Publication Date: 2/1/73     Pages: 1     Date Entered: 2/22/84     Title: STANDARD METHODS FOR CHEMICAL, MASS SPECTROMETRIC, AND SPECTROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF NUCLEAR-GRADE URANIUM DIOXIDE POWDERS AND PELLETS     2/9/73     U.S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION     REGULATORY GUIDE     DIRECTORATE OF REGULATORY STANDARDS     REGULATORY GUIDE 5.5     STANDARD METHODS FOR CHEMICAL, MASS SPECTROMETRIC,     AND SPECTROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF     NUCLEAR-GRADE URANIUM DIOXIDE POWDERS AND PELLETS A. INTRODUCTION     Paragraph 70.22(b) of 10 CFR Part 70, "Special Nuclear Material,"     requires an applicant for a license to possess certain quantities of     special nuclear material in an unsealed form to describe, among other     things, his procedures for control of and accounting for such material.     This guide identifies acceptable methods for chemical, isotopic, and     impurity analysis which an applicant may specify as part of his     procedures for accounting for special nuclear material. B. DISCUSSION     Committee C-26 on Fuel, Control, and Moderator Materials for     Nuclear Reactor Applications of the American Society for Testing and     Materials (ASTM) has developed a standard containing some methods for     the analytical chemical analysis of nuclear-grade uranium dioxide     powders and pellets. These methods cover the analysis for uranium     content by a titrimetric and gravimetric method to be used for uranium     dioxide of varying impurity levels and sample sizes, for oxygen-uranium     atomic ratio to verify stoichiometry, for verification of isotopic     uranium composition, and for various impurities such as carbon,     chloride, fluoride, moisture, nitrogen, sulfur, and trace elements.     This standard was approved by the ASTM on March 3, 1972, and published     in May 1972 with the designation C 696-72.(1)C. REGULATORY POSITION     The analytical methods for the measurement of nuclear-grade     uranium dioxide powders and pellets contained in ASTM Standard C 696-72,     "Standard Methods for Chemical, Mass Spectrometric, and Spectrochemical     Analysis of Nuclear-Grade Uranium Dioxide Powders and Pellets," are     generally acceptable and provide an adequate basis for the assay,     isotopic measurement, and impurity analysis of nuclear-grade uranium     dioxide powders and pellets.     ----------     (1) Copies may be obtained from the American Society for Testing     and Materials, 1916 Race St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.     ----------     42