Estimation of 240Pu Mass in a Waste Tank Using Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Radioactive Xenon Isotopes from Spontaneous Fission

Bowyer, Ted W.¹  Gesh, Christopher J.¹  Haas, Derek A.² 

[1]Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

[2]Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (Unite

关键词: PLUTONIUM 240;    RADIOACTIVE WASTES;    SPONTANEOUS FISSION;    TANKS;    XENON ISOTOPES;    QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS;    DETECTION;    MASS;    COST;    ISOTOPE RATIO;    RESIDENCE HALF-TIME;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1228350
RP-ID  :  PNNL--24355
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1228350
Others  :  Other: NN4011020
Others  :  TRN: US1600025

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

We report on a technique to detect and quantify the amount of ²⁴⁰Pu in a large tank used to store nuclear waste from plutonium production at the Hanford nuclear site. While the contents of this waste tank are known from previous grab sample measurements, our technique could allow for determination of the amount of ²⁴⁰Pu in the tank without costly sample retrieval and analysis of this highly radioactive material. This technique makes an assumption, which was confirmed, that ²⁴⁰Pu dominates the spontaneous fissions occurring in the tank.