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Application of the 226Ra–230Th–234U and 227Ac–231Pa–235U radiochronometers to UF6 cylinders

Journal Article · · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
 [1];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
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Uranium-series radiometric dating was performed on two well-pedigreed UF6 cylinder samples containing highly enriched uranium that were in use at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s. Daughter–parent (i.e. 231Pa–235U, 230Th–234U) radiometric ages determined on solid heel materials (e.g. UO2F2, UF4) recovered from the emptied cylinders are unrealistically old due to the preferential sequestration of progeny isotopes relative to uranium within the solid heels. Furthermore, limited elemental fractionation amongst the progeny isotopes themselves in the heel material allowed for realistic age constraints on the fill dates of the UF6 cylinders to be extracted from the granddaughter–daughter systems (i.e. 226Ra–230Th, 227Ac–231Pa).

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1466910
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 22734458
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--747574; 932482
Journal Information:
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 317; ISSN 0236-5731
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (5)

Developing 226Ra and 227Ac age-dating techniques for nuclear forensics to gain insight from concordant and non-concordant radiochronometers journal September 2015
Application of the 226Ra–230Th–234U and 227Ac–231Pa–235U radiochronometers to uranium certified reference materials journal November 2017
The half-lives of uranium-234 and thorium-230 journal August 2000
235U–231Pa age dating of uranium materials for nuclear forensic investigations journal January 2013
Precision Measurement of Half-Lives and Specific Activities of U 235 and U 238 journal November 1971

Figures / Tables (14)

Table 1(p. 15)table Table 1
Table 2(p. 15)table Table 2
Table 3(p. 15)table Table 3
Table 4(p. 15)table Table 4
Table 5(p. 15)table Table 5
Table 6(p. 16)table Table 6
Table 7(p. 16)table Table 7
Fig 1(p. 17)figure Fig 1
Fig 2(p. 18)figure Fig 2
Fig. 3(p. 19)figure Fig. 3
Fig. 4(p. 20)figure Fig. 4
Fig. 5(p. 21)figure Fig. 5
Fig 6(p. 22)figure Fig 6
Fig 7(p. 23)figure Fig 7

Similar Records

Application of the 226Ra-230Th-234U and 227Ac-231Pa-235U radiochronometers to UF6 Cylinders
Technical Report · Sun Jan 28 23:00:00 EST 2018 · OSTI ID:1430909
Application of the 226Ra–230Th–234U and 227Ac–231Pa–235U radiochronometers to uranium certified reference materials
Journal Article · Sun Nov 05 23:00:00 EST 2017 · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry · OSTI ID:1424080

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Age-dating
Isotope dilution MC-ICP-MS
Nuclear forensics
U-series radiochronometry
Uranium hexafluoride