Isotopic Measurements: Interpretation and Implications of Plutonium Data

One of the fundamental activities within the field of nuclear forensics is the laboratory analysis of nuclear material; one aspect is providing the isotopic composition of the material under investigation. For both plutonium and uranium, this includes a unique suite of isotopes that, individually and collectively (i.e., an isotopic vector), will help characterize these materials and potentially provide insight into their mode of production, intended use, and processing history. A full understanding of how this information is used provides the basis for defining the need for these measurements and helps determine the precision and accuracy requirements for those measurements. This paper provides an overview of this process as it applies to plutonium, discussing how reactor design and operating parameters can impact the resultant plutonium vector, thereby giving us the ability to infer those reactor traits based on isotopic measurements.