Determination of 241Am in Environmental Samples: A Review

Abstract

The determination of 241Am in the environment is of importance in monitoring its release and assessing its environmental impact and radiological risk. This paper aims to give an overview about the recent developments and the state-of-art analytical methods for 241Am determination in environmental samples. Thorough discussions are given in this paper covering a wide range of aspects, including sample pre-treatment and pre-concentration methods, chemical separation techniques, source preparation, radiometric and mass spectrometric measurement techniques, speciation analyses, and tracer applications. The paper focuses on some hyphenated separation methods based on different chromatographic resins, which have been developed to achieve high analytical efficiency and sample throughput for the determination of 241Am. The performances of different radiometric and mass spectrometric measurement techniques for 241Am are evaluated and compared. Tracer applications of 241Am in the environment, including speciation analyses of 241Am, and applications in nuclear forensics are also discussed.

An isotope dilution mass spectrometry overview: tips and applications for the measurement of radionuclides

“…175 The most suitable long-lived americium isotope suitable for the determination of the 241 Am mass fraction in environmental samples by ID-MS is 243 Am (t 1/2 = 7370 years 146 ). 176 The 243 Am spike can be provided by NPL (A14063), CETAMA (STAM CRM) or JRC (IRMM-0243) with good purity. 56 5.1.2.4.…”

Americium Sorption by Microplastics in Aqueous Solutions

“…Nowadays, elevated americium can be detected in the areas used for nuclear weapons tests, as well as at the sites of nuclear incidents (e.g., Chernobyl). Generally, the average radioactivity concentration in surface soils is about 0.37 mBq/g [25]. In everyday life, americium (Am-241) is used in common type smoke detectors as a source of ionizing radiation.…”

Cation-Exchange Isolation of Americium in the Analysis of Natural Waters by Alpha Spectrometry

“…Как относительно «жесткий», альфа-излучатель 241 Am применяется в промышленности и даже в быту, например, в детекторах задымления [41,42]. Анализ америция полезен при решении задач радиоэкологического мониторинга, определении «возраста» ядерных материалов, датировки донных отложений и др.…”

“…Анализ америция полезен при решении задач радиоэкологического мониторинга, определении «возраста» ядерных материалов, датировки донных отложений и др. [39,41].…”