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DETERMINATION OF NEPTUNIUM-239 IN VARIOUS AQUEOUS SAMPLES

Journal Article · · J. At. Energy Soc. Japan
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3327/jaesj.2.591· OSTI ID:4104666

>All neptunium of (IV), (V), and (VI) states in urine is quantitatively coprecipitated onto basic phosphates of calcium and magnesium which are formed when the sample is treated with sodium hydroxide. The determination of neptunium is studied using this coprecipitation procedure. Neptunium can be concentrated by the coprecipitation from large volumes of aqueous samples such as urine, tap water, and sea water. Separation from other radioactive nuclides which are simultaneously coprecipitated onto the precipitate can be attained by the anion exchange. For urine samples basic phosphates of calcium and magnesium were directly precipitated by adding sodium hydroxide solution. For tap water, phosphoric acid and a small amount of the calcium carrier were added in order to carry down neptunium. In the case of sea water, phosphoric acid was added and a small portion of calcium and magnesium phosphates were precipitated by adding a small amount of sodium hydroxide. The precipitate was dissolved with nitric acid. The resultant solution contained 7.5N nitric acid, 0.1M semi-carbazide, and 0.01M ferrous sulfamate. The solution was passed through 1.00 g of Dowex 1 x 8 resin column and washed with the nitric acid-reductant solution, then eluted the adsorbed neptunium with a small amount of 0.2N nitric acid 0.005M ceric sulfate solution. The recoveries of Np/sup 239/ were 97.0 2.6% for 300 ml of human urine, 97.9 3.1% for 1000 ml of tap water, and 96.4 2.2% for 1000 ml of sea water, respectively. (auth)

Research Organization:
Div. of Health Phys., Japan Atomic Energy Res. Inst.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
NSA Number:
NSA-15-008716
OSTI ID:
4104666
Journal Information:
J. At. Energy Soc. Japan, Journal Name: J. At. Energy Soc. Japan Vol. Vol: 2
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English