Uranium from German Nuclear Power Projects of the 1940s— A Nuclear Forensic Investigation

摘要

Here we present a nuclear forensic study of uranium from German nuclear projects which used different geometries of metallic uranium fuel.^,,  Through measurement of the ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U ratio, we could determine that the material had been produced in the period from 1940 to 1943. To determine the geographical origin of the uranium, the rare-earth-element content and the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio were measured. The results provide evidence that the uranium was mined in the Czech Republic. Trace amounts of ²³⁶U and ²³⁹Pu were detected at the level of their natural abundance, which indicates that the uranium fuel was not exposed to any major neutron fluence.