On-line control of concentration and mass of plutonium, uranium, americium and of acidity contained in a solution by a 'GAMMA-X-ray' spectrometer

Instead of determining the masses of actinides (U, Pu, Am) and acidity contained in solutions originating from a nuclear waste reprocessing plant by sampling, on-line control directly on actinides, transferred into the storage unit, has been developed. The apparatus required is a Gamma-X-ray spectrometer combined with a mass-flow ratemeter. It is possible to determine the metal masses and acidity by combining the flow of the solution, its density, its total volume and the concentrations in U, Pu and Am. Data acquisition and treatment are managed by an interactive software. An accuracy better than 10% can be reached. (TEC). 2 figs., 7 refs