Determination of 99Tc in fresh water using TRU resin by ICP-MS.

Technetium-99 (99Tc) determination at trace level by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is challenging because there is no readily available appropriate Tc isotopic tracer. A new method using Re as a recovery tracer to determine 99Tc in fresh water samples, which does not require any evaporation step, was developed. Tc(VII) and Re(VII) were pre-concentrated on a small anion exchange resin (AER) cartridge from one litre of water sample. They were then efficiently eluted from the AER using a potassium permanganate (KMnO4) solution. After the reduction of KMnO4 in 2 M sulfuric acid solution, the sample was passed through a small TRU resin cartridge. Tc(VII) and Re(VII) retained on the TRU resin were eluted using near boiling water, which can be directly used for the ICP-MS measurement. The results for method optimisation, validation and application were reported.

An improved method for the rapid determination of 90Sr in cow's milk.

An improved method was developed to rapidly determine strontium-90 (90Sr) in cow's milk samples in the event of a nuclear emergency. To perform this method, no heating or ashing steps were needed and all of the material used was disposable. Stable Sr tracer was added to each 40 mL milk sample. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) were added to the sample to flocculate the suspended fat and proteins in the milk. The sample was centrifuged and the strontium in the supernatant was precipitated with carbonate. The resulting precipitate was dissolved in 8 M HNO3 and the solution was passed through a Sr resin to remove potential interferents. Strontium was eluted from the resin using a small volume of water. Strontium-90 was measured by liquid-scintillation counting (LSC) and the tracer by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The figures of merit of the method were determined and the method was validated using spiked samples.

Characterization of the Natural Organic Matter (NOM) in groundwater contaminated with (60)Co and (137)Cs using ultrafiltration, Solid Phase Extraction and fluorescence analysis.

Spot samples of shallow groundwaters have been taken between the years 2004 and 2010 near a site formerly used for the dispersal of radioactive liquid wastes. Three sampling points, one clean (upstream), and two downstream of the contamination source, were processed by ultrafiltration (5000 Da cut-off) and Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) to determine the association of selected artificial radionuclides ((60)Co, (137)Cs) with Natural Organic Matter (NOM). The last two sampling episodes (2008 and 2010) also benefited from fluorescence analysis to determine the major character of the NOM. The fluorescence signals are reported as humic-like, fulvic-like and protein-like, which are used to characterize the different NOM types. The NOM from the clean site comprised mostly fine material, whereas the colloidal content (retained by ultrafiltration) was higher (e.g., 15-40% of the Total Organic Carbon - TOC). Most of the 137Cs was present in the colloidal fraction, whereas (60)Co was found in the filtered fraction. Fluorescence analysis, on the other hand, indicated a contrasting behavior between the clean and contaminated sites, with a dominance of protein-like material, a feature usually associated with human impacts. Finally, SPE removed almost quantitatively the protein-like material (>90%), whereas it removed a much smaller fraction of the (137)Cs (<28%). This finding indicates that the (137)Cs preferential binding occurs with a fraction other than the protein-like NOM, likely the fulvic-like or humic-like portion.