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Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
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Elemental composition in sealed plutonium-beryllium neutron sources.

N Xu1, K Kuhn1, D Gallimore1

  • 1Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.

Applied Radiation and Isotopes : Including Data, Instrumentation and Methods for Use in Agriculture, Industry and Medicine
|December 3, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Five plutonium-beryllium (PuBe) neutron sources were analyzed using destructive chemical methods. This study developed a dissolution technique for accurate plutonium (Pu) and beryllium (Be) quantification for material disposition.

Keywords:
Beryllium assayICP-AESICP-MSPlutonium assaySealed PuBe neutron sourceTrace elements

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Area of Science:

  • Nuclear Chemistry
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Plutonium-beryllium (PuBe) neutron sources are critical for various applications.
  • Accurate characterization of PuBe materials is essential for safe handling and disposition.
  • Existing analytical methods may require refinement for complex alloy matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a dissolution method for PuBe alloys.
  • To quantitatively determine plutonium (Pu) and beryllium (Be) content in disused neutron sources.
  • To analyze trace elemental variations among different PuBe sources.

Main Methods:

  • Disassembly of five sealed PuBe neutron sources.
  • Development of a chemical dissolution procedure for PuBe alloys.
  • Quantitative analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for trace elements and beryllium (Be).
  • Quantification of beryllium (Be) using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).
  • Plutonium (Pu) assay via an electrochemical method.

Main Results:

  • A robust dissolution method for PuBe alloys was successfully established.
  • Quantitative data for plutonium (Pu) and beryllium (Be) were obtained for disposition purposes.
  • Trace elemental compositions varied across the five analyzed PuBe sources, indicating differences in manufacturing or material history.

Conclusions:

  • The developed dissolution and analytical methods are suitable for the disposition of PuBe neutron sources.
  • Understanding trace element variations is important for source characterization and management.
  • This work provides critical data for the safe and effective management of radioactive materials.