The United States Department of Energy funded program: Summer schools in nuclear and radio-chemistry

Following several national surveys that clearly indicated both a paucity of universities offering nuclear chemistry courses, and a severe shortage of personnel trained and educated in nuclear sciences, the US Department of Energy (DOE) agreed to fund a special summer program. This program would take 12 undergraduates on a competitive scholarship basis from across the nation, and provide them with an intensive 6 week course in the fundamentals of nuclear science. The first such course was taught in the summer of 1984 at San Jose State University in California, and has met each summer since that time. In this course, the students cover material equivalent to approximately 2 semester units of health physics and radiological safety, 3 semester units of lecture material on nuclear chemistry, radiochemistry, uses of radionuclides, and nuclear instrumentation, and 3 semester units of laboratory work in radiochemistry, radiation chemistry, and associated topics in nuclear science. A second course was opened in 1989, with the same curriculum and intent, and sited at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York. With regard to intent, both courses are very successful, with a majority of persons going on to complete graduate degrees in some aspect of nuclear science (nuclear chemistry, nuclear physics, health physics, nuclear medicine PhD programs, and synthesis with radio-nuclides or programs such as nuclear pharmacy or pharmacology) or nuclear medicine and oncology via MD programs.Presently a member of the Chemistry Department, formerly Chairman of the Department of Chemistry, and now Dean of the College of Science at SJSU.     

Further development of a graduate program in nuclear and radiochemistry at the University of Texas

Over the last three years we have developed a very robust nuclear and radiochemistry program at The University of Texas at Austin. The cornerstone of support was the DOE Radiochemistry Educational Award Program (REAP) that was awarded from 2002–2005. A second award for the period of 2005–2008 was just received. This award has enabled us to support many educational activities from vanguard classroom instruction, to laboratory enhancements, to research activities at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Both traditional radiochemistry and advanced topics in nuclear instrumentation have been supported. Various DOE university programs, national lab funding and IAEA fellowship grants, have allowed the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program at the University of Texas to be at the forefront of nuclear and radiochemistry educational and research activities and help secure the next generation of needed expertise.     

Study of the gamma spectrum of 16N with a BGO detector, for the purpose of calibration and of determining the fluorine grade of mineral samples

Over the past several years, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed an ultra-low-background proportional counter (ULBPC) technology. The resulting detector is the product of an effort to produce a low-background, physically robust gas proportional counter for applications like radon emanation measurements, groundwater tritium, and ³⁷Ar. In order to fully take advantage of the inherent low-background properties designed into the ULBPC, a comparably low-background dedicated counting system is required. An ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS) was recently built in the new shallow underground laboratory at PNNL. With a design depth of 30 m water-equivalent, the shallow underground laboratory provides approximately 100× fewer fast neutrons and 6× fewer muons than a surface location. The ULBCS itself provides additional shielding in the form of active anti-cosmic veto (via 2-in-thick plastic scintillator paddles) and passive borated poly (1 in.), lead (6 in.), and copper (~3 in.) shielding. This work will provide details on PNNL’s new shallow underground laboratory, examine the motivation for the design of the counting system, and provide results from the characterization of the ULBCS, including initial detector background.     

The American Chemical Society's Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology's summer schools in nuclear and radiochemistry

This successful educational program in nuclear and radiochemistry for advanced undergraduate students is described. Funding from the U.S. Department of Energy supports 24 fellowships for participants in the intensive six-week programs at San Jose State University (CA) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY). Students are provided transportation to and from the school site, room and board, books, lab supplies, and six units of college credit. The instructional program consists of lectures and laboratory exercises that cover the fundamentals of nuclear theory, radiochemistry, nuclear instrumentation, radiological safety, and applications in research, midicine, and industry. Guest lectures and field trips broaden the students' exposure to nuclear science. Assistance is provided in the following year to those students who wish to join a research project at a university or national laboratory, and thereafter, in their applications to graduate or professional school.     

Undergraduate education in nuclear engineering in the USA

The discipline of nuclear engineering is described, giving some historical background to explain the structure of the curricula commonly found in nuclear engineering programs in the U.S. Typical curricula are described, along with a specific example given by the University of Michigan undergraduate program in nuclear engineering. The National Academy of Sciences report on U.S. nuclear engineering education is summarized, and the major findings are presented, including data on the number of programs, number of degrees, and enrollment trends. Some discussion is made of manpower trends and the degree to which nuclear programs can supply nuclear engineers to meet the anticipated demands of the current decade and into the next century.     

QA/QC Procedures,Validation Method,Traceability and Intercomparisons

Summary This work provides a systematic experimental approach to the demonstration of viability of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in chemical metrology. The practical approach was derived from a complete survey of uncertainty components that affect the INAA measurement process. These uncertainty components were classified by their magnitude and origin and subsequently minimized by appropriate steps in the INAA process. The process was tested with the INAA determination of Cr in SRM 1152A stainless steel; the Cr value is certified at 17.76% with an estimated uncertainty of 0.04% (0.23% relative). The INAA results from this procedure are in agreement with these specifications. Similar procedures have been applied to INAA multi-element determinations in a high temperature alloy. Agreement with available consensus values was demonstrated in the alloy. The guidelines on the determination of uncertainty were fully met, providing through INAA a valuable independent non-destructive tool in chemical measurements of metrological value such as required in the CCQM key comparisons.     

Nuclear forensics education at the University of Texas at Austin

Nuclear forensics continues to be an integral part of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the National Nuclear Security Administration. As with our previous three-year Nuclear Forensics Education Award Program we will continue to offer a comprehensive educational program and closely collaborate with national laboratories to pursue common research. Our research will primarily focus on analysis of radioactive debris following a nuclear or radiological dispersive device event or the investigation of the pedigree of nuclear materials in nonproliferation. This research will include using Compton suppression and gamma coincidence low-level gamma ray counting, investigation of nuclear fuel cycles for nonproliferation, on-site inspection within the context of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and radioxenon detection physics. We also offer a graduate program in nuclear robotics, an interdisciplinary program in the automation of handling special nuclear materials. To better equip our students who are entering the workforce at the national laboratories and government agencies we are also proposing the development of several new laboratory modules for non-destructive identification of fission products in environmental samples and irradiated uranium specimens at various enrichments and characterizing naturally occurring radioactive material. Collaboration with Florida Memorial University a Historically Black Colleges and Universities will continue for training and collaborative research.     

Effect of Fe dopant on the physico-chemical and catalytic properties of vanadyl pyrophosphate catalysts

Summary 1% of Fe-doped and undoped vanadyl pyrophosphate catalysts were prepared via dihydrate method. The catalysts have been characterised by XRD, ICP, BET and SEM. The undoped catalyst was found to be more active and selective (77.6% selectivity at about 60 % conversion at 703 K).     

A new waste minimization method for the determination of total nonhalogenated volatile organic compounds in TRU wastes

As part of the technical support CST-12 provides for a wide variety of defense and nondefense programs within Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Department of Energy (DOE) complex, new waste minimization technique is under development for radiological volatile organic analysis (Hot VOA). Currently all Hot VOA must be run in a glovebox. Several types of samples contain TRU radiological waste in the form of particulates. By prefiltering the samples, through a 1.2 micron syringe and counting the radioactivity, it has been found that many of the samples can be analyzed outside of a glovebox. In the present investigation, the types of Hot VOA samples that can take advantage of this new technique, the volume and types of waste reduced, and the experimental parameters will be discussed. Overall, the radioactive waste generated is minimized.     

The Living Textbook of Nuclear Chemistry

Summary A Summer School in Nuclear Chemistry sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy and the American Chemical Society has been held at San José State University for the past 20 years. The intent of the program is to introduce outstanding college students to the field of nuclear and radiochemistry with the goal that some of these students will consider careers on nuclear science. The program features radiochemistry experiments along with radiation safety training, guest lectures by well known nuclear scientists and field trips to nuclear chemistry facilities in the San Francisco area.     

Assessing thermochromatography as a separation method for nuclear forensics: current capability vis-à-vis forensic requirements

Nuclear forensic science has become increasingly important for global nuclear security. However, many current laboratory analysis techniques are based on methods developed without the imperative for timely analysis that underlies the post-detonation forensics mission requirements. Current analysis of actinides, fission products, and fuel-specific materials requires time-consuming chemical separation coupled with nuclear counting or mass spectrometry. High-temperature gas-phase separations have been used in the past for the rapid separation of newly created elements/isotopes and as a basis for chemical classification of that element. We are assessing the utility of this method for rapid separation in the gas-phase to accelerate the separations of radioisotopes germane to post-detonation nuclear forensic investigations. The existing state of the art for thermochromatographic separations, and its applicability to nuclear forensics, will be reviewed.     

Novel beta-gamma coincidence measurements using phoswich detectors

Summary We have developed an analysis pipeline for air filter gamma-ray spectra, utilizing the software packages UniSampo for peak analysis and Shaman for nuclide identification. In an automated usage mode, spectra that are received via e-mail are processed into a directory tree, analyzed with UniSampo and Shaman, and finally categorized on the basis of the analysis results. Alarms are generated if anything out of the ordinary is observed. Typical applications for an air filter analysis pipeline are national radioactivity surveillance networks and the global radionuclide monitoring network being implemented for verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Our analysis pipeline system has been used by the Finnish national CTBT-authority, the Finnish National Data Center (FiNDC), since July 1999. Evaluation with a randomly selected set of 1518 air filter spectra showed that our pipeline system produces significantly better analysis results than that utilized by the CTBT Organization (CTBTO): our system found 4.2 more peaks per spectrum than the CTBTO system (9 % increase) and identified 5.6 more peaks per spectrum (14 % increase) on the average.     

Career development and project planning for emerging thermal analysis scientists

Advances in science and technology are now at the heart of the global economy, but the number of students earning degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields has stalled. According to the National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE), programs have been initiated nationwide to nurture interest in the sciences, including research competitions, co-ops and internships, and K-12 STEM education. Senior thermal analysis scientists are not only researchers, they are role models, mentors and teachers intimately involved in the recruitment and training of young scientists. The authors present guidelines for thermal analysis research project planning for high school students, undergraduate students and master’s and doctoral candidates. Project planning includes developmentally appropriate techniques, methods, instruments, scope and significance. Case studies illustrate examples of short-term, concrete materials analysis projects tailored to younger student researchers, as well as master’s level projects making significant contributions to the state of the science and innovative doctoral research. In addition to designing projects for students at all levels, senior thermal analysis scientists can use specific teaching and training techniques to help young scientists develop their abilities in the lab and at the podium.     

Thermal behavior of the heart of SHR and wistar rats

Summary Hypertension is a major and growing public health problem. It is responsible for the mortality of millions of people around world, and is increasing each year. Nevertheless, the understanding of the relationship between the composition of the heart's cells, hypertension and health diseases is still very incomplete. The present study focuses on the evaluation of the attributes of some hearts of Spontaneous Hypertension Rats (SHR), comparing with SHR which received additional amounts of polysaccharide (SHR+P) and with wistar rats (normal blood pressure) by Thermal Analysis. Some differences could be seen between groups, as the residue content after 800°C was different for rats from different groups, and of wistar rats hearts samples showed 5.3±0.3% of residues vs. 8.3±1.5% of the SHR. DSC profiles for wistar rats showed one intense endothermic event at 160°C, with enthalpy transition of 450 J g^-1 and more three small events. Thermal analyses curves also showed some differences between freezing and no freezing samples, probably associated to the denaturation of proteins and degradation of organic materials.     

Utilization of a mixed-bed column for the removal of iodine from radioactive process waste solutions

A boron carbide capsule was previously designed and tested by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Washington State University (WSU) for spectral-tailoring in mixed spectrum reactors. The presented work used this B₄C capsule to create a fission product sample from the irradiation of highly enriched uranium (HEU) with a fast fission neutron spectrum. An HEU foil was irradiated inside of the capsule in WSU’s 1 MW TRIGA reactor at full power for 200 min to produce 5.8 × 10¹³ fissions. After 3 days of cooling, the sample was shipped to PNNL for radiochemical separations and analysis by gamma and beta spectroscopy. Fission yields for products were calculated from the radiometric measurements and compared to measurements from thermal neutron induced fission (analyzed in parallel with the non-thermal sample at PNNL) and published evaluated fast-pooled and thermal nuclear data. Reactor dosimetry measurements were also completed to fully characterize the neutron spectrum and total fluence of the irradiation.     

Empirical correction of crosstalk in a low-background germanium γ–γ analysis system

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is currently developing a custom software suite capable of automating many of the tasks required to accurately analyze coincident signals within gamma spectrometer arrays. During the course of this work, significant crosstalk was identified in the energy determination for spectra collected with a new low-background intrinsic germanium (HPGe) array at PNNL. The HPGe array is designed for high detection efficiency, ultra-low-background performance, and sensitive γ–γ coincidence detection. The first half of the array, a single cryostat containing seven HPGe crystals, was recently installed into a new shallow underground laboratory facility. This update will present a brief review of the germanium array, describe the observed crosstalk, and present a straight-forward empirical correction that significantly reduces the impact of this crosstalk on the spectroscopic performance of the system.     

Development of a multidimensional gamma-spectrometer

A high-sensitivity multidimensional gamma-spectrometer is being developed within the shallow underground laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, USA). The system consists of two broad energy germanium detectors, inside a low-background shield, fitted with a cosmic veto system. The detector has advanced functionality, including operation in single or combined detector mode, with reductions in the cosmic background of 49.6% and Compton suppression of 6.5%. For selected radionuclides this provides increased peak identification, reductions in uncertainty of 27.6% and MDA improvements of 52.7%. The design uses commercially off-the-shelf components to provide a powerful solution for low-level nuclear measurements.     

Keeping the spotlight on quality from a distance

 Maintaining the quality of testing in remote locations can be demanding of laboratory resources in terms of daily visits to instruments and providing support outside of normal working hours. Recently technology and software solutions have appeared to reduce this burden for laboratory scientists dramatically. The AVL Auto QC unit, in conjunction with OMNILink software, allow laboratory staff to perform many quality control and maintenance procedures on instruments in wards and medical units from a PC in the central laboratory. Assessment of this technology and software in the Special Baby Care Unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary has demonstrated many benefits including reduction in ward visits, better support out of hours, regular quality control checks, and improved analytical quality. Received: 15 April 2000 · Accepted: 15 April 2000