PNNL

Abstract

Mixed fission and activation materials resulting from various nuclear processes and events contain a wide range of isotopes for analysis spanning almost the entire periodic table. In some applications such as environmental monitoring, nuclear waste management, and national security a very limited amount of material is available for analysis and characterization so an integrated analysis scheme is needed to measure multiple radionuclides from one sample. This work describes the production of a complex synthetic sample containing fission products, activation products, and irradiated soil and determines the percent recovery of select isotopes through the integrated chemical separation scheme. Results were determined using gamma energy analysis of separated fractions and demonstrate high yields of Ag (76 ± 6%), Au (94 ± 7%), Cd (59 ± 2%), Co (93 ± 5%), Cs (88 ± 3%), Fe (62 ± 1%), Mn (70 ± 7%), Np (65 ± 5%), Sr (73 ± 2%) and Zn (72 ± 3%). Lower yields (