Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Analysis of Rocky Flats soils for six radionuclides by a sequential method

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5923949
; ; ;
A method for the sequential analysis of Rocky Flats soils for six actinides of interest was developed to facilitate the large number of radionuclide analyses. The isotopes determined were: /sup 238/U, /sup 235/U, /sup 234/U, /sup 232/Th, /sup 230/Th, /sup 228/Th, /sup 237/Np, /sup 239/240/Pu, /sup 241/Am, and /sup 244/Cm. The method included addition of tracer isotopes for each actinide, pyrosulfate fusion to help solutize minerals and decompose organic matter, sequential separation by cation and anion exchange techniques, extraction into thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA)/organic phase, and subsequent counting of alpha activity by pulse height analysis. The efficiency of recovery for tracer isotopes ranged from 40% for curium, to 95% for plutonium. The detection limits for the method were determined at 0.2 disintegrations per minute per gram (DPM/g) of soil for thorium, uranium, neptunium, and plutonium. The limits were a factor of three higher (0.6 DPM/g) for americium and curium, primarily because of inefficient extraction of these components by TTA. The sequential analysis was developed into a routine laboratory procedure to be used when multi-element soil analyses were requested.
Research Organization:
Rockwell International Corp., Golden, CO (USA). Rocky Flats Plant
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
EY-76-C-04-3533
OSTI ID:
5923949
Report Number(s):
RFP-2955; CONF-791049-15
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Determination of plutonium in air and smear samples
Technical Report · Thu Feb 26 23:00:00 EST 1981 · OSTI ID:6613012
Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Plutonium and Americium from Soil
Conference · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2002 · OSTI ID:911309
Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Plutonium and Americium from Soil
Conference · Thu May 23 00:00:00 EDT 2002 · OSTI ID:797090

Related Subjects

054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400103* -- Radiometric & Radiochemical Procedures-- (-1987)
400105 -- Separation Procedures
510301 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- Soil-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM 241
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CURIUM 244
CURIUM ISOTOPES
DATA
DATA FORMS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HEAVY NUCLEI
INFORMATION
ION EXCHANGE
ISOLATED VALUES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPE SEPARATION
ISOTOPES
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MONITORING
MULTI-ELEMENT ANALYSIS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEPTUNIUM 237
NEPTUNIUM ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
PULSE ANALYZERS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOISOTOPES
ROCKY FLATS PLANT
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOILS
THORIUM 228
THORIUM 230
THORIUM 232
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM 234
URANIUM 235
URANIUM 238
URANIUM ISOTOPES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES