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Undeclared uranium hitches a ride on cobalt exports from Congo, study says
Philippe (left) and Manzuk quantified the amount of uranium that has been exported from the DRC in cobalt shipments or left behind in the environment. (Photo: Joel Hallberg/UW–Madison)
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Princeton University have published a study in Nature Communications that calls attention to a blind spot in nuclear nonproliferation: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exported thousands of metric tons of uranium, and there is no accounting for where it has gone.
In partnership with Lighthouse Reports and the Financial Times, UW–Madison nuclear engineering professor and nuclear security expert Sébastien Philippe and Ryan Manzuk, a geologist and research fellow in Philippe’s group and at Princeton, conducted the study using countrywide mineralization and geochemical data.
Li-Xian Fang, Sheng-Yan Lin, Fu Zeng, Chi-Hu Wang, Yong-Cheng Xie
Nuclear Technology | Volume 195 | Number 1 | July 2016 | Pages 71-78
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-62
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In this paper, we study the relationship between correlation dimension and signal structure based on nonlinear fractal theory. It shows that when the signal structure is more complex, the correlation dimension is higher. By analyzing background noise, the impact signals of loose parts, and the correlation dimensions of impact signals from background signals, we find that the change of correlation dimensions can reflect the situation of loose parts in reactor operation greatly, and the nonlinear feature of loose parts is consistent at some point. This method can be used to test the initial loosening of parts and to provide an effective way to improve the stability of loose-part monitoring systems.