Dr
R. Steiner
(United States of America)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Radiochronometry methods can provide valuable forensic information for determining the source and processing time frame of nuclear materials. One method used to determine the age of uranium materials is based on the 230Th and 234U radiochronometry pair. If two assumptions hold, 1) a complete Th/U separation during nuclear material processing and, 2) a closed isotope system between the time...
Dr
C. Watt
(United Kingdom)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
The International Atomic Energy Agency Incident and Trafficking database records cases involving the unauthorised use, transport and possession of nuclear and other radioactive material [1]. Intercepted materials can be analysed using nuclear forensic techniques to provide information to law enforcement. In addition, an advanced nuclear forensics capability supports the analysis of the...
Ms
A. Vesterlund
(Sweden)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Gamma ray spectra of strong 241Am sources may reveal information on the composition of the sources. There may be other radioactive nuclides such as progeny and radioactive impurities present. Furthermore, broadened peaks in the spectrum indicate the presence of nuclear reactions on light elements within the source. These spectral features would be useful information in a national nuclear...
Mr
L.E. Sweet
(United States of America)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Reagents used in spent nuclear fuel recycling impart unique contaminant patterns into the product stream of the process. At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory we have conducted research in the form of bench top and modeling experiments to characterize and understand the relationship between these patterns and the process that created them. A main challenge to this effort, resurrecting...
Dr
G. Brennecka
(Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Establishing geochemical and isotopic techniques that can uniquely identify and geolocate nuclear material is of great interest to the international nuclear forensics community. In this effort, isotopic systems such as uranium and plutonium can be used as indicators for the provenance of nuclear materials. However, additional systems are needed to uniquely and confidently identify signatures...
Dr
K. Peräjärvi
(Finland)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Alpha-particle-emitting nuclides are very radiotoxic if inhaled or ingested. The short range of alpha particles in air (a few cm) makes the non-destructive screening of alpha emitters at a crime scene difficult and time consuming. The same limitation in range is also present in the alpha-particle screening of collected evidences in a forensic laboratory.
The thermalization of alpha...
Prof.
S.K. Aggarwal
(India)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Mass Spectrometry in Nuclear Forensics
Suresh K.Aggarwal
Fuel Chemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India
Illicit trafficking/smuggling of nuclear materials is of great concern in the present day scenario. This involves measurements on interdicted nuclear materials to trace their origin and to detect undeclared nuclear activities. Uranium and...
Dr
Z. Varga
(European Commission - Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
As a response to the illicit trafficking of nuclear materials starting from the 1990s a new scientific topic has emerged, commonly referred to now as nuclear forensics.1 The aim of the nuclear forensic investigations is to identify the hazard and origin of the confiscated or found nuclear materials and ultimately strengthen security measures and prevent nuclear terrorism thereafter. Over the...
Dr
K. TSUCHIYA
(Japan)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Nuclear forensics are the technical means by which nuclear and other radioactive materials used in illegal activities are characterized as to composition, physical condition, age, provenance, and history(1),(2). Nuclear forensics process consists of 3 steps; sampling, categorization, and characterization. Sampling is to collect nuclear materials or post-explosion debris for a radiological and...
Prof.
K. Unlu
(United States of America)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Accurate and fast determination of the activity of radionuclides in a sample is critical for nuclear forensics analysis. Radioanalytical techniques are well established for radionuclides measurement; however, they are slow and labor intensive, requiring extensive radiochemical separations and purification prior to analysis. With these limitations, there is great interest for a new technique to...
Dr
H.A. Kalambuka
(Kenya)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
The global nuclear renaissance, re-emergence of nuclear security threats and the limitations of classical nuclear forensics methods calls for innovative approaches for detecting the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological material. A unique synergy for direct, rapid trace quantitative analysis and imaging is enabled by combining machine learning and laser based spectroscopy and imaging...
Mr
P. Thompson
(United Kingdom)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
One of the simplest categorisations of nuclear material is to state that a uranium sample is depleted uranium (DU), natural uranium (NU), low enriched uranium (LEU) or high enriched uranium (HEU). Such categorisation is useful from an accounting, authorisation, or transport point of view, but of limited use in a Nuclear Forensic Science Investigation.
A full isotopic characterisation of a...
Mr
M. NDONTCHUENG MOYO
(Cameroon)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
This paper presents an evaluation of 238U, 235U, 137Cs and 133Xe in soils from two campuses in university of Douala-Cameroon using gamma spectroscopy based Broad Energy Germanium Detector (BEGe6530). The mean activity of 238U, 235U, 137Cs and 133Xe in soils from two campuses in university of Douala-Cameroon were 40.16±8.98, 3.39±0.33, 0.46±0.33 and 0.14±0.16 Bq/kg for Campus 1; and...
Dr
A. Álvarez García
(CIEMAT)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Nuclear forensics is a multidisciplinary science that combines methodologies of radiochemistry, materials science, nuclear physics and engineering, and environmental science, with the ultimate goal of providing evidence for nuclear attribution. The combination of these disciplines for the characterization of intercepted nuclear or radioactive materials supplies valuable information on the...
Mrs
C. VENCHIARUTTI
(EU)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
Nuclear forensics is a key element of nuclear security aiming at the identification and characterisation of nuclear (seized) material, such as uranium or plutonium, to re-establish the history of the nuclear material of unknown origin. By applying advanced analytical techniques, the isotopic composition, the chemical impurities and the (macro or micro) structure of the nuclear material can be...
J. Wacker
(United States of America)
09/07/2014, 13:00
Poster
The US has established a National Nuclear Forensic Library (NNFL) under the auspices of the Nuclear Materials Information Program (NMIP). NMIP was established by Presidential Directive in 2006 and includes as one of its major objectives to catalog available information on the characteristics of nuclear materials. To create the electronic database that comprises the US NNFL, NMIP developed a...
