Determination of Pu isotope concentrations and isotope ratio by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: a review of analytical methodology

Abstract

A number of analytical methods for Pu isotopes based on ICP-MS measurement have been developed and applied to the measurement of ultra-trace levels of Pu in nuclear fuel samples and environmental samples. The endeavour to improve the detection limit to sub-10 À18 g (ag) mL À1 has been continued by using efficient sample introduction systems. This review summarizes and critically discusses various types of ICP-MS, sample introduction systems and separation methods applied to the determination of Pu in many sample types. Together with the separation method, the adjustment of the Pu oxidation state in the loading solution preparation step and Pu elution step is summarized. The interference problem from polyatomic ions in ICP-MS coupled with various sample introduction systems is described, especially focused on the UH + interference. Several factors affecting the trueness and precision of Pu results are discussed.

Critical comparison of radiometric and mass spectrometric methods for the determination of radionuclides in environmental, biological and nuclear waste samples

“…Mass spectrometric techniques such as TIMS [275], AMS [276][277], RIMS [97,278], and ICP-MS [64,[279][280][282][283] have also been used for the determination of Pu isotopes. During the last decade, the use of ICP-MS has gained a increased interest as an alternative to alpha spectrometry because of the good sensitivity, short analytical time and 239 Pu -240 Pu - 242 Pu isotopic information which are difficult to obtain through alpha spectrometry due either to overlapping peaks of 239 Pu at low levels (fg-pg range).…”

Ultra-trace determination of plutonium in marine samples using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

“…The increasing interests in analysing marine samples containing ultra-trace amounts of Pu and obtaining this isotope ratio have led to the development of more sophisticated analytical techniques. Recent advances in ICP-MS have made the determination of the two Pu isotopes in environmental samples more reliable and accessible with relatively simple sample handling [8,9]. Multicollector ICP-MS is a suitable technique for Pu isotope ratio analyses in low-level environmental samples due to its high sensitivity as well as its excellent precision and accuracy [10][11][12].…”

“…For seawater samples, pre-concentration is usually carried out by co-precipitation with Fe(OH) 2 , Fe(OH) 3 or MnO 2 . The separation and purification of Pu is usually based on anion-exchange or/and extraction chromatography [8,15]. Anionexchange is the most widely used technique for separation of Pu in environmental samples.…”

Rapid separation of actinides and radiostrontium in vegetation samples

“…Both measurement techniques may require separation of interferences to determine actinide isotopes accurately, depending on the 3 sample matrix and the detection limit required. A variety of online and offline separation techniques have been reported in recent reviews of ICP-MS applications, covering a wide range of matrices (soil, sediment, water, biological and urine samples) [6][7][8]. This paper will focus more specifically on recent developments and progress with regard to environmental matrices.…”