The University of Southampton’s radiochemistry facility is based at our Waterfront Campus at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). This facility supports civil nuclear programmes, decommissioning and site clean-up and new nuclear infrastructure through:
commercial radioanalytical services provided by our UKAS accredited laboratory, GAU-Radioanalytical
our easily accessible research and development facility, NNUF-EXACT (part of the National Nuclear Users Facility)
Training
We train project managers, site engineers and radiochemists. We've developed our training programme in collaboration with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), our EXACT training partner. We provide courses on all aspects of nuclear characterisation, remediation and analysis.
surface/pore area analysis (Anton Paar Quadrasorb)
As well as being able to access the above analytical instrumentation, research and development using radioactive materials and radiotracers can be carried out in the NNUF-EXACT facility by making use of our flexible, user-configurable workspaces:
Main laboratory
This is a large open plan laboratory space which includes 8 fume cupboards and a glove box system to provide containment for projects and sample handling. We provide mobile benching, power and data. These are configurable to specific project requirements. A modular flow rig system is also available to assist with testing of on-line and in-situ technologies.
Project laboratory
This laboratory is suited to sensor testing and development. It is primarily intended as a low-hazard wet/dry project space, equipped with mobile benching and can also include mobile dust extraction if required.
Sample preparation laboratory
This laboratory provides the capability to prepare a wide range of materials for project applications and analysis. These include:
precision cutting
grinding
drying/igniting
It also includes a HEPA extracted workstation for sample handling.
Expert team
Our team is experienced in radiochemistry, radiation measurement and radiation safety. We provide facility induction training to all users. This includes:
