The NBL Program Office has begun a project to recertify the C136, C137 and C138 (former National Bureau of Standards SRM 946, 947 and 948) plutonium isotopic standards. The initial phase of the project is being performed in cooperation with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who are performing development activities and will produce samples of the three materials to be used for characterization samples. Once production is complete, the characterization measurements leading to value assignment and certification will be performed by several Department of Energy laboratories, with verification measurements performed by select international laboratories. The NBL Program Office will perform project oversight, data evaluation, value assignment and issuance of new Certificates of Analysis for the new materials, to be named C136A, C137A and C138A. The NBL Program Office also plans to issue revised Certificates of Analysis with updated isotopic values and uncertainties for the original C136, C137 and C138 materials.This presentation will review the current array of plutonium isotopic standards and discuss traceability of current and future plutonium isotopic standards issued by the NBL Program Office. This will include a review of the production and certification of CRM 128, plutonium 239/242 isotopic standard, which serves as the primary calibrant for high accuracy plutonium isotopic measurements. The certification of CRM 126A, plutonium metal standard will be reviewed, and the current status and plans for recertification of the C136, C137 and C138 materials.
Year
2020
Abstract