Comparison of calorimetry and DA measurement techniques for excess plutonium powders
- Westinghouse Hanford Company, Richland, WA (United States)
In December 1994, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards were initiated on an inventory of plutonium-bearing materials, originating from the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, at Vault 3 of the U.S. Department of Energy`s Plutonium Finishing Plant on the Hanford Site. The diverse and heterogenous forms of plutonium were anticipated to challenge the target precision and accuracy of verification methods employed by IAEA: destructive analyses (susceptible to sampling error); and coincident neutron measurements (requiring knowledge of material form and purity). Because of the diversity and heterogeneity of the plutonium, plant operators increasingly have used calorimetry for item measurements. During the recent advent of IAEA safeguards at Vault 3, destructive (electrochemical titration) methods were used to determine plutonium concentrations in subsamples of inventory items with widely ranging chemical purities. The concentrations of plutonium in the subsamples were determined and the contribution of heterogeneity to total analytical variability was identified. The chemical analytical data were compared with non-destructive calorimetric measurements applied to the same items. Measurement results, gathered by the operator and IAEA laboratories, showed total measurement variabilities for calorimetry to be comparable with or lower than those of sampling and chemical analyses.
- OSTI ID:
- 370671
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960376--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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