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New methodology for uranium analysis in swipe samples for nuclear safeguards purposes

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Abstract

Environmental swipe sampling for safeguards purpose has been used by International Atomic Energy Agency since 1997, being a powerful tool to detect undeclared materials and activities. This work describes a new methodology for swipe samples analysis based on ultrasound-assisted acid leaching and compares it with traditional total digestion bulk analysis. The proposed method requires few preparation steps, decreasing the risk of contamination, reduced amounts of reagents and a good option to extract uranium from swipe sample. In a real case study, the swipe samples were collected in a conversion plant at IPEN/CNEN, Brazil. The measurements were carried out by ICP-MS and the results showed relative error lower than 0.96 % for uranium isotopic ratios for the certified reference material (NBS U200). The uncertainties were estimated by following the ISO GUM, with a confidence level of 95 %. The uncertainties percentage for n(235U)/n(238U) ratio of the samples ranged from 2.5 to 4.3 %. The values of uranium isotopic ratio obtained for each method demonstrate the viability of using the methodology proposed in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares—IPEN/CNEN, Av. Lineu Prestes 2242, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil

    Rafael C. B. Pestana, Jorge E. S. Sarkis, Rafael C. Marin & Elita F. U. Carvalho

  2. Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, 13400-970, Brazil

    Cassio H. Abreu-Junior

Authors
  1. Rafael C. B. Pestana
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  2. Jorge E. S. Sarkis
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  3. Rafael C. Marin
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  4. Cassio H. Abreu-Junior
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  5. Elita F. U. Carvalho
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Correspondence to Rafael C. B. Pestana.

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Pestana, R.C.B., Sarkis, J.E.S., Marin, R.C. et al. New methodology for uranium analysis in swipe samples for nuclear safeguards purposes. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 298, 621–625 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2467-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2467-1

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