Research Area: |
Nuclear Hazards and Risks |
|---|---|
Researcher: |
David Reading, University of Southampton |
| Partners: | AWE |
| Funders: | AWE Outreach award |
The Challenge
Nuclear forensics is dedicated to the characterisation of radiological and nuclear materials out of regulatory control. Its purpose is to determine the history of such nuclear material, for example its provenance and geolocation which determines the source and route of the material.
This project aims to determine the origin of uranium ore and its concentrates. These can vary from low uranium concentrations through to "yellowcake" which contains 70-90 % uranium. Ultimately the concentrate is fabricated into a fuel for nuclear reactors.