Radiography and Local Microanalysis for Detection and Examination of Actinide-Containing Microparticles

A procedure was proposed for examination of the spatial microdistribution of fissile actinide isotopes (235U, 239Pu) in various environmental objects (soils, bottom sediments, aerosols, colloid material). Complex analysis of natural actinide-containing microparticles involves α-track radiography (ATR) and neutron-induced fission track radiography (NITR), highly sensitive nondestructive methods for determining the spatial microdistribution of α-emitting and fissile actinides, respectively, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for local microanalysis of the general elemental and isotope composition of the particles and determination of the morphology and size of the particles. The actinide-containing particles were localized using an SEM microgrid with electrodeposited 239Pu. Particles characterized by a high concentration of actinides were detected by SEM and SIMS, while those with a low content of actinides, by track radiography followed by fragmentation of the sample for subsequent analysis (γ-ray spectrometry etc.).