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Age-dating methodology for 137Cs ceramic sources

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Abstract

Age-dating of 137Cs ceramic sources is shown to be a viable technology for nuclear forensics investigations. The 137Cs age-dating method in general, however, could be substantially improved by using radiometric rather than ICP-MS measurement of the 137Cs isotope and by refining the Cs/Ba separation process. With these improvements, uncertainty in the age of a 60-year-old source decreases from 1.35 to 0.68 y.

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Acknowledgments

Argonne National Laboratory’s work was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The submitted manuscript includes information created by UChicago Argonne, LLC, operator of Argonne National Laboratory (“Argonne”). Argonne, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, is operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. The U.S. Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide license in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA

    Jennifer L. Steeb, Donald G. Graczyk, Yifen Tsai, Carol J. Mertz & David B. Chamberlain

  2. Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, PO Box 641024, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA

    Ashleigh Kimberlin

Authors
  1. Jennifer L. Steeb
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  2. Donald G. Graczyk
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  3. Yifen Tsai
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  4. Carol J. Mertz
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  5. Ashleigh Kimberlin
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  6. David B. Chamberlain
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Correspondence to Jennifer L. Steeb.

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Steeb, J.L., Graczyk, D.G., Tsai, Y. et al. Age-dating methodology for 137Cs ceramic sources. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 309, 999–1019 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-016-4712-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-016-4712-x

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