Assessing the microscale heterogeneity in Standard Reference Material 4600 Surrogate Post-detonation Urban Debris

Jacqueline L Mann; John L Molloy; JoAnn Buscaglia; Kevin P Pfeuffer; Barbara L Fallon; Mark A Tyra

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109651

Assessing the microscale heterogeneity in Standard Reference Material 4600 Surrogate Post-detonation Urban Debris

Appl Radiat Isot. 2021 Jun:172:109651. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109651. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Authors

Jacqueline L Mann¹, John L Molloy², JoAnn Buscaglia³, Kevin P Pfeuffer⁴, Barbara L Fallon⁵, Mark A Tyra⁶

Affiliations

¹ NIST, Inorganic Chemical Metrology Group, Chemical Sciences Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, Building 227 Room B352, MS 8391, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA. Electronic address: jmann@nist.gov.
² NIST, Inorganic Chemical Metrology Group, Chemical Sciences Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, Building 227 Room A347, MS 8391, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA. Electronic address: john.molloy@nist.gov.
³ FBI Laboratory, Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit (currently renamed Research and Support Unit), 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA, 22135, USA. Electronic address: jbuscaglia@fbi.gov.
⁴ FBI Laboratory/ORISE, Visiting Scientist Program, Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit (currently renamed Research and Support Unit), 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA 22135, USA; Currently Chemring Sensors and Electronic Systems, 4205 Westinghouse Commons Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28273, USA. Electronic address: kpfeuffer1@gmail.com.
⁵ FBI Laboratory/ORISE, Visiting Scientist Program, Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit (currently renamed Research and Support Unit), Currently FBI Laboratory, Trace Evidence Unit, 2501 Investigation Parkway, Quantico, VA, 22135, USA. Electronic address: blfallon@fbi.gov.
⁶ NIST, Radioactivity Group, Radiation Physics Division, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Building 245 Room C116, MS 8462, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA. Electronic address: mark.tyra@nist.gov.

PMID: 33740668
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109651

Abstract

Nondestructive microbeam X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) spectrometry has been used to investigate the elemental microheterogeneity in a nuclear forensics reference material (RM), NIST SRM 4600 Surrogate Post-detonation Urban Debris. Using a principal component analysis (PCA) model, results indicate the majority of elements appear homogeneous; however, zinc (Zn) exhibits microscale heterogeneity for this SRM. To minimize contributions to the measurement uncertainty from elemental microheterogeneity, a minimum sample mass of 24 mg is recommended for analysis.

Keywords: Microheterogeneity; PCA; SRM; Surrogate debris; X-ray fluorescence.