTc-famotidine as a selective radiotracer for peptic ulcer disorder detection in mice
https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2021-1095
Keywords for this article
americium; neptunium; nuclear forensics; plutonium; reference material; uranium

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Papers
  3. Activation cross sections of some neutron-induced reactions in the energy range of 13.82–14.71 MeV
  4. New reference materials for trace-levels of actinide elements in plutonium
  5. Adsorption properties and mechanism of uranium by three biomass materials
  6. Synthesis of “(aminomethyl)phosphonic acid-functionalized graphene oxide”, and comparison of its adsorption properties for thorium(IV) ion, with plain graphene oxide
  7. Review
  8. Application of response surface method in the separation of radioactive material: a review
  9. Original Paper
  10. Preparation, characterization, and bioevaluation of 99mTc-famotidine as a selective radiotracer for peptic ulcer disorder detection in mice
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