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Certification of Uranium Isotope Amount Ratios in a Suite of Uranium Ore Concentrate Certified Reference Materials

Journal Article · · Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/ggr.12409· OSTI ID:1897425
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  1. National Research Council Canada (NRC), Ottawa (Canada)
  2. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA), Buenos Aires (Argentina)
  3. National Institute for Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN‐HH), Magurele (Romania)
  4. National Institute for Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN‐HH), Magurele (Romania); University of Bucharest (Romania)
  5. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) Funaishikawa (Japan)
  6. European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC‐GEEL), Geel (Belgium)
  7. European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC‐KRU), Karlsruhe (Germany)
  8. Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC), Daejeon (South Korea)
  9. Centre for Energy Research (EK), Budapest (Hungary)
  10. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada)
  11. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  12. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  13. University of Ottawa, ON (Canada)
  14. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa (Canada)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Here, in this study, data from thirteen laboratories from around the world are presented for a successful certification of uranium isotope ratios in uranium ore concentrate (UOC) certified reference materials from the National Research Council Canada. Different mass spectrometric measurement principles (including SF-ICP-MS, quadruple ICP-MS, TIMS, MC-ICP-MS, SIMS and AMS) and measurement procedures were employed. In general, data from all sources exhibit good consistency with TIMS and MC-ICP-MS showing superior performance. The three candidate UOC CRMs (UCLO-1, UCHI-1 and UPER-1) have natural uranium isotope ratios with certified values of 0.5304(7) x 10-4, 0.5475(2) x 10-4 and 0.5361(4) x 10-4 for n(234U)/n(238U) and 0.007 2563(13), 0.007 2563(10) and 0.007 2542(11) for n(235U)/n(238U), respectively, with expanded uncertainty (k = 2) applicable to the last digit of the value given in the parentheses. Information values for n(236U)/n(238U) in these three CRMs, measured by AMS, are also provided: 10 x 10-12, 200 x 10-12 and 22 x 10-12. The uncertainties of the proposed certified values of uranium isotope ratios in UOC CRMs are superior to available reference materials, and the values of n(234U)/n(238U) and n(236U)/n(238U) show significant variation among the three CRMs.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
China Scholarship Council; Everest Scientific Research Program of China; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); National Natural Science Foundation of China; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001; AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1897425
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-21-21580
Journal Information:
Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, Journal Name: Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 46; ISSN 1639-4488
Publisher:
Wiley - International Association of GeoanalystsCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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