The use of SEM-EDX for the identification of uranium compounds in swipe samples for nuclear safeguards

Abstract

Environmental swipe sampling for safeguards purposes has been used by International Atomic Energy Agency since 1996 and is a powerful tool to detect undeclared materials and activities in States under safeguards agreements. The Secondary Electron Microscope with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray analyzing system (SEM-EDX) can be particularly useful in the initial identification of uranium in swipe samples and might be appropriate to identify and characterize uranium particles This work describes the use of SEM-EDX, as an initial screening technique, in real-life swipe samples for identifying and characterizing uranium particles. The swipe samples were collected in a conversion plant at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute – IPEN/CNEN, São Paulo, Brazil