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Restart progress and a new task force in Iowa
This week, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order to form the Iowa Nuclear Energy Task Force, the purpose of which will be to “advise her, the General Assembly, and relevant state agencies on the development and advancement of nuclear energy technologies and infrastructure in the state.”
Stephen N. Gilliam, Jamie B. Coble, Steven E. Skutnik
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 195 | Number 9 | September 2021 | Pages 965-976
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2021.1883399
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this paper, we investigate the possibility of plutonium quantification within the electrorefiner vessel of an electrochemical separation facility via the use of the (α,n) neutron signature from dissolved actinides. As a potential alternative means to traditional spontaneous fission tracking, such an analysis may provide a more reliable tracking capability of plutonium within systems that produce a mixed matrix sample that yields a large (α,n) source term relative to that of spontaneous fission. This assessment includes an evaluation and breakdown of nuclides within the refining unit to differentiate the source of neutrons and then the ratio between (α,n) emissions to total neutron emissions given a range of fuel parameters. Next, we provide an assessment of the origin of (α,n) neutrons in relation to multiple isotopes of plutonium to determine the potential of a direct tracking method. Preliminary results indicate that the (α,n) contribution for electrochemical systems is much higher than in its aqueous counterpart and rivals spontaneous fission yield in terms of magnitude. Furthermore, 238Pu is shown to be a main contributor to the (α,n) yield for the fuel examined in this study.