Determination of the Relative Amount of Fluorine in Uranium Oxyfluoride Particles Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and Optical Spectroscopy

Conference · Tue Oct 06 00:00:00 EDT 2009

OSTI ID:990583

Kips, Ruth; Kristo, M J; Hutcheon, Ian; Amonette, James E; Wang, Zheming; Johnson, Timothy J; Gerlach, David C; Olsen, Khris B

Both nuclear forensics and environmental sampling depend upon laboratory analysis of nuclear material that has often been exposed to the environment after it has been produced. It is therefore important to understand how those environmental conditions might have changed the chemical composition of the material over time, particularly for chemically sensitive compounds. In the specific case of uranium enrichment facilities, uranium-bearing particles stem from small releases of uranium hexafluoride gas, a highly reactive gas that hydrolyzes upon contact with moisture from the air to form uranium oxyfluoride (UO2F2) particles. The uranium isotopic composition of those particles is used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify whether a facility is compliant with its declarations. The present study, however, aims to demonstrate how knowledge of time-dependent changes in chemical composition, particle morphology, and molecular structure can contribute to an even more reliable interpretation of the analytical results.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 990583
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-67346; NN4003070
• Resource Relation: Conference: Proceeding of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English