A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium by γ-ray spectrometry

A convenient method for discriminating between natural and depleted uranium reagent was developed by measuring and analyzing the γ-ray spectra of some reagents with no standard source. The counting rates (R) of photoelectric peaks of γ-rays from nuclides with the same radioactivity divided by their emission probability (B) are expressed as a function of γ-ray energy. The radioactivities of 234Th and 234mPa and 21.72 times that of 235U are equal to the radioactivity of 238U in natural uranium. Therefore, the plot of 21.72-fold R/B for 235U should be on a curve fitted to the points for 234Th and 234mPa in natural uranium. Depleted uranium with a 235U isotopic composition of less than 0.68% could be discriminated from natural uranium in the case of a reagent containing 4.0 g of uranium.