Nondestructive assay of spent nuclear fuel with gamma-ray spectroscopy

An important issue in nuclear safeguards is to verify operator-declared data of spent nuclear fuel. Various techniques have therefore been assigned for this purpose. A nondestructive approach is to measure the gamma radiation from spent nuclear fuel assemblies. Using this technique, parameters such as burnup and cooling time can be calculated or verified. In this paper, we propose the utilization of gamma rays from 137Cs, 134Cs and 154Eu to determine the consistency of operator-declared information. Specifically, we have investigated to what extent irradiation histories can be verified. Computer simulations were used in order to determine limits for detecting small deviations from declared data. In addition, the technique has been experimentally demonstrated on 12 PWR fuel assemblies. A technique for determining burnup and cooling time for fuel assemblies where no operator-declared information is available is also presented. In such a case, the burnup could be determined with 1.6% relative standard deviation and the cooling time with 1.5%.