In-plant measurements of gamma-ray transmissions for precise K-edge and passive assay of plutonium concentration and isotopic abundance in product solutions at the Tokai Reprocessing Plant

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:5291878

Asakura, Y; Kondo, I; Masui, J; Shoji, K; Russo, P A; Hsue, S T; Sprinkle, Jr, J K; Johnson, S S

A field test has been carried out for more than 2 years for determination of plutonium concentration by K-edge absorption densitometry and for determination of plutonium isotopic abundance by transmission-corrected passive gamma-ray spectrometry. This system was designed and built at Los Alamos National Laboratory and installed at the Tokai reprocessing plant of the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation as a part of the Tokai Advanced Safeguards Technology Exercise (TASTEX). For K-edge measurement of plutonium concentration, the transmissions at two discrete gamma-ray energies are measured using the 121.1- and 122.1-keV gamma rays from /sup 75/Se and /sup 57/Co. Intensities of the plutonium passive gamma rays in the energy regions between 38 and 51 keV and between 129 and 153 keV are used for determination of the isotopic abundances. More than 200 product solution samples have been measured in a timely fashion during these 2 years. The relative precisions and accuracies of the plutonium concentration measurement are shown to be within 0.6% (1 sigma) in these applications, and those for plutonium isotopic abundances are within 3% for /sup 238/Pu, 0.4% for /sup 239/Pu, 1.2% for /sup 240/Pu, 1.3% for /sup 241/Pu, and 7% for /sup 242/Pu. The time required is 10 min for the concentration assay, 10 min for the isotopics assay, and about 15 min for handling procedures in the laboratory.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5291878
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-82-1644; CONF-820713-18; ON: DE82018362
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ACCURACY
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
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ACTINIDES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ASIA
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
DENSITOMETERS
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FUEL REPROCESSING PLANTS
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
JAPAN
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
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NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
PHOTOMETERS
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM 238
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
PLUTONIUM 241
PLUTONIUM 242
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
POTENTIOMETRY
RADIATION ABSORPTION ANALYSIS
RADIOISOTOPES
SAFEGUARDS
SENSITIVITY
SPECTROSCOPY
TITRATION
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES