Demonstration of the in-Field Use of Calorimetric Assay for IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Inspection Purposes

摘要

The second physical inventory verification (PIV) exercise for IAEA inspectors was conducted at a US MOX fabrication facility (WHC) under the auspices of BNL/ISPO in 1984. The IAEA bulk calorimeter was introduced into this exercise. Completely non-destructive calorimetric assay was performed using gamma-ray isotopic measurements. The calorimetric assay measurements on selected items from several strata were used to generate HLNC calibration curves completely independent of operator's values. Outliers from HLNC measurements were also measured by calorimetric assay to demonstrate an in-field alternative to withdrawing aliquots for chemical assay. This exercise demonstrated that the IAEA now has the capability of applying calorimetric assay for these purposes. 3 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs. (ERA citation 10:046230)