The radiological impact of actinides discharged to the Irish Sea

Hunt, G.J.; Smith, Brice

doi:10.1016/s0265-931x(98)00142-8

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing has deposited significant quantities of 237 Np in the environment, with typical soil concentrations ranging between 1 x 10 12 and 3 x 10 13 atoms/m 2 in the northern hemisphere (Kelley et al, 1999). Nuclear fuel reprocessing and plutonium production facilities have also released considerable amounts of 237 Np into the environment (Cochran et al, 2000;Hunt & Smith, 1999;Hursthouse et al, 1991;MacKenzie et al, 1994;Morris et al, 2000). The ability to rapidly and accurately assess the concentration of 237 Np in a solid sample is critical from the perspective of environmental monitoring and safety, as well as for nuclear forensics applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concurrent determination of 237Np and Pu isotopes using ICP-MS: analysis of NIST environmental matrix standard reference materials 4357, 1646a, and 2702

Matteson

Hanson

Miller

et al. 2015

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An optimized method was developed to analyze environmental soil and sediment samples for (237)Np, (239)Pu, and (240)Pu by ICP-MS using a (242)Pu isotope dilution standard. The high yield, short time frame required for analysis, and the commercial availability of the (242)Pu tracer are significant advantages of the method. Control experiments designed to assess method uncertainty, including variation in inter-element fractionation that occurs during the purification protocol, suggest that the overall precision for measurements of (237)Np is typically on the order of ± 5%. Measurements of the (237)Np concentration in a Peruvian Soil blank (NIST SRM 4355) spiked with a known concentration of (237)Np tracer confirmed the accuracy of the method, agreeing well with the expected value. The method has been used to determine neptunium and plutonium concentrations in several environmental matrix standard reference materials available from NIST: SRM 4357 (Radioactivity Standard), SRM 1646a (Estuarine Sediment) and SRM 2702 (Inorganics in Marine Sediment).

show abstract