National nuclear forensics libraries: a case study on benefits and possibilities for identification of sealed radioactive sources

Journal Article · Wed Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-08100-4· OSTI ID:1922648

Vesterlund, Anna ^[1]; Canaday, Jody ^[2]; Chamberlain, David B. ^[2]; Curry, Michael R. ^[3]; Sandström, Björn ^[1]; Schnaars, David D. ^[3]; Ramebäck, Henrik ^[1]

---

1. Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) (Sweden)
2. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
3. US Department of State, Washington, DC (United States). Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation

A National Nuclear Forensic Library (NNFL) is a useful nuclear forensics tool which consists of information and subject matter expertise on radioactive and nuclear (RN) materials produced, used or stored within a State. If RN material is found out of regulatory control the NNFL can be used as part of a nuclear forensics investigation to help identify whether or not the material is consistent with a country’s national holdings. In previous work, a number of signatures which can be useful to identify sealed sources of ²⁴¹Am were investigated. To validate the measurement results, an official query concerning information about two of the previously investigated ²⁴¹Am sources was sent to the United States Department of State, the international point-of-contact (POC) for the U.S. NNFL. The aim of this work is to show how data obtained in a characterization of a radioactive source can be used in conjunction with an NNFL to investigate the history of a source out of regulatory control.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency; USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1922648
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 23109148
• Journal Information: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 331; ISSN 0236-5731
• Publisher: Springer
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
National Nuclear Forensic Library
Nuclear forensics
Radioactive sources