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Comparisons (Archive): Analysis of a new candidate Certified Reference Material (CRM) prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Summary

An international measurement intercomparison exercise for radioactivity determination in Baltic Sea sediment started for a new IAEA CRM development.

Description

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched a new project for certification of a candidate Certified Reference Material (CRM). The IAEA’s CRMs are developed based on the evaluation of international laboratories’ inputs into the analysis of the material, and the reference values of the CRM are derived as consensus values out of participants’ reported results. The Radiometrics Laboratory (RML) of the IAEA’s Marine Environment Laboratory in Monaco invited the NIST Radioactivity Group to contribute to the Certification of Baltic Sea sediment Reference Material (IAEA-465) by analysing the material for its radioactivity content.

The main objective of the international effort is to characterize the new CRM for anthropogenic and natural radionuclides. At NIST, two samples of 50 g each of material will be received from the IAEA, and radiochemical determinations will be performed for measurement of 238Pu, 239/240Pu, 241Am, and 90Sr massic activities. The massic activities of gamma emitting radionuclides will also be evaluated based on non-destructive gamma spectrometry measurements.

Notice of Online Archive: This project has ended and thus this page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of February 2021.

Created September 20, 2016, Updated March 2, 2021