Determination of Errors Present in a Mass Spectrometric Evaluation of Uranium Isotopes

In this article the magnitude of the error in a mass spectrametric evaluation of uranium content at the Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W) analytical laboratory is determined. The quantities being evaluated are the elemental uranium fraction and the isotopic fractions of each of the uranium isotopes. The basic uncertainties in the operations of each of these three phases are identified. The uncertainties in the different phases are propagated using both linear and Monte Carlo techniques and result in long-term systematic, short-term systematic, and random errors, respectively. Underlying uncerainties include those resulting from weighing, uncertainties in standard material composition, and uncertainties introduced by use of the mass spectrometer from atom ratio measurements.