Characterization of uranium isotopic abundances in depleted uranium metal assay standard 115

Abstract

Certified reference material (CRM) 115, Uranium (Depleted) Metal (Uranium Assay Standard), was analyzed using a TRITON Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer to characterize the uranium isotope-amount ratios. The certified 235U/238U “major” isotope-amount ratio of 0.0020337 (12) in CRM 115 was determined using the total evaporation (TE) and the modified total evaporation (MTE) analytical techniques. In the MTE method, the total evaporation process is interrupted on a regular basis to allow correction of background from peak tailing, internal calibration of the secondary electron multiplier detector versus the Faraday cups, peak-centering, and ion source re-focusing. For the “minor” 234U/238U and 236U/238U isotope-amount ratio measurements using MTE, precision and accuracy comparable to conventional analyses are achieved, without compromising the quality of the 235U/238U isotope-amount ratios. Characterized values of the 234U/238U and 236U/238U isotope-amount ratios in CRM 115 are 0.000007545 (10) and 0.000032213 (84), respectively. The 233U/238U isotope-amount ratio in CRM 115 is estimated to be <5 × 10−9. The homogeneity of the CRM 115 materials is established through the absence of any statistically significant unit-to-unit variation in the uranium isotope-amount ratios. The measurements leading to the certification of uranium isotope-amount ratios are discussed.