In uncontaminated natural materials, plutonium and technetium exist exclusively as products (daughters) of nuclear reactions in which uranium is the principal reactant (parent). Under conditions of chemical stability over geologic periods of time, the relative abundances of daughter and parent elements are fixed by the rates of nuclear reactions and the decay of the daughter radionuclide. The state of this nuclear secular equilibrium condition is the primary basis of the geochemical study of these elements in nature. Thus, it is critical that nuclear parent and daughter abundances are measured in the same sample. We have developed a quantitative procedure for measuring subpicogram quantities of plutonium and technetium in gram quantities of geologic matrices such as uranium ores. The procedure takes advantage of the aggressive properties of sodium peroxide/hydroxide fusion to ensure complete dissolution and homogenization of complex materials, the precision provided by isotope dilution techniques, and the extreme sensitivity offered by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Using this technique, a quantitative aliquot can be removed for uranium analysis by isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry or α spectrometry. Although the application of the procedure is unique, the analytical concepts may find more general application in studies of environmental contamination by nuclear materials. To assess the precision and accuracy of the analytical results, blanks and standards were analyzed routinely for a 1-year period to ensure quality control of our sample analyses. The average technetium blank is 5 ± 4 fg (n = 8), and that for plutonium is 0.17 ± 0.15 pg (n = 7). Thus, the detection limit for technetium (defined as 3 times the standard deviation of the average blank) is 11 fg, and that for plutonium is 0.44 pg. To assess the procedural precision, Canadian Reference Material BL-5 was analyzed routinely with samples. The results of seven replicate analyses for technetium in this standard reference material yield a technetium concentration of 59.0 fg/g, with a remarkably small standard deviation of 0.6 fg, 1.0% of the average value. The results of six replicate analyses for the concentration of plutonium in BL-5 give 1.012 pg/g, with an equally small standard deviation of 0.016, 1.6% of the average value. No direct measure of accuracy can be done on the technetium or plutonium analyses, because no standard reference material exists for these elements. To help constrain the accuracy of our measurements, equilibrium technetium/uranium and plutonium/uranium abundances were calculated using the nuclear reaction code MCNP. For technetium, such calculations are relatively insensitive to variations in model parameters, and measurements fall within a 21% high/low bias. For plutonium, the calculations are very sensitive to model parameters and hence inherently less precise. Indirectly, spike and isotope mix calibrations made from weighted quantities of certified isotopes (both technetium and plutonium) can be used t...
A carrier-free chemical procedure has been developed to separate and purify nanogram quantities of the long-lived isomer of 236 Np ( 236i Np, tm = 1.2 χ 10 5 a) and 236 Pu from gram quantities of uranium. A target containing 2 g of highly enriched 23 5 U was irradiated for 3960 μ Ah with 20.1 MeV deuterons. A total of 4.45 χ 10 13 atoms of 236, Np and 1.14 χ 10 14 atoms of 236 Pu was recovered.
Anion exchange distributions of 68 elements have been measured from 0.1-8.7M HBr and from 0.1-7.4M HI onto three strong-base resins, 8 and 4% cross-linked and macrcporous. Data were obtained by 16-to 18-h dynamic batch contacts. Anion exchange in these media is compared to that in HCl. The effect of reain cross-linkage is considerably greater in HI media than in HBr and HCl media. Examples are presented of potentially useful separations using HBr and HI media alone and in combination with HCl.
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