Resin Bead Mass Spectrometry as a Safeguards Verification Technique

The resin bead technique for isolation of uranium and plutonium from highly radioactive solutions and subsequent mass spectrometric analysis has been successfully tested in a field experiment. Agreement between this technique and older mass spectrometric methods is excellent. We thus propose a protocol for implementation of the resin bead method as an International Atomic Energy Agency procedure for assay of spent fuel dissolver solutions. The advantages and limitations of the procedure are discussed and compared to the dry spike technique now in use.