Determination of uranium in drinking water using a PERALS spectrometer
- Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville, TN (United States)
The determination of uranium from natural water samples involves a lengthy and complicated process which is characterized by low recoveries and precision. Methods must incorporate the isolation of natural uranium isotopes ({sup 238}U and {sup 234}U) from other radionuclides, while purifying the samples to prevent organic and metal interferences. A new analysis method for uranium in drinking water has been proposed combining solvent extraction sample preparation and high-resolution, alpha-liquid-scintillation-spectrometric analysis for effective beta/gamma background rejection. The Photon Electron Rejecting Alpha Liquid Scintillation spectrometer has a counting efficiency for alphas of 99.68%, while rejecting >99% of interfering beta and gamma pulses. The new method is a rapid, easy, cost-effective procedure for the determination of total uranium activity or limited isotopic uranium ({sup 238}U and {sup 234}U) activity in drinking water with recoveries of >95%. The results of analysis of various drinking water samples including well water, bottled water, and ground water will be presented. {reg_sign}PERALS is a registered trademark of ORDELA, Inc.
- OSTI ID:
- 370082
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960376--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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