Illegal nuclear material’s origin could be traced in just 30 mins with new trick

A new method developed by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) can spot the origins of illegal nuclear material in just 30 minutes. Requiring only a relatively simple instrument, such as a mass spectrometer, the method can help identify the source of any nuclear material outside regulatory control. 

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), theft or improper disposal can result in nuclear and radiological material falling out of regulatory control. In 2024, 124 such incidents were reported to the IAEA, of which at least three were linked to “trafficking or malicious use”. 

Earlier this year, a leader of a crime syndicate pleaded guilty to trafficking nuclear material in a New York court. The accused had discussed sale of yellowcake uranium with an undercover agent.

However, in other instances, such as a raid in a drug lab in Australia, nuclear material was found in powdered form in a regular food jar labelled as “Gamma Source”. It was only later determined to be uranium ore by another US national laboratory. 

According to a press release, with the recent development, the detection time for such cases could be reduced to just 30 minutes.

Quality control instrument turned detector

The research team at LANL used a mass spectrometer, an instrument typically used for quality control procedures at the front end of material development as their nuclear material detector. Available as a regular instrument at the LANL’s chemistry lab, a team of six researchers at the national laboratory decided to use it to test mock samples of unknown origin. 

The team used a Laser Abla­tion Laser Ion­iz­a­tion Time-of-Flight Mass Spec­tro­meter device that uses two lasers. The first laser blasts the sample being tested to create a cloud of particles.

Here, the second laser is activated to break down these particles into smaller molecules that are then arranged by molecular weight and used to determine the material’s constituents. 

In addition to determining whether the material is nuclear or not, it can also provide hints on its origins since nuclear fuel synthesis includes a step of introducing tags in it.

Much like a barcode, when nuclear fuel is synthesized, the facility introduces unique chemical signatures into the fuel to help trace its origins in the event of theft or improper disposal. 

Finding more than expected

In their experiments, the researchers used fuel samples from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee as mock samples for analysis. Since the barcode of these samples is well known, the researchers expected to find traces of molyb­denum, nickel, and tung­sten in their test results. 

Additionally, the researchers found traces of zir­conium and yttrium, which originated from the zirconia-yttria ceramic material used to mix the bulk materials prior to fuel synthesis, demonstrating the method’s accuracy.

Although the method will not completely replace tried-and-tested methods used in court today, its rapid pace can help investigators work in the right direction when they encounter a sample of unknown origin. 

“That’s prob­ably the most import­ant thing it does, is send you in the right dir­ec­tion and give you clues as to what you need to be par­tic­u­larly look­ing for,” said Rebecca Chamberlain, a scientist at LANL who was involved in the work. 

Other potential applications of the approach include determining the source of nuclear material post-detonation as well as improving mining practices, the press release added.