Monitor for detecting nuclear waste leakage in a subsurface repository

The remote fiber fluorimetric portion of the program is slightly ahead of schedule and proceeding well technically. Proof of principle has been demonstrated over a 0.2 km path length using an organic tracer material. Performance and design calculations have been made for the fiber optic components of the system. Optimized fibers have been ordered and special jigs and optical couplings are presently being fabricated. Progress on the high-sensitivity analyzer using coprecipitation techniques has proceeded well ahead of schedule with technical results far above expectations. Preliminary measurements in the UO22+/CaF2 detection system has proved sensitivities well beyond the natural background limit. While further improvement of sensitivity (to 10-15 g) already is planned, emphasis will now be placed on locating and dealing with possible interferences and on determining how to improve and optimize quantitative accuracy. In addition, simplication of the sample preparation procedure and downscaling to use very small (< 1 ml) groundwater samples is planned. In the longer time frame, work on maximum chemical speciation and the possibility of isotopic speciation will be undertaken. Once the coprecipitation procedures, instrumentation, and spectroscopy have been fully refined for uranium, then the process will be repeated for plutonium and perhaps americium and thorium