A method for producing synthetic debris similar to the melt glass produced by nuclear surface testing is demonstrated. Melt glass from the first nuclear weapon test (commonly referred to as trinitite) is used as the benchmark for this study. These surrogates can be used to simulate a variety of scenarios and will serve as a tool for developing and validating forensic analysis methods.

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The development of realistic nuclear melt glass surrogates is important to the nuclear forensics community in order to establish analytical protocols for post-detonation analysis. In addition to creating surrogates that are accurate with regard to physical morphology and chemical composition, it is important to develop surrogates that also have similar radiological characteristics. A synthetic melt glass sample was irradiated at the High-Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This sample was counted twice using a semiconductor radiation detector to capture both fission-product signatures as well as those from neutron activation. A qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed to make recommendations for the next irradiation campaign.