Radiation imaging technology for nuclear materials safeguards
Gamma-ray and neutron imaging technology is emerging as a useful tool for nuclear materials safeguards. Principal applications include improvement in accuracy for nondestructive assay of heterogeneous material (e.g., residues) and wide-area imaging of nuclear material in facilities (e.g., holdup). Portable gamma cameras with gamma-ray spectroscopy are available commercially and are being applied to holdup measurements. The technology has the potential to significantly reduce effort and exposure in holdup campaigns; and, with imaging, some of the limiting assumptions required for conventional holdup analysis can be relaxed, resulting in a more general analysis. Methods to analyze spectroscopic-imaging data to assay plutonium and uranium in processing equipment are being development. Results of holdup measurements using a commercial, portable gamma-cameras are presented. The authors are also developing fast neutron imaging techniques for NDA, search, and holdup. Fast neutron imaging provides a direct measurement of the source of neutrons and is relatively insensitive to surroundings when compared to thermal or epithermal neutron imaging. The technology is well-suited for in-process inventory measurements and verification of materials in interim storage, for which gamma-ray measurements may be inadequate due to self-shielding. Results of numerical simulations to predict the performance of fast-neutron telescopes for safeguards applications are presented.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 554860
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-97-3130; CONF-970744-; ON: DE98001331; TRN: 98:008890
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 38. annual meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials management, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 20-24 Jul 1997; Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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