Mass Spectrometry Metrology to Enhance Nuclear Safeguards-related Particle Analysis
Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Measurement Science Division
NIST only participates in the February and August reviews.
Nuclear Safeguards is a process by which States’ nuclear activities are verified to conform to their international commitments. One aspect of Nuclear Safeguards is the collection and analysis of environmental samples from nuclear sites. Collective and individual particulate material from environmental samples can be characterized to infer details of nuclear activities. Individual microparticles are atom-limited by nature, presenting challenges for their isolation and analysis. Mass spectrometry techniques, such as Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), are currently used by the International Nuclear Safeguards community to interrogate the elemental and isotopic compositions of actinide-bearing particles. At NIST, we use large-geometry SIMS instruments to develop new particle analysis methods, improve analytical accuracy and reproducibility, and collaboratively develop new microparticle reference materials to enhance the quality and capability of Safeguards-related particle analyses.