Investigation of Luminescent Ceria as a Plutonium Oxide Simulant. Final Report

Plutonium oxide powders from various production lines at Los Alamos National Laboratory are stored and transported in specially designed “SAVY-4000”, “Hagan”, or other containment systems. Cerium oxide powder has been used as a less-hazardous simulant powder for testing accidental release from these containers under various operational scenarios. This work investigates the development and use of fluorescent cerium oxide powders as a more easily detectable, and potentially quantifiable, simulant powder for plutonium oxide container systems