NEXT GENERATION ATTRIBUTE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Year
2007
Author(s)
Morag Smith - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Morag Smith - Los Alamos National Laboratory
D.W MacArthur - Los Alamos National Laboratory
D.W MacArthur - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Pete Karpius - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Pete Karpius - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Duc T. Vo - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Duc T. Vo - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Jonathan L. Thron - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Jonathan L. Thron - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kate Frame - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kate Frame - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Norman Johansen - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Norman Johansen - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Jose Valdez - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Richard Williams - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Richard Williams - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Dave Bracken - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lou Carrillo - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Tim Elmont - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Janice Gallegos - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Abstract
The Next Generation Attribute Measurement System (NG-AMS) is a device to determine a few specific characteristics of a plutonium item using standard neutron and gamma measurements. The goal is to take potentially sensitive measurements, calculate non-sensitive attributes from them, and display these, while ensuring that none of the sensitive information is accessible. The hosts must be confident that none of their sensitive information can leak out; while the inspectors need to be sure they can verify the plutonium’s characteristics. The attributes to be measured in the NG-AMS are the plutonium isotopic composition, mass, and age (time since americium separation) of the material. The system has been assembled and is being tested with various radioactive sources. The design philosophy, the measurement techniques, the operation to insure information protection, and preliminary results will be described.