FY2010 - Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Seed Money Fund—
Chemical Sciences Division
Information Shared
Greenbaum, E., P. D. Rack, I. I. Kravchenko, B. R. Evans, and C. A. Sanders. 2010. “High-Yield, Fault
and Defect-Tolerant Hydrogen and Oxygen Production via the Electrolysis of Water.” U.S. Patent
Application 12/963,857, filed December 9.
05880
Nuclear Materials FTIR
Linda A. Lewis, Rick Moyers, and Denise Schuh
Project Description
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) hyperspectral imaging could potentially facilitate the
identification of chemical species peculiar to nuclear materials and their processing for close-range
measurements (up to 25 m) of trace residues or for long-range applications (up to 5 km) of major
contaminants. The goal of this project is to analyze the long wavelength (thermal) signature of targeted
uranium-based solids, such as UO 3 , U 3 O 8 , UO 2 F 2 , using a single-point (passive) FTIR system, and assess
the merits of performance and limits of detection utilizing this technique to acquire FTIR imaging data to
identify areas of contamination from either close-range or standoff distances. If successful, the technique
could be utilized in nuclear proliferation, contamination, and characterization applications.
Mission Relevance
The identification of nuclear materials is important in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and
also preventing the use of nuclear materials in dirty bombs. It is possible that the high-resolution chemical
identification capabilities of FTIR hyperspectral thermal imaging can be applied to imaging surface
contaminants and airborne emissions related to nuclear material processing at substantial standoff
distances. FTIR hyperspectral imaging creates false-color images of chemicals from interferograms (i.e.,
signals measured from the superposition of waves that have been split and phase-shifted) which, when
superimposed on optical images, yield intuitive, visible presentations of measured materials.
The search for and identification of nuclear materials traditionally has been conducted by detecting
characteristic ionizing photons or neutrons emitted during nuclear transitions of the subject material. The
use of radiation-based detection methods to sense and identify the presence of radioisotopes is only a
partial solution to preventing the proliferation of nuclear material. Key fundamental detection issues
remain, including the relative ease with which nuclear materials can be shielded, geometric limitations
(detector sizes and source-to-detector operating ranges), and potentially long counting times. Additional
sensing approaches may complement or supplement measured radiation observations. For some
applications, these approaches could potentially support nuclear materials production processing and
control; in other cases, they may help reveal the presence of contraband materials or the occurrence of
undeclared activities.
Results and Accomplishments
Because the project was initiated late in FY 2009, the effort was extended into FY 2010. To date, the
FTIR (reflectance mode) has been leased, radiological work requirements completed, samples identified,
and a required blackbody calibration source ordered and received. Data collection was completed the first
week of November 2010, and the data is now being processed. The materials tested were UO 3 , UO 2 F 2 ,
U 3 O 8 , UO 2 , UO 3 , UF 4 , and NH 4 NO 3 .
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