A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium by gamma-ray spectrometry.
A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium reagent was developed by measuring and analyzing the gamma-ray spectra of some reagents with no standard source. The counting rates (R) of photoelectric peaks of gamma-rays from nuclides with the same radioactivity divided by their emission probability (B) are expressed as a function of gamma-ray energy. The radioactivities of 234Th and 234mPa and 21.72 times that of 235U are equal to the radioactivity of 235U in natural uranium. Therefore, the plot of 21.72-fold R/B for 235U should be on a curve fitted to the points for 234Th and 234mPa in natural uranium. Depleted uranium with a 235U isotopic composition of less than 0.68% could be discriminated from natural uranium in the case of a reagent containing 4.0 g of uranium.
Shoji
M
M
Radioisotope Research Center, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sugitani, Japan. shojim@ms.toyama-mpu.ac.jp
Hamajima
Y
Y
Takatsuka
K
K
Honoki
H
H
Nakajima
T
T
Kondo
T
T
Nakanishi
T
T
D000465:Algorithms; D006207:Half-Life; D011478:Protactinium / Q000032:analysis; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis*
D011868:Radioisotopes; D011478:Protactinium; D014501:Uranium; D013910:Thorium