CANADA’S RESPONSE TO ITWG ROUND ROBIN 3 AND OUR PROPOSED CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT

We describe Canada’s participation in the ITWG Round Robin 3 paired comparison exercise involving the analysis of two metallic enriched uranium samples. Three Canadian laboratories, Defence Research and Development Canada – Ottawa (DRDC Ottawa), Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC), and Health Canada’s Radiation Protection Bureau (HC RPB), contributed to the nuclear forensic analysis as part of an ad-hoc laboratory network. The lab network carried out a variety of analyses, including physical characterization, high resolution gamma spectroscopy and associated modeling to account for self shielding of the uranium metal, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy with electron dispersive spectroscopy. The results of these analyses and conclusions made, along with a timeline for the exercise response, issues encountered and associated lessons learned will be presented. In addition, recent plans for the development of a nationally-recognized nuclear forensics capability will be discussed.