Improved radioanalytical method for the simultaneous determination of Th, U, Np, Pu and Am(Cm) on a single TRU column by alpha spectrometry and ICP-MS

Macsik, Zsuzsanna; Groska, Judit; Vajda, N.; Vogt, S.; Kis-Benedek, G.; Kim, C. S.; Maddison, Andrew P.; Donohue, D. L.

doi:10.1524/ract.2013.2025

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Usually, off-line extraction chromatography based on UTEVA® and/or TEVA® (Eichrom Technologies LLC, IL, USA) resins is applied for obtaining interference-free U and/or Pu fractions for isotope ratio measurements. [66][67][68][69][70][71][72] Other resins that have been used for radiochemical separation prior to ICP-MS measurements include the AG® 1-X2 73 (Bio-Rad Laboratories Canada Ltd, Ontario, Canada) anion exchange resin for Pu isolation, the extraction chromatography resin DGA® 74 (Eichrom Technologies LLC, IL, USA) for Am and Cm isolation, the Sr 74 (Eichrom Technologies LLC, IL, USA) resin for 90 Sr and the anion exchange AG® MP-M1 71,74 (Bio-Rad Laboratories Canada Ltd, Ontario, Canada) and extraction chromatographic TRU® 48,75 (Eichrom Technologies LLC, IL, USA) resins for isolating U and Pu fractions. A TRU® resin in combination with UTEVA®, TEVA® and Ln-resins for U, Pu and Am separation prior to the analyses of 241 Am/ 241 Pu and 240 Pu/ 236 U mother/daughter ratios for age determination purposes was for example applied by Nygren et al 76 Besides spectral interferences that result from actinide isobars, hydride ions, peak tailing, etc., heavy metal matrix elements (Pb, W, Hg, Ir, etc.…”

Section: Figures Of Merit Of Modern Icp-ms Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass spectrometric analysis for nuclear safeguards

Boulyga

Konegger-Kappel

Stephan³

et al. 2015

J. Anal. At. Spectrom.

114

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Mass spectrometry is currently being implemented in a wide spectrum of research and industrial areas, such as materials science, cosmo-and geochemistry, biology and medicine, to name just a few. Research and development in nuclear safeguards is closely related to the general field of "Peace Research", representing a specific application area for analytical sciences in general and for mass spectrometry in particular. According to Albert Einstein "peace cannot be kept by force. It only can be achieved by understanding". Understanding implies a realistic estimation of potential challenges and threats, which is based on the ability to obtain timely, reliable and independent information. A particular task of international nuclear material safeguards is reducing threats that are posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. An important part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards system is the "analytical laboratory", with mass spectrometric techniques, such as thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) belonging to the most powerful methods for the analysis of nuclear material and environmental samples collected during inspections. Each of the currently applied techniques provides definite merits (e.g. precision, accuracy, timeeffectiveness, high sensitivity, spatial resolution, reduced molecular interference, etc.) for a specific safeguards related application. Thus, taking advantage of each technique helps the analyst to gain a larger quantity of safeguards-relevant information. Along with the analysis of element amounts and isotopic compositions of uranium and plutonium in nuclear material the challenging applications of mass spectrometry include isotopic analysis of micro-samples, age determination of nuclear material as well as identification and quantification of elemental and isotopic signatures of inspection samples in general.Analysis of inspection samples implies strict quality control procedures and it demands the production of suitable certified isotopic reference materials which are used as calibration standards or as quality control samples. This manuscript discusses merits and limitations of presently available mass spectrometric

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Section: Figures Of Merit Of Modern Icp-ms Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass spectrometric analysis for nuclear safeguards

Boulyga

Konegger-Kappel

Stephan³

et al. 2015

J. Anal. At. Spectrom.

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In literature, various procedures for the separation of actinides with TRU ® resin are presented 26 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 34 . Although 5 to 10 mL of 4 M HNO 3 is commonly used for equilibration of the resin and rinsing/washing after the sample loading, various separation procedures of Pu and Am were examined to obtain better chemical yield using radioactive tracers ( 242 Pu IRMM-085 and 243 Am NIST 4332E) and liquid scintillation counting.…”

Section: Sampling and Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scavenged 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Am from snowfalls in the atmosphere settling on Mt. Zugspitze in 2014, 2015 and 2016

Gückel

Shinonaga

Christl

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Concentrations of 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Am, and atomic ratio of 240Pu/239Pu in freshly fallen snow on Mt. Zugspitze collected in 2014, 2015 and 2016 were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). For the sub-femtogram (10−15 g) - level of Pu and Am analysis, a chemical separation procedure combined with AMS was improved and an excellent overall efficiency of about 10−4 was achieved. The concentration of 239Pu ranges from 75 ± 13 ag/kg to 2823 ± 84 ag/kg, of 240Pu from 20.6 ± 5.2 to 601 ± 21 ag/kg, and of 241Am was found in the range of 16.7 ± 5.0–218.8 ± 8.9 ag/kg. Atomic ratios of 240Pu/239Pu for most samples are comparable to the fallout in middle Europe. One exceptional sample shows a higher Pu concentration. High airborne dust concentration, wind directions, high Cs concentrations and the activity ratio of 239+240Pu/137Cs lead to the conclusion that the sample was influenced by Pu in Saharan dust transported to Mt. Zugspitze.

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“…Determination of uranium in different matrices by alpha spectrometry requires several radiochemical procedures to separate these radionuclides from the matrix [6]. Radiochemical separation method was described and developed by Macsik et al [7] for the determination of uranium and some other actinides in safeguards swipe samples. The aim of this work was to achieve highly accurate and reliable results for the determination of the 234 U/ 238 U and 235 U/ 238 U activity ratios in safeguarded materials using selective extraction chromatography and alpha spectrometry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of Uranium Isotopic Ratios by Alpha Spectrometry for Nuclear Materials Control Purposes

Abouzeid¹,

Kandil

Khedr

et al. 2020

Arab Journal of Nuclear Sciences and Applications

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Uranium is the most common element in the nuclear fuel cycle. Different techniques have been used for analyzing the isotopic composition of uranium. Precise determination of uranium isotopic ratios for an efficient control of nuclear material was carried out through the modification of the used chromatographic method of uranium. Alpha spectrometry was utilized to identify different types of natural, depleted and enriched samples for safeguard purposes. Uranium element was extracted from other interfering radionuclides, purified, electrodeposited on a stainless-steel disc, and measured using alpha-spectrometer, then isotopic ratios were calculated. For comparison purposes, the samples were also measured using a hyper pure germanium (HPGe) spectrometer and the uranium isotopic ratios were obtained. The results obtained by both techniques were in agreement within difference ranged from-8.7 to 12%. It was concluded that alpha spectrometric measurements of uranium isotopes preceded by efficient radiochemical separation using extraction chromatography is a fast and reliable technique for safeguard purposes.

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Improved radioanalytical method for the simultaneous determination of Th, U, Np, Pu and Am(Cm) on a single TRU column by alpha spectrometry and ICP-MS

Cited by 15 publications

References 35 publications

Mass spectrometric analysis for nuclear safeguards

Mass spectrometric analysis for nuclear safeguards

Scavenged 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Am from snowfalls in the atmosphere settling on Mt. Zugspitze in 2014, 2015 and 2016

Determination of Uranium Isotopic Ratios by Alpha Spectrometry for Nuclear Materials Control Purposes

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