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The cross section for the fusion of 9 Li with 70 Zn was measured for seven projectile energies spanning the subbarrier and near-barrier region (E c.m. ranging from 9.7 to 13.4 MeV) using the ISAC facility at TRIUMF. γ -ray spectroscopy of the irradiated target foils along with β counting of the chemically separated Ge and As evaporation residues were used to measure the fusion cross sections. Statistical model calculations were used to correct for the yields of any unobserved nuclei. The observed fusion excitation function shows significant subbarrier fusion enhancement with a large deduced value of the fusion radius, R B =12.1±1.0 fm. Coupled-channels calculations do not account for the observed subbarrier enhancement. The implications of this finding for understanding the fusion of 11 Li are discussed.

An optimized method was developed to analyze environmental soil and sediment samples for (237)Np, (239)Pu, and (240)Pu by ICP-MS using a (242)Pu isotope dilution standard. The high yield, short time frame required for analysis, and the commercial availability of the (242)Pu tracer are significant advantages of the method. Control experiments designed to assess method uncertainty, including variation in inter-element fractionation that occurs during the purification protocol, suggest that the overall precision for measurements of (237)Np is typically on the order of ± 5%. Measurements of the (237)Np concentration in a Peruvian Soil blank (NIST SRM 4355) spiked with a known concentration of (237)Np tracer confirmed the accuracy of the method, agreeing well with the expected value. The method has been used to determine neptunium and plutonium concentrations in several environmental matrix standard reference materials available from NIST: SRM 4357 (Radioactivity Standard), SRM 1646a (Estuarine Sediment) and SRM 2702 (Inorganics in Marine Sediment).

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