Comparison of ICP-MS and SIMS techniques for determining uranium isotope ratios in individual particles

Esaka, Fumitaka; Magara, Masaaki; Lee, C.G.; Sakurai, S.; Usuda, Shigekazu; Shinohara, Nobuo

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2008.11.011

Cited by 38 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] The methods and procedures were validated, for example, by the use of reference materials certified by NBL (New Brunswick Laboratory) such as CRM111A ( 233 U 29 for validation of the developed bulk and particle analytical methods. The JAEA's measurement results and capabilities were proved to be excellent in the comparisons.…”

Section: Validation Of Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

QA/QC Activities and Estimation of Uncertainty for Ultra-trace Analysis of Uranium and Plutonium in Safeguards Environmental Samples

Usuda

Magara

Esaka

et al. 2010

Journal of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences

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Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting the environmental sample analysis, which is one of the IAEA's safeguards measures. In the analysis, isotope ratios of ultra-trace amounts of uranium and plutonium in samples taken from nuclear facilities are determined to detect undeclared nuclear materials and activities. In order to keep and enhance the reliability of the measurement results, validation of analytical methods and estimation of measurement uncertainty in such ultra-trace analysis should be properly done in accordance with worldwide standards. In this paper, the current activities on achievement of QA/QC (quality assurance and quality control) and estimation of measurement uncertainty in the ultra-trace analysis at a clean chemistry laboratory (CLEAR) of JAEA are reported.

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Section: Validation Of Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

QA/QC Activities and Estimation of Uncertainty for Ultra-trace Analysis of Uranium and Plutonium in Safeguards Environmental Samples

Usuda

Magara

Esaka

et al. 2010

Journal of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences

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“…235 U 1 H on 236 U, but this can be minimised by the use of a desolvating nebuliser. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) has been used in the nuclear forensics context for the precise analysis of uranium and plutonium isotope ratios directly from particulates [29][30][31] .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modern MC-ICP-MS systems offer faster set-up times, which could further improve productivity. Pre-concentration of particles of interest using dense liquid separation was quick and effective, and allows for efficient analysis by laser ablation (or SIMS 29,31 . It is hard to judge from the literature that achieved by FT-TIMS, although TIMS may offer better analytical precision.…”

Section: Analytical Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Precise and accurate isotopic analysis of microscopic uranium-oxide grains using LA-MC-ICP-MS

Lloyd

Parrish

Horstwood³

et al. 2009

J. Anal. At. Spectrom.

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Uranium isotope ( 235 U, 236 U, 238 U) ratios were determined for microscopic uranium-oxide grains using laser-ablation multi-collector inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS). The grains were retrieved from contaminated soil and dust samples. The analytical technique utilised is rapid, requires minimal sample preparation, and is well suited for nuclear forensic applications. Precision and accuracy were assessed by replicate analyses of natural uraninite grains: relative uncertainty for 235 U/ 238 U is 0.2 % (2σ), and the mean is in agreement with the natural ratio. A total of 115 uranium-oxide grains were analysed from environmental samples (soils and dusts); all of these were depleted uranium (DU) from a factory that produced uranium articles. Knowledge of the range of isotope ratios from particles of this controversial contaminant has proven useful when interpreting isotope ratios from bulk samples. Variation of the measured isotope signatures reveals details of the history of uranium processing and emissions.

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“…[3][4] SIMS is used to measure the isotope ratios of U and/or Pu within individual particles from environmental samples. [5][6] SIMS is especially good for high spatial selectivity, which enables us to focus the analysis on a speicific location with micro-scopic spatial resolution. However, isobaric interferences -mainly from hydrides and oxides -and a relatively low sensitivity when compared to ICP-MS are the main demerits of SIMS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of Using Graphite Powder to Enhance Uranium Ion Intensity in Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS)

Park¹

2016

Mass Spectrometry Letters

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: This study explored the feasibility of using a carburization technique to enhance the ion intensity of isotopic analysis of ultra-trace levels of uranium using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Prior to fixing uranium samples on TIMS filaments, graphite powder suspended in nitric acid was deposited on rhenium filaments. We observed an enhancement ofintensity by a factor of two when carburization was used, and were able to roughly optimize the amount of graphite powder necessary for carburization. The positive shift in heating current when evaporating filaments upon carburization implies that uranium was chemically altered by carburization, when compared to normal fixation processes. The good agreement between our method and known standards down to an ultra-trace level shows that the proposed technique can be applied to isotopic uranium analysis down to abundances of ~10 pg.

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Comparison of ICP-MS and SIMS techniques for determining uranium isotope ratios in individual particles

Cited by 38 publications

References 11 publications

QA/QC Activities and Estimation of Uncertainty for Ultra-trace Analysis of Uranium and Plutonium in Safeguards Environmental Samples

QA/QC Activities and Estimation of Uncertainty for Ultra-trace Analysis of Uranium and Plutonium in Safeguards Environmental Samples

Precise and accurate isotopic analysis of microscopic uranium-oxide grains using LA-MC-ICP-MS

Feasibility of Using Graphite Powder to Enhance Uranium Ion Intensity in Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS)

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