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Activation product analysis in a mixed sample containing both fission and neutron activation products

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Abstract

This work describes a radiochemical separation procedure for the determination of gold (Au), platinum (Pt), tantalum (Ta), and tungsten (W) activation in the presence of fission products. Chemical separations result in a reduction in the minimum detectable activity by a factor of 287, 207, 141, and 471 for 182Ta, 187W, 197Pt, and 198Au respectively, with greater than 90% recovery for all elements. These results represent the highest recoveries and lowest minimum detectable activities for 182Ta, 187W, 197Pt, and 198Au from mixed fission-activation product samples to date, enabling considerable refinement in the measurement uncertainties for neutron fluences in highly complex sample matrices.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development for funding this research under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, PO Box 644630, Pullman, WA, 99164-4630, USA

    Samuel S. Morrison & Sue B. Clark

  2. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, MSIN J4-80, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Samuel S. Morrison, Sue B. Clark, Tere A. Eggemeyer, Erin C. Finn, Lori A. Metz, Shannon M. Morley & Brienne N. Seiner

  3. Nuclear Radiation Center, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-1300, USA

    C. Corey Hines, Mathew D. King & Donald E. Wall

  4. Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-2805, USA

    Mathew S. Snow

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  1. Samuel S. Morrison
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  3. Tere A. Eggemeyer
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  4. Erin C. Finn
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  11. Brienne N. Seiner
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Correspondence to Samuel S. Morrison.

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Morrison, S.S., Clark, S.B., Eggemeyer, T.A. et al. Activation product analysis in a mixed sample containing both fission and neutron activation products. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 314, 2501–2506 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-017-5563-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-017-5563-9

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