A gamma-ray verification system for special nuclear material

The Safeguards Technology Program at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed a gamma-ray screening system for use by the Materials Management Section of the Engineering Sciences Division at LLNL for verifying the presence or absence of special nuclear material (SNM) in a sample. This system facilitates the measurements required under the ``5610`` series of US Department of Energy orders. MMGAM is an intelligent, menu driven software application that runs on a personal computer and requires a precalibrated multi-channel analyzer and HPGe detector. It provides a very quick and easy-to-use means of determining the presence of SNM in a sample. After guiding the operator through a menu driven set-up procedure, the system provides an on-screen GO/NO-GO indication after determining the system calibration status. This system represents advances over earlier used systems in the areas of ease-of use, operator training requirements, and quality assurance. The system records the gamma radiation from a sample using a sequence of measurements involving a background measurement followed immediately by a measurement of the unknown sample. Both spectra are stored and available for analysis or output. In the current application, the presence of {sup 235}U, {sup 238}U, {sup 239}Pu, and {sup 208}Tl isotopes are indicatedmore » by extracting, from the stored spectra, four energy ``windows`` preset around gamma-ray lines characteristic of the radioactive decay of these nuclides. The system is easily extendible to more complicated problems.« less