Accelerator mass spectrometry of the actinides

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is presently the most sensitive technique for the measurement of actinides with half-lives greater than about 5000 years. Here, the principles and methodology of heavy-element AMS as applied to 239,240,242,244Pu and 236U are described, and the ways in which these have been implemented in various laboratories around the world are detailed. Actual or potential applications of the method in the areas of environmental science, biomedicine, and nuclear safeguards are reviewed.