Abstract
Estimation of very low amount up to pico-gram of Am and Pu in the liquid waste of U–Pu fuel cycle of the irradiated U fuel from the nuclear reactor has been carried out using combined method of α- and γ-ray spectrometric techniques. 241Am was estimated by γ-ray spectrometry from a plancheted source. In spite of the same α energy of 5.49 MeV for 241Am and 238Pu, the amount 238Pu was estimated by α spectrometry from the same plancheted source after subtracting amount of the 241Am obtained from γ-ray spectrometry. The amount of Am and Pu obtained by this technique is found to be superior compared to other techniques even in the presence of Th, U and fission products.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to Dr. A. Goswami, Head Non Destructive Assay section, Dr. V. K. Manchanda, Head, Radiochemistry Division and S. V. Suryanarayana of Nuclear physics Division for their keen interest and encouragement in this work.
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Naik, H., Renuka, M. & Chaudhury, S. Low level Pu and Am estimation in liquid waste from nuclear reactor. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 287, 697–700 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-010-0919-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-010-0919-4