MJ3ASUREMENT OF LANTHANUM AND TECHNETIUM IN URANIUM FUELS BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY I MEASUREMENT OF LANTHANUM AND TECHNETIUM IN URANIUM FUELS BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ATOMIC EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY

ABSTRACT An important parameter in characterizing an irradiated nuclear fuel is determining the amount of uranium fissioned. By determining the amount of uranium fissioned in the fuel a "burnup" performance parameter can be calculated, and the amount of fission products left in the fuel can be predicted. The quantity of uranium fissioned can be calculated horn the amount of lanthanum and technetium present in the fuel. Lanthanum and technetium were measured in irradiated fuel samples using an Inductively coupled Plasma~tomic mission @ctroscopy (ICP-AES) instrument and separation equipment located in a shielded glovebox. A discussion of the method, interferences, detection Iiiits, quality control and a comparison to other work will be presented