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The Use of SIMS and SEM for the Characterization of Individual Particles with a Matrix Originating from a Nuclear Weapon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2007

Ylva Ranebo ,
Mats Eriksson ,
Gabriele Tamborini ,
Nedialka Niagolova ,
Olivier Bildstein  and
Maria Betti
Ylva Ranebo
Affiliation:
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe, Germany Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden
Mats Eriksson
Affiliation:
IAEA-MEL, 4 Quai Antoine 1er, MC 98000, Monaco
Gabriele Tamborini
Affiliation:
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe, Germany
Nedialka Niagolova
Affiliation:
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe, Germany
Olivier Bildstein
Affiliation:
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe, Germany
Maria Betti
Affiliation:
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe, Germany
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Abstract

The application of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for characterization of mixed plutonium and uranium particles from nuclear weapons material is presented. The particles originated from the so-called Thule accident in Greenland in 1968. Morphological properties have been studied by SEM and two groups were identified: a “popcorn” structure and a spongy structure. The same technique, coupled with an energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer, showed a heterogeneous composition of Pu and U in the surface layers of the particles. The SIMS depth profiles revealed a varying isotopic composition indicating a heterogeneous mixture of Pu and U in the original nuclear weapons material itself. The depth distributions agree with synchrotron-radiation-based μ-XRF (X-ray fluorescence microprobe) measurements on the particle (Eriksson, M., Wegryzynek, D., Simon, R., & Chinea-Cano, E., in prep.) when a SIMS relative sensitivity factor for Pu to U of 6 is assumed. Different SIMS identified isotopic ratio groups are presented, and the influence of interferences in the Pu and U mass range are estimated. The study found that the materials are a mixture of highly enriched 235U (235U:238U ratio from 0.96 to 1.4) and so-called weapons grade Pu (240Pu:239Pu ratio from 0.028 to 0.059) and confirms earlier work reported in the literature.

Keywords

SIMSSEMenvironmental radioactive particlesuraniumplutoniumisotopic ratiosweapons grade enrichmentThule
Type
SPECIAL SECTION: MICROANALYSIS OF MATERIALS TODAY
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , June 2007 , pp. 179 - 190
Copyright
© 2007 Microscopy Society of America

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