Determination of nuclear materials' elemental compistion for the needs of nuclear forensics

Abstract

According to International Atomic Energy Agency there were 419 incidents of illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials in 1993-2012. The problem of illicit trafficking of nuclear materials concerns international community due to the increasing of risks which are connected with proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism. IAEA adopted a plan of activities to fight against illicit trafficking of nuclear and other radioactive materials. Nuclear forensics is included to thisplan. Nuclear forensics is analysis of illicit nuclear materials to determine their origin, place of production and routes of transportation. One of the parts of this investigation is elemental analysis. Elemental analysis is important due to the fact that presence or absence of some elements in nuclear material may indicate about origin or some features of nuclear materials. In this article the most useful methods for elemental analysis are reviewed.