Year
2005
Abstract
The measurement of amounts of plutonium is recognised as one of the most important tasks in fissile material control. The task requires that both the element amounts and isotopic abundances be measured with uncertainties as low as possible: an onerous task for measurement laboratories. A big step forward in keeping the measurement structure intact has been the production of the new CRM126A Pu metal standard from NBL and the CEA/CETAMA MP3 metal standard, presently under development. The accurate measurement of Pu amounts can be traced to these and earlier standards in laboratories all round the world. Both in the USA and in France it was recognised that the production of these standards was much more difficult (and therefore expensive) than planned and that often it was difficult to find the necessary expertise to produce, handle and analyse the materials. The question therefore arises if it will be possible to reproduce this work in the future, given the present universal reduction of nuclear work in this area. Moreover, the difficulties in transporting plutonium – sometimes extremely difficult across national borders, but also becoming more difficult within individual countries – add to the problems of having Pu standards known to be traceable to one of these primary materials. Possible solutions need to be considered now. These solutions should include the possibility of local preparation of materials, optimised methods of certification and new methods of analysis. We should also consider taking active steps to restrict usage of such materials except where they are absolutely needed.