Improved separation method for determining actinides in soil samples

Rapid and simultaneous determination of neptunium and plutonium isotopes in environmental samples by extraction chromatography using sequential injection analysis and ICP-MS

“…Considering all the workload involved in the analyses, 16 samples have been proven to be handled within 2 days, which gives rise to a sample throughput of 8 day À1 . Compared with former batch-wise methods 21,22 handling smaller sample amounts (#5 g soil versus #20 g in this work), a better overall sample throughput is still herein achieved.…”

“…The detection limits obtained with the SI-TEVA method for 10 g of soil, for example, for 239 Pu, 240 Pu and 237 Np were 1.5 mBq kg À1 , 5.3 mBq kg À1 and 16 mBq kg À1 , respectively, and the dynamic linear ranges of the calibration plots for ICP-MS were in the interval of 11.5-1150 mBq kg À1 , 42.0-4200 mBq kg À1 and 0.13-13.0 mBq kg À1 , respectively. Compared with previous publications in which smaller amounts of samples were processed, [21][22][23] the proposed analytical method yields better enrichment factors and thus improved detection limits and linear ranges of calibration graphs. 6.3.…”

Rapid Determination of Environmental Plutonium in Large Water Samples by Means of Manganese Dioxide Co-Precipitation and Extraction Chromatographic Separation

“…The resin is based on the well known TRUEX-process [11][12][13][14], where a combination of CMPO/TBP in a suitable solvent is used to extract tri-, tetra-, and hexavalent actinides during reprocessing of nuclear fuel. TRU-Resin was originally meant to be used for the decontamination of highly radioactive acid-effluents, but its selectivity for transuranium elements has promoted a wider use, in analysis of soil [15][16][17][18], urine [14,19,20] and faeces [21]. However, despite the high extraction capacity and selectivity for transuranium elements, the use of TRU-Spec in the analysis of Pu in natural waters has so far not been reported in literature.…”

Alpha Spectrometric Determination of Trace Level of 239-240Pu and 238Pu Uranium Compounds and Solutions

“…Of all the transuranium elements, plutonium has been studied most extensively and numerous procedures have been reported for its determination [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], Current techniques for the determination of plutonium trace level are mainly radiochemical methods (a-spectrometry, y spectrometry, liquid scintillation counting) carried out after chemical preparation of the samples. Interest has also tumed to various mass spectrometry techniques (ICP-MS [10,11], TIMS [12,13]), but those methods are not really adapted for a matrix where uranium is the principal constituent because of isobaric interfering effects. Only Resonance Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (RIMS [14]) would authorize plutonium measurement with remaining uranium in the sample.…”