Characterization of actinide abundances and isotopic compositions by HR-ICP-MS. Part 2: Results from actinide doping studies
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Previously, we presented actinide isotopic and elemental data from fallout melt glass that was measured using high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS). Direct comparison between these measurements and ‘gold standard’ data obtained by multi-collector ICP-MS showed broad overlap, indicating that HR-ICP-MS is a potentially valuable technique for producing actinide elemental and isotopic data on a relatively rapid timescale. To test the usefulness of this technique further, we doped varying amounts of uranium certified reference materials (CRMs) into a rhyolitic rock standard to establish the effects of uranium concentration and isotopic composition on the accuracy of uranium isotopic analyses by HR-ICP-MS. This also enabled us to quantify peak tailing effects from 238U on the measurement of 239Pu and 237Np, which in turn allows us to constrain correction factors based on measured 237Np/238U and 239Pu/238U ratios. A second doping study involved the addition of a mixed actinide standard into three samples with different matrix compositions (termed soil, city, and seawater) to assess whether sample chemistry affects the accuracy and precision of these analyses. Results suggest that this is not the case. Systematic offsets were not observed in elemental or isotopic data derived from the three matrix samples. Results indicate that useful actinide isotopic data can be obtained from whole rock solutions by HR-ICP-MS. Our findings also have implications for solid sampling techniques such as laser ablation ICP-MS, which do not require sample dissolution.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344
- OSTI ID:
- 2217417
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL--TR-856085; 1084819
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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