Use ot Isotope Correlation Techniques to Determine Pu-242 Abundance

Gamma-ray spectrometry is a very desirable technique for determining plutonium isotopic abundances because it is nondestructive and adaptable to making rapid in-line analyses. However, the technique has had the shortcoming of not being able to determine the abundance of the isotope. Here we describe a way around that shortcoming: a very linear and reactor-independent correlation for calculating the isotopic abundance of 242Pu242 Pu from the measured abundances of ?19Pu,