Nuclear Operations and Facilities’ equipment available for use in various facilities.
The CANS receiving cell is a versatile space capable of numerous applications with its open space. It is also equipped to receive vertical and horizontal casks.
The Machining Cell is equipped with a Tormach PCNC 770 CNC 3D mill.
This cell is equipped with suite of equipment including: a fully automatic microprocessor for controlled electrolytic polishing and etching, precision cutting of large samples, an automatic electro-hydraulic mounting press, and a grinding/polishing machine with variable speed.
This hotcell is equipped with an MTS Landmark servohydraulic test system. The software – MTS test suite tensile module with Test suites analyzes for low cycle fatigue, Klc fracture toughness and fracture analysis.
This hotcell is equipped with an Olympus Opto-Digital Microscope for analysis of highly radioactive samples.
At the end of the hotcell suite the instrument room contains a shielded FEI Versa Dual Beam Scattering Electron Microscope/Focused Ion Beam (SEM/FIB) with EDAX trident system and two fume hoods for handling and etching of small active samples.
Delayed Neutron Counting (DNC) is most commonly used for determining uranium content in soil samples for the uranium mining industry. A non-destructive technique, it can therefore be used for expensive or irreplaceable samples such as archaeological artifacts.
PGNAA utilizes the “prompt” gamma rays emitted during neutron capture, rather than the gamma rays that are emitted as the result of radioisotope decay. Used to determine elemental composition; useful for quantifying Boron, Cadmium and certain lanthanoids (Eu, Gd, Sm).
Germanium detectors are semiconductor diodes having a p-i-n structure in which the intrinsic (I) region is sensitive to ionizing radiation, particularly x-rays and gamma rays.
ICP-OES, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy, is a powerful analytical technique used to detect and measure the concentration of elements in a sample, especially metals.
It uses a very hot plasma to excite atoms and ions in a sample. When these excited species return to their ground state, they emit light at characteristic wavelengths. By measuring the intensity of this emitted light, the concentration of each element can be determined.
Advantages include detecting multiple elements simultaneously, wide dynamic range with high precision and sensitivity.
Below are examples of elements that can be analyzed using this technique. Other elements are also possible.
The ICP-OES is housed within the High-Level Laboratory Facility (HLLF). Both radioactive and non-radioactive samples can be analyzed in this facility.
ICP-MS, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, is an advanced analytical technique used to detect and quantify trace elements and isotopes in a sample with extremely high sensitivity.
ICP-MS combines two powerful technologies. The first is Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), which ionizes the sample. A plasma torch (using argon gas) heats the sample to very high temperatures, turning atoms into ions. The second is Mass Spectrometry (MS). This part separates and detects the ions based on their mass-to-charge ratio (m/z). It identifies and quantifies the elements present in the sample.
ICP-MS is extremely sensitive. It can detect elements at parts-per-trillion (ppt) levels and can perform isotopic analysis to distinguish between different isotopes of the same element.
Key ICPMS Analytes
Heavy Metals
Rare Earth Elements (REEs)
Other Trace Elements
The ICP-MS is housed within the High-Level Laboratory Facility (HLLF). Both radioactive and non-radioactive samples can be analyzed in this facility.
A 10 kCi Co-60 source is housed in the industrial hotcell within containment at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor. Various irradiations are routinely done ranging from qualifying nuclear equipment to sterilization and nuclear dating.
The Taylor Source is a large volume, high dose-rate Cs-137 source, commonly used to examine the effects of ionizing radiation on living systems.
A linear, horizontal, single ended Van De Graaff accelerator with a design rating of 3MV. It is used for a wide variety of experiments.
The McMaster Accelerator Laboratory houses a 1.25MV Tandetron tandem type accelerator custom made by High Voltage Engineering in the Netherlands. It is used to support on-going research in the medical field using in vivo neutron activation analysis and to test and calibrate new detectors and instruments.
A single-particle irradiation beam, it is used to study low level radiation dosimetry by delivering single helium or hydrogen ions into individual cells.
The McMaster University Cyclotron Facility is home to a 16.5 MeV GE PETtrace negative ion cyclotron designed for the production of short-lived positron-emitting isotopes such as Fluorine-18.