[en] Seventy soil gas-sampling points were installed around the perimeter of the 618-11 Burial Ground, approximately 400 feet downgradient of well 699-13-3A, and in four transects downgradient of the burial ground to a maximum distance of 3,100 feet. Soil gas samples were collected and analyzed for helium-3/helium-4 ratios from these 70 points. Helium-3/helium-4 ratios determined from the soil gas sampling points showed significant enrichments, relative to ambient air helium-3 concentrations. The highest concentrations were located along the northern perimeter of the burial ground. Helium-3/helium-4 ratios (normalized to the abundances in ambient air) ranged from 1.0 to 62 around the burial ground. The helium-3/helium-4 ratios from the 4 transect downgradient of the burial ground ranged from 0.988 to 1.68. The helium-3/helium-4 ratios from around the burial ground suggest there is a vadose zone source of tritium along the north side of the burial ground

[en] Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Safeguards Program collect environmental samples under traditional safeguards, strengthened safeguards, or additional protocols during facility inspections at declared nuclear facilities throughout the world. Currently, there are 400 facilities under IAEA safeguards in 70 countries. All environmental samples are returned to IAEA's Clean Laboratory located in Seiberdorf, Austria, where they are screened for gamma-ray emitting isotopes and prepared for distribution to laboratories for additional sampling. After the sample(s) are analyzed, the results are reported to the United States Network of Analytical Laboratories for input into its database. The IAEA reviews the data and incorporates the results into the safeguards evaluation of the state (country)

[en] Pacific Northwest National Laboratory sampled and analyzed soil gas for helium-3 and helium-4 concentrations from the vicinity of the 618-11 burial ground. The results of the measurement of helium isotopes in soil gas provided a rapid and cost-effective technique to define the shape and extent of tritium contamination from the 618-11 burial ground.

[en] The most time consuming process in uranium or plutonium isotopic analyses is performing the requisite chromatographic separation of the actinides. Filament preparation for thermal ionization (TIMS) adds further delays, but is generally accepted due to the unmatched performance in trace isotopic analyses. Advances in Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) are beginning to rival the performance of TIMS. Methods, such as Electrochemically Modulated Separations (EMS) can efficiently pre-concentrate U or Pu quite selectively from small solution volumes in a matrix of 0.5 M nitric acid. When performed in-line with ICP-MS, the rapid analyte release from the electrode is fast, and large transient analyte signal enhancements of >100 fold can be achieved as compared to more conventional continuous nebulization of the original starting solution. This makes the approach ideal for very low level isotope ratio measurements. In this paper, some aspects of EMS performance are described. These include low level Pu isotope ratio behavior versus concentration by MC-ICP-MS and uranium rejection characteristics that are also important for reliable low level Pu isotope ratio determinations.

[en] This paper describes soil-gas sampling for the rare gases helium and xenon that can be used to define the locations of tritium and transuranic waste. Soil-gas sampling is a minimally invasive technique, in that direct penetration of the waste is not required and no hazardous material is brought to the surface

[en] This paper discusses the results of the latest exercises to demonstrate that laboratories in both Argentina and Brazil have the capability to measure both the amount and isotopic composition of urnaium at the levels expected in typical environmental samples.

[en] In Situ Gaseous Reduction is a technology currently being developed by DOE for the remediation of soil waste sites contaminated with hexavalent chromium. This document presents the results of recent characterization activities undertaken at several of the soil waste sites at Hanford that contain significant levels of hexavalent chromium contamination. The objective of this study is to select a site for initial deployment of the technology at the Hanford Site

[en] In June 1998, the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC), with assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), began a program to assess environmental sampling and analysis capabilities at laboratories in Argentina and Brazil. The program began with staff training conducted in South America and the United States by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Both laboratories are participating members of DOE's Network of Analytical Laboratories (NWAL) that support IAEA's environmental sampling program. During the initial planning meeting, representatives from ABACC and all the participating analytical laboratories supporting ABACC were briefed on how the first exercise would be managed and on key aspects necessary to analyze low-level environmental samples for uranium. Subsequent to this training, a laboratory evaluation exercise (Exercise 1) was conducted using standard swipe samples prepared for this exercise by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The results of Exercise 1 determined that sample contamination was a major factor in the analysis, and a thorough review of laboratory procedures was required to reduce the level of contamination to acceptable levels. Following modification of sample preparation procedures, the laboratories performed Exercise 2, an analysis of a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1547, Peach Leaves. The results of Exercise 2 demonstrated that several laboratories were capable of accurately determining the total uranium and uranium isotopic distribution in the peach leaves. To build on these successes, Exercise 3 was performed using a series of standard swipe samples prepared by the IAEA and distributed to laboratories supporting ABACC and to PNNL and ORNL. The results of Exercise 3 demonstrate that ABACC now has support laboratories in both Argentina and Brazil, which are capable of accurately measuring both the quantity and isotopic composition of uranium at the levels expected in typical environmental samples (i.e., nanogram quantities).

[en] Characterization of transuranic waste is needed to make decisions about waste site remediation. Soil-gas sampling for xenon isotopes can be used to define the locations of spent fuel and transuranic wastes. Radioxenon in the subsurface is characteristic of transuranic waste and can be measured with extreme sensitivity using large-volume soil gas samples. Measurements at the Hanford Site showed 133Xe and 135Xe levels indicative of 240Pu spontaneous fission. Stable xenon isotopic ratios from fission are distinct from atmospheric xenon background. Neutron capture by 135Xe produces an excess of 136Xe in reactor-produced xenon providing a means of distinguishing spent fuel from separated transuranic materials

[en] At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), we have developed highly sensitive methods to analyze uranium and plutonium in environmental samples. The development of an ultratrace analysis capability for measuring uranium and plutonium has arisen from a need to detect and characterize environmental samples for signatures associated with nuclear industry processes. Our most sensitive well-developed methodologies employ thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), however, recent advances in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) have shown considerable promise for use in detecting uranium and plutonium at ultratrace levels. The work at PNNL has included the development of both chemical separation and purification techniques, as well as the development of mass spectrometric instrumentation and techniques. At the heart of our methodology for TIMS analysis is a procedure that utilizes 100-microliter-volumes of analyte for chemical processing to purify, separate, and load actinide elements into resin beads for subsequent mass spectrometric analysis. The resin bead technique has been combined with a thorough knowledge of the physicochemistry of thermal ion emission to achieve femtogram detection limits for the TIMS analysis of plutonium in environmental samples