A comparison of gamma spectra from trinitite versus irradiated synthetic nuclear melt glass

Abstract

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.

Interpol review of glass and paint evidence 2016-2019

“…Cook et al. [ 71 ] developed a synthetic nuclear glass melt to try to mimic an authentic sample. The synthetic sample was irradiated in a high-flux isotope reactor in Oak Ridge National Lab.…”

Modern Advancements in Post-Detonation Nuclear Forensic Analysis

“…A key interest is determining stable oxygen ( 18 O/ 16 O) ratios, as noted by Keoman et al [40]. In particular, it was determined that the large neutron flux was incapable of producing a significant change in the 18 . These heavy metal isotopes shed light on both the ores used to create components of the device or infrastructure surrounding the device and the heavier elements (uranium, thorium) from which it decayed.…”

“…The most common (and typically, first to be employed) form of radioactivity analysis is gamma-ray spectroscopy [18,24,25,30,34,42]. In natural trinitite, 133 Ba, 137 Cs, 152 Eu, 154 Eu, 155 Eu, 239 Pu, 241 Pu, 241 Am, and 60 Co have been reported, whereas synthetic versions of these materials also showed 24 Na, 140 La, 42 K, 59 Fe, 47 Ca, 132 I, 46 Sc, 95 Zr, 130 I, 133 I, 103 Ru, 131 I, and 132 Te.…”

“…It is important to note that there are large discrepancies between the reported radionuclides, many of which may be attributed to potentially massive sampling errors. Cook et al [18] reports on the comparison of surrogate nuclear melt glass (synthesized to appear chemically and morphologically similar to trinitite, as reported by Molgaard et al [13,18] to actual trinitite. In this study, a number of radionuclides were observed, but the only correlation between synthetic samples and those found in trinitite was 152 Eu.…”

Production of Synthetic Nuclear Melt Glass

“…Analysis of the one activated sample was conducted by Cook et al 14 The novel method outlined here can be used to produce synthetic "trinitite" samples and then can be extended to other scenarios of forensic interest (e.g., urban nuclear melt glass). Previous efforts to produce surrogate nuclear debris have focused on the chemical and radioactive properties of the glass.…”