High purity Sc production using high-energy photons and natural vanadium targets.

Scandium-47 (Sc) is of high value for targeted radiotherapy and theranostics; we report a novel, cost-effective approach to produce high-purity Sc via photonuclear reactions with natural vanadium. Irradiation at 20 MeV photon end-point energy produces >99.998% pure Sc, while irradiation at 38 MeV produces 98.

Rapid Separation of Photofissioned Uranium Products via a Single-Pass Multiplexed Chromatographic Fission Product Separation System.

Current state-of-the-art fission product separations frequently involve multiple independent separation columns and sample manipulation processes; to couple these processes together, multiple evaporation and transposition steps are often required. The addition of these steps results in lengthy separation times, increased analysis costs, the potential for sample loss, and release of radioactive contamination. We report a new semiautomated method for the rapid separation of U, Zr, Mo, Ba, Sr, Te, and lanthanide fission products from irradiated uranium samples.

Fundamental distribution coefficient data and separations using eichrom extraction chromatographic resins.

Distribution coefficient (Kd) data provides the analyst with a powerful set of tools for designing elemental chemical separations. While considerable Kd data exists in the literature for traditional anion and cation exchange resins, a comprehensive Kd study for the majority of the periodic table has not been published to date for several newer Eichrom extraction chromatographic resins. Kd values for the sorption of 41 different of elements on TEVA, TRU, UTEVA, and Diphonix resin were determined in this work.

Carbon-14 content in surface soils near atmospheric and below ground nuclear detonations.

Global and regional releases of C have resulted from nuclear weapons testing activities; assessment of the chemical behavior and mechanisms of environmental transport and deposition of this radionuclide can assist remediation strategy development efforts and provide insights into global carbon cycling processes. This work reports a systematic evaluation of C in surface soils taken from the Nevada National Security Site. Surface soil samples are derived from above- and underground test locations, with underground test sites representing a range from near complete containment to uncontrolled radioactive releases.

Np analytical method using Np tracers and application to a contaminated nuclear disposal facility.

Environmental Np analyses are challenged by low Np concentrations and lack of an available yield tracer; we report a rapid, inexpensive Np analytical approach employing the short lived Np (t = 2.3 days) as a chemical yield tracer followed by Np quantification using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Np tracer is obtained via separation from a Am stock solution and standardized using gamma spectrometry immediately prior to sample processing.

Extraction chromatographic separations of tantalum and tungsten from hafnium and complex matrix constituents.

Tantalum (Ta), hafnium (Hf), and tungsten (W) analyses from complex matrices require high purification of these analytes from each other and major/trace matrix constituents, however, current state-of-the-art Ta/Hf/W separations rely on traditional anion exchange approaches that show relatively similar distribution coefficient (Kd) values for each element. This work reports an assessment of three commercially available extraction chromatographic resins (TEVA, TRU, and UTEVA) for Ta/Hf/W separations. Batch contact studies show differences in Ta/Hf and Ta/W Kd values of up to 10 and 10 (respectively), representing an improvement of a factor of 100 and 300 in Ta/Hf and Ta/W Kd values (respectively) over AG1×4 resin.

Fukushima Daiichi reactor source term attribution using cesium isotope ratios from contaminated environmental samples.

Rationale: Source term attribution of environmental contamination following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) disaster is complicated by a large number of possible similar emission source terms (e.g. FDNPP reactor cores 1-3 and spent fuel ponds 1-4).

(135)Cs/(137)Cs isotopic composition of environmental samples across Europe: Environmental transport and source term emission applications.

(135)Cs/(137)Cs isotopic analyses represent an important tool for studying the fate and transport of radiocesium in the environment; in this work the (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotopic composition in environmental samples taken from across Europe is reported. Surface soil and vegetation samples from western Russia, Ukraine, Austria, and Hungary show consistent aged thermal fission product (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios of 0.58 ± 0.

Mechanical environmental transport of actinides and ¹³⁷Cs from an arid radioactive waste disposal site.

Aeolian and pluvial processes represent important mechanisms for the movement of actinides and fission products at the Earth's surface. Soil samples taken in the early 1970's near a Department of Energy radioactive waste disposal site (the Subsurface Disposal Area, SDA, located in southeastern Idaho) provide a case study for studying the mechanisms and characteristics of environmental actinide and (137)Cs transport in an arid environment. Multi-component mixing models suggest actinide contamination within 2.

137Cs activities and 135Cs/137Cs isotopic ratios from soils at Idaho National Laboratory: a case study for contaminant source attribution in the vicinity of nuclear facilities.

Radiometric and mass spectrometric analyses of Cs contamination in the environment can reveal the location of Cs emission sources, release mechanisms, modes of transport, prediction of future contamination migration, and attribution of contamination to specific generator(s) and/or process(es). The Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) represents a complicated case study for demonstrating the current capabilities and limitations to environmental Cs analyses. (137)Cs distribution patterns, (135)Cs/(137)Cs isotope ratios, known Cs chemistry at this site, and historical records enable narrowing the list of possible emission sources and release events to a single source and event, with the SDA identified as the emission source and flood transport of material from within Pit 9 and Trench 48 as the primary release event.

Neptunium(V) sorption to goethite at attomolar to micromolar concentrations.

Sorption of 10(-18)-10(-5)M neptunium (Np) to goethite was examined using liquid scintillation counting and gamma spectroscopy. A combination approach using (239)Np and long lived (237)Np was employed to span this wide concentration range. (239)Np detection limits were determined to be 2×10(-18)M and 3×10(-17)M for liquid scintillation counting and gamma spectroscopy, respectively.