Abstract
Plutonium (Pu) metal samples from an interlaboratory exchange exercise and simulated swipe samples were dated using plutonium–uranium (Pu–U) and plutonium–americium (Pu–Am). Metal data were evaluated for consistency and the swipe data against its source material. Metal ages based on 239Pu versus 235U and 240Pu versus 236U agreed to within a few percent, while the 238Pu–234U and 241Pu–241Am measurements had larger uncertainties. Swipe ages compared favorably with the material’s known history. Neptunium (237Np) analyses were examined in the context of the 241Pu–241Am–237Np system to estimate whether Np can provide insights on material from which Am, Np, and U were removed.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the technical and support staff of the various laboratories whose work contributed to this publication. This program is administered by LANL under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The Nuclear Weapons Pit Manufacturing Program provided financial support. LANL is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the U.S. Dept. of Energy under contract no. DE-AC52-06NA25396. This publication is LA-UR 09-02059.
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Spencer, K.J., Tandon, L., Gallimore, D. et al. Refinement of Pu parent–daughter isotopic and concentration analysis for forensic (dating) purposes. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 282, 549–554 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-009-0287-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-009-0287-0