Application of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry to the Identification of Single Particles of Uranium and their Isotopic Measurement.

An instrumental method based on the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is presented for the identification of uranium particles, and the determination of their isotopic composition. The particles collected on swipe samples were transferred to a special adhesive sopport for analysis by SIMS> Charging effects duringanalysis were avoidedby a coating with 20 nm carbon. For the measurements of the isotope ratios a mass resolution of 1000 was sufficient. At this resolution flat top peaks were obtained which greatly improve the accuracy of the measurement. A detection limit in the ng/g - range was obtained by optimising different instrumental parameters, such as the acquisition time. Blank samples, consisting only of the adhesive support and of swipes collected in an environment where uranium was absent, were employed for the evaluation of the background signals in the mass range 233-240. The level of background was eliminated by applying a voltage offset. From the results obtained on simulated swipe samples containing certified enriched uranium, the approach used was found to be very promising and after further improvements has been applied for the routine analysis of uranium particles in swipe samples.JRC.E-Institute for Transuranium Elements (Karlsruhe

Il Security Training Centre del JRC di Ispra

Paper corresponding to a presentation given to a workshop organised by AIRP (Italian Association of Radiation Protection) and to be published on the Bulletin of the organisation.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Workshop on He-3 alternatives for safeguards applications

On 13-17 October 2014, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) hosted the second of two workshops on helium-3 (He-3) alternative materials and technologies for safeguards applications, under the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA)-Euratom Action Sheet 47, at the JRC Ispra Site. The recent Ispra workshop served as a direct follow-up to the Los Alamos workshop. Participants provided updates on several of the technologies discussed in 2013. In particular, workshop participants evaluated the applicability of the He-3 alternative technologies to a pre-established list of use cases and identify any capability gaps. In addition, the workshop included discussions of implementation strategies for advancing the prototype technologies to commercially deployable systems. The workshop included a demonstration of some of these technologies. Moreover, a field trial has been held on the margins of this workshop to provide a head-to-head comparison of various He-3 alternative prototypes for nuclear fuel verification.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Thermal neutron detection using a silicon pad detector and 6LiF removable converters

A semiconductor detector coupled with a neutron converter is a good candidate for neutron detection, especially for its compactness and reliability if compared with other devices, such as 3He tubes, even though its intrinsic efficiency is rather lower. In this paper we show a neutron detector design consisting of a 3cm x 3cm silicon pad detector coupled with one or two external 6LiF layers, enriched in 6Li at 95%, placed in contact with the Si active surfaces. This prototype, first characterized and tested at INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud and then at JRC Ispra, was successfully shown to detect thermal neutrons with the expected efficiency and an oustanding gamma rejection capability.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Air Quality, Human Exposure and Health Impact Assessment of Air Pollution in Ljubljana, Slovenia

An evaluation of outdoor, indoor air quality and human exposure to air pollutants and their human health effects was carried out in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The assessment was undertaken around 4 complimentary activities: AIRPECO, PEOPLE, APHEIS and air pollution monitoring by the Slovenian network of automatic measuring stations. In the AIRPECO project outdoor measurements of benzene, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3) were made both in winter and in summer. Ambient concentrations were measured at about 100 sampling sites in order to map the distribution of air pollution over the city. At four sampling sites, concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) and its chemical composition were determined. The PEOPLE project assessed outdoor/indoor air quality and population exposure to benzene. Population exposure measurements focused on the influence of emissions from transport and smoking. Measurements were also made at a range of indoor locations including homes, offices, shops, schools, bars, restaurants and public transport, as well as outdoor locations throughout the city. The APHEIS health impact assessment considered a number of indicators, namely: hospital admissions, mortality and morbidity, associated with exposure to black smoke, PM10 and PM2.5. The influence of abatement strategies for the selected air pollutants for the health indicators was calculated for the population of Ljubljana. Besides its role for compliance with air quality legislation, the Slovenian monitoring network data were used to complement and support the outdoor monitoring for PEOPLE and AIRPECO and to provide the air quality data required for APHEIS.JRC.H.4 - Transport and air qualit