Evaluating Methods for Removing Radioactive Contamination from Traditional Forensic Evidence: Moths

In 2009, Victoria, Australia police found 300 grams of a uranium oxide compound in a storage property. After initial analysis by the Australian Science & Technology Organization (ANSTO), aliquots of the material were sent to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for further analysis. While aliquoting the sample for analysis, researchers at LLNL found the head and body of a moth. Analysis of the nuclear material indicated that it could not have originated within Australia. Entomological study of the moth could prove useful for understanding the history of the material from production to interdiction within Australia, a type of signature referred to as a “route attribution” signature in nuclear forensics. However, before the moth could be sent to an entomological laboratory, it would need to be decontaminated, a process that could prove destructive. To determine an effective and nondestructive method for decontamination of the evidence moth, exemplar moths were collected and contaminated with a uranium ore concentrate. The contaminated moths were ultrasonicated in eleven solvent systems chosen for their potential decontamination properties. Four of the solvents (5% Radiacwash, 5% Decon 90, acetone, and 1% nitric acid) provided promising results. They removed a significant mass of the uranium ore concentrate without extensive