title: A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium by gamma-ray spectrometry.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Radioisotope Research Center, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sugitani, Japan. shojim@ms.toyama-mpu.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shoji
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamajima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takatsuka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honoki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D011478:Protactinium; D014501:Uranium; D013910:Thorium