EVALUATING EFFECTS OF NEPTUNIUM ON THE SRS METHOD FOR CONTROLLED POTENTIAL COULOMETRIC ASSAY OF PLUTONIUM IN SULFURIC ACID SUPPORTING ELECTROLYTE

A study of the impact of neptunium on the coulometric assay of plutonium in dilute sulfuric acid was performed. Weight aliquots of plutonium standard solutions were spiked with purified neptunium solution to evaluate plutonium measurement performance for aliquots with Pu:Np ratios of 50:1, 30:1, 20:1, 15:1, and 10:1. Weight aliquots of the pure plutonium standard solution were measured as controls. Routine plutonium instrument control standards were also measured. The presence of neptunium in plutonium aliquots significantly increases the random uncertainty associated with the plutonium coulometric measurement performed in accordance with ISO12183:2005.7 However, the presence of neptunium does not appear to degrade electrode performance and conditioning as aliquots of pure plutonium that were interspersed during the measurement of the mixed Pu:Np aliquots continued to achieve the historical short-term random uncertainty for the method. Lack of adequate control of the neptunium oxidation state is suspected to be the primary cause of the elevated measurement uncertainty and will be pursued in a future study.