Radioactivity in monitoring materials processing

Monitoring of the concentration of actinides in process streams and waste materials can be effectively carried out by detecting and measuring their radioactive emissions. Such monitoring techniques lead to more efficient control of the process, and also aid in the minimization of losses to the waste and better accounting of the nuclear materials. This paper provides an overview of some of the techniques such as on-line alpha monitoring, passive and active neutron assay and gamma counting, and also describes the monitoring systems which have been developed in our laboratory for use in a reprocessing plant. (author). 15 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs