Feasibility study of fissile mass detection in 870 L radioactive waste drums using delayed gamma rays from neutron-induced fission

R. de Stefano (1) , C. Carasco (1) , B. Pérot (1) , E. Simon (1) , T. Nicol (1, 2) , E. Mauerhofer (3)

1 CEA-DES (ex-DEN) - CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire)
2 SPRC - Service de Physique des Réacteurs et du Cycle
3 JCNS - Jülich Centre for Neutron Science

The measurement of delayed gamma rays following neutron-induced fission is simulated with MCNP 6.1 to investigate the feasibility of fissile material detection in long-lived, medium activity radioactive waste in 870 L drums. The signal from homogeneously distributed fissile material in the drum is several hundred counts in the main delayed gamma peaks of interest. In a peripheral position or in the drum center, the signal is however too small to allow for a reliable measurement

Keywords: neutron induced fission; long-lived medium activity waste; 870 L radioactive waste drum; MCNP; Delayed gamma

Domains: Physics [physics]; Nuclear Experiment [nucl-ex]

R. de Stefano, C. Carasco, B. Pérot, E. Simon, T. Nicol, et al.. Feasibility study of fissile mass detection in 870 L radioactive waste drums using delayed gamma rays from neutron-induced fission. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 2019, 322, pp.1185-1194. ⟨10.1007/s10967-019-06731-2⟩. ⟨cea-02591079⟩