Determining the Specific Activity of Carbon-14 in Samples of Irradiated Mixed Nitride Uranium-Plutonium Nuclear Fuel

A procedure for determining the specific activity of carbon-14 in samples of irradiated nuclear fuel (INF) has been developed and metrologically certified. The procedure is based on oxidation of 14C to 14CO2 and its catching with alkaline traps, followed by determination of its β-activity by the method of liquid-scintillation counting (LSC). The specific activity of 14C was determined in two samples of mixed nitride uranium-plutonium (MNUP) fuel irradiated in a BN-600 reactor.