LOW-URANIUM-CONTENT SWIPE MATERIAL FOR SAFEGUARDS ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLE ANALYSIS

Year
2004
Author(s)
S. Sakurai - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
S. Usuda - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
K. Watanabe - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
M. Magara - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
F. Esaka - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
M. Takahashi - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
S. Kurosawa - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
F. Hirayama - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
S. Ichimura - Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
K. Kizu - Japan EXLAN Co.
Abstract
The swipe cotton material, TexWipe 304® currently used in environmental sample analysis of the IAEA, contains a few nano-gram of natural uranium as impurity, which primarily limits the detection limit of uranium isotope analysis even though the analysis is carried out in clean room environment. Recently, a new synthetic fiber swipe material, ExlanWipe® was manufactured on trial by JAERI and EXLAN Co. The main ingredient of the new swipe is acrylonitrile and free from insoluble impurities, such as TiO2. It was found that the uranium content was 43 pg/wipe, which was about 1/100 of TexWipe 304®. The examination showed that the swipe had favorable ashing and acid digestion properties as well as almost same swiping performance.