Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence Technologies for Nuclear Materials Management

The detection and quantification of nuclear material isotopes is of utmost importance in the fields of non-proliferation, safeguards and nuclear forensics. Non-intrusive methods are important to improve efficiency, speed of response and safety while not opening or altering the items being examined. Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) provides advantages in many of these areas. The nuclear excitations involved are unique for any isotope involved and the photon energies involved are in the MeV range and are thus very penetrating. Several examples are provided that demonstrate the capabilities of NRF to complement existing nuclear materials management techniques. The inclusion of NRF technologies in power reactors, processing and refinement facilities, and the materials tracking process may be very useful in mitigating problems of material loss and inventory accounting for the management of nuclear materials.