Effect of {sup 241}Am content on plutonium radiation source terms

The management of excess plutonium by the US Department of Energy (DOE) includes a number of storage and disposition alternatives. The Savannah River Site (SRS) is supporting DOE with plutonium disposition efforts, including the immobilization of certain plutonium materials in a borosilicate glass matrix. Surplus plutonium inventories slated for vitrification include materials with elevated levels of {sup 241}Am. The {sup 241}Am content of plutonium materials generally reflects in-growth of the isotope due to decay of plutonium and is age-dependent. However, select plutonium inventories have {sup 241}Am levels considerably above the age-based levels. Elevated levels of americium significantly impact radiation source terms of plutonium materials and will make handling of the materials more difficult. Plutonium materials are normally handled in shielded glove boxes, and the work entails both extremity and whole-body exposures. Results are reported of an SRS analysis of plutonium materials source terms versus the {sup 241}Am content of the materials. Data with respect to dependence and magnitude of source terms on/versus {sup 241}Am levels are presented and discussed. The investigation encompasses both vitrified and unvitrified plutonium oxide (PuO{sub 2}) batches.