Krypton-85 chronometry of spent nuclear fuel

Balco, Greg; Conant, Andrew J.; Reilly, Dallas D.; Barton, Dallin; Willett, Chelsea D.; Isselhardt, Brett H.

doi:10.5194/gchron-6-571-2024

Krypton-85 chronometry of spent nuclear fuel

Journal Article · Fri Oct 25 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Geochronology (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-571-2024· OSTI ID:2476129

Balco, Greg ^[1]; Conant, Andrew J. ^[2]; Reilly, Dallas D. ^[3]; ^[3]; Willett, Chelsea D. ^[1]; Isselhardt, Brett H. ^[1]

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

We describe the use of the radionuclide ⁸⁵Kr, which is produced by nuclear fission and has a half-life of 10.76 years, to determine the age of spent nuclear fuel. The method is based on mass-spectrometric measurement of the relative abundance of fissiogenic Kr isotopes extracted from a fuel sample, and we show that it can be applied to micron-scale particles of spent fuel that are analogous to particles that have been released into the environment from various nuclear facilities in the past. ⁸⁵Kr chronometry is potentially valuable for identifying and attributing nuclear materials, grouping samples into collections of common origin that can be used to reconstruct the origin and irradiation history of the material, and verifying declared nuclear activities in the context of international monitoring programs.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

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:: 2476129

Report Number(s):: LLNL--JRNL-861096; 1091598

Journal Information:: Geochronology (Online), Journal Name: Geochronology (Online) Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 6; ISSN 2628-3719

Publisher:: Copernicus Publications, EGUCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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