SPIKING TECHNIQUES FOR ISOTOPE AND ELEMENT ASSAY BY GAMMA SPECTROMETRY - EXAMPLES OF MEASUREMENT OF 241AM, PU, AND 238PU

Year
2003
Author(s)
S. Abousahl - JRC
P. van Belle - Joint Research Centre -- Karlsruhe
B. Lynch - European Commission – Joint Research Centre
H. Ottmar - European Commission – Joint Research Centre
Abstract
A variety of samples and specimens arising from research and development work in nuclear technology conducted at the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), Karlsruhe, need to be analysed for the isotope and/or element content of actinides. Radiometric measurement techniques are extensively used for this purpose. Several spiking methods were developed for specific analytical measurements on liquid samples based on gamma spectrometry. Examples are presented in the paper. The underlying analytical procedures are relatively simple and allow straightforward isotope and element assay with a typical accuracy of 1-2% relative.