Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

HOW OLD IS IT? - 241PU/AMNUCLEAR FORENSIC CHRONOLOGY REFERENCE MATERIALS

Published

Author(s)

Ryan P. Fitzgerald, Kenneth G. Inn

Abstract

One material attribute for nuclear forensics is material age. 241Pu is almost always present in uranium- and plutonium-based nuclear weapons, which pose the greatest threat to our security. The in-growth of 241Am due to the decay of 241Pu provides an excellent chronometer of the material. A well-characterized 241Pu/241Am standard is needed to validate measurement capability, as a basis for between-laboratory comparability, and as material for verifying laboratory performance. This effort verifies the certification of a 38 year old 241Pu Standard Reference Material (SRM4340) through alpha-gamma anticoincidence counting, and also establishes the separation date to two weeks of the documented date.
Citation
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

Keywords

Nuclear Forensics, Radiochronometer, 241Pu, 241Am, Standard Reference Material 4340, Alpha- Gamma Anticoincidence Counting

Citation

, R. and Inn, K. (2015), HOW OLD IS IT? - 241PU/AMNUCLEAR FORENSIC CHRONOLOGY REFERENCE MATERIALS, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (Accessed April 23, 2024)
Created October 26, 2015, Updated June 24, 2021