TY - JOUR
T1 - Nuclear archeology in a bottle
T2 - Evidence of pre-trinity U.S. weapons activities from a waste burial site
AU - Schwantes, Jon M.
AU - Douglas, Matthew
AU - Bonde, Steven E.
AU - Briggs, James D.
AU - Farmer, Orville T.
AU - Greenwood, Lawrence R.
AU - Lepel, Elwood A.
AU - Orton, Christopher R.
AU - Wacker, John F.
AU - Luksic, Andrzej T.
PY - 2009/2/15
Y1 - 2009/2/15
N2 - During World War II, the Hanford Site in Washington became the location for U.S. plutonium production. In 2004, a bottle containing a sample of plutonium was recovered from a Hanford waste trench. Here, state-of-the-art instrumental analyses, reactor model simulations, and investigative science techniques were used to provide insights as to the origin of this unknown sample, a process collectively termed as nuclear archeology. Isotopic age dating conducted on the sample in 2007 indicated the sample was separated from the spent fuel 61.6 ± 4.5 years earlier. The isotope 22Na, a detectable product of a secondary nuclear reaction, proved useful as a powerful tool for nuclear forensic analysis as (1) an easily detectable signifier of the presence of α emitting actinides, (2) an indicator of sample splitting, and (3) a measure of the time since sample splitting. Analytical results of minor actinide isotopes and reactor model simulations confirmed the material originated from the X-10 reactor in Oak Ridge, TN. Corroborated by historical documents, we concluded this sample was part of the first batch of Pu separated at T-Plant, Hanford, the world's first industrial-scale reprocessing facility, on December 9, 1944. This sample represents the oldest known collection of man-made 239Pu in the world.
AB - During World War II, the Hanford Site in Washington became the location for U.S. plutonium production. In 2004, a bottle containing a sample of plutonium was recovered from a Hanford waste trench. Here, state-of-the-art instrumental analyses, reactor model simulations, and investigative science techniques were used to provide insights as to the origin of this unknown sample, a process collectively termed as nuclear archeology. Isotopic age dating conducted on the sample in 2007 indicated the sample was separated from the spent fuel 61.6 ± 4.5 years earlier. The isotope 22Na, a detectable product of a secondary nuclear reaction, proved useful as a powerful tool for nuclear forensic analysis as (1) an easily detectable signifier of the presence of α emitting actinides, (2) an indicator of sample splitting, and (3) a measure of the time since sample splitting. Analytical results of minor actinide isotopes and reactor model simulations confirmed the material originated from the X-10 reactor in Oak Ridge, TN. Corroborated by historical documents, we concluded this sample was part of the first batch of Pu separated at T-Plant, Hanford, the world's first industrial-scale reprocessing facility, on December 9, 1944. This sample represents the oldest known collection of man-made 239Pu in the world.
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U2 - 10.1021/ac802286a
DO - 10.1021/ac802286a
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:64349087926
SN - 0003-2700
VL - 81
SP - 1297
EP - 1306
JO - Analytical Chemistry
JF - Analytical Chemistry
IS - 4
ER -