The development of radioactive glass surrogates for fallout debris

Carney, Kevin; Finck, Martha R.; McGrath, C. A.; Martin, Leigh R.; Lewis, Russel R.

doi:10.1007/s10967-013-2800-8

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…[2] for a broad overview of the field). In support of this effort, our laboratory is evaluating different methods to produce realistic surrogate nuclear fallout debris for testing collection and radiochemical analysis methods [3]. This is needed as real samples containing short-lived fission products in appropriate abundances have not been available since the ban on nuclear testing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revision of forensics-relevant nuclear data in Sb127 β decay

et al. 2019

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With a half-life of 3.85(5) days, the fission product 127 Sb is potentially useful for the characterization of fallout debris that would be collected for forensic analysis following a hypothetical nuclear event. The β decay of 127 Sb has many characteristic γ-ray lines, however the majority of decay strength is concentrated in the three strongest lines near 686, 473, and 784 keV, based on lowprecision spectroscopic measurements from decades ago. In a new measurement of 127 Sb β decay, obtained from radiochemical separations of U photofission products, we show that the energies of the 686 and 784 lines are actually shifted lower by 0.8 and 1.1 keV, respectively. Such large discrepancies in the nuclear data inhibit accurate isotopic analyses and have important implications, for example, on the assessment of fission debris that might be collected in the days following a nuclear event. Therefore, a new evaluation of 127 Sb β decay and appropriate revisions to the various nuclear databases are warranted. This paper reports a new set of γ-ray energies and relative intensities corresponding to 127 Sb decay.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revision of forensics-relevant nuclear data in Sb127 β decay

et al. 2019

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“…Surrogate glasses have been produced to simulate radioactive materials [15][16][17]. The composition of fission products as a result of differences in condensation rates after a nuclear blast was also simulated by Carney et al where surrogate glass based on the polymerization of tetraethyl orthosilicate were produced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trace amounts of uranium was incorporated into the glass, which then was subjected to neutron irradiation. Isotopic measurements were conducted on the resulting fission products [15]. Synthetic melt glass was also designed to simulate trinitite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of surrogate glasses with tektite composition

Foos

Ansell

Mariella

et al. 2019

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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Surrogate glasses were fabricated by the sol-gel process aiming to produce compositions similar to naturally occurring tektite. The volatile species in the xerogel samples were removed by heat treatments. All products were characterized by thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopic techniques. The elemental distribution in the surrogates was found to be more homogeneous than the one observed in natural materials. This work presents an alternative to generate target materials for the validation of techniques aimed to comminute samples in the nuclear forensics field, making the comparison between the pre and post-treatments more viable.

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“…Creation of surrogate nuclear explosion debris (SNED) is challenging, as it is difficult to mimic the extreme thermal and pressure conditions of a nuclear explosion in the laboratory that can reach temperatures [10 7 K and pressures [10 6 Bar. Some proposed approaches include the use of electrical discharges [10], creation of a U-enriched glass by simply fusing the components in a furnace [11], chemical incorporation into glasses from solution (sol-gel) [12], and high power laser heating [13]. While the furnace and sol-gel methods could produce relatively uniform materials, the structure and composition of real nuclear explosion debris is far more complex and highly inhomogeneous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The preparation of non-radioactive glassy surrogate nuclear explosion debris (SNED) loaded with isotopically altered Xe

Liezers

Carman

Eiden

2015

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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The measurement of Kr and Xe isotope ratios in nuclear explosion debris can be performed requiring little sample preparation. Fragments of debris are simply crushed or heated to release trapped gases Kr and Xe arising from fission product decay. As a suitable test material for this measurement, we have been investigating a method to incorporate isotopically enriched 129 Xe in glassy materials that mimic nuclear explosion debris. The approach used to prepare these materials will be described along with some of the example results obtained.

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The development of radioactive glass surrogates for fallout debris

Cited by 19 publications

References 11 publications

Revision of forensics-relevant nuclear data in Sb127 β decay

Revision of forensics-relevant nuclear data in Sb127 β decay

Fabrication of surrogate glasses with tektite composition

The preparation of non-radioactive glassy surrogate nuclear explosion debris (SNED) loaded with isotopically altered Xe

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