Determination of environmental levels of /sup 239/ /sup 240/Pu, /sup 241/Am, /sup 137/Cs, and /sup 90/Sr in large volume sea water samples

Technical Report · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7345589· OSTI ID:7345589

Sutton, D. C.; Calderon, G.; Rosa, W.

A method is reported for the determination of environmental levels of /sup 239/ /sup 240/Pu and /sup 241/Am in approximately 60-liter size samples of seawater. /sup 137/Cs and /sup 90/Sr were also separated and determined from the same samples. The samples were collected at the sea surface and at various depths in the oceans through the facilities of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Plutonium and americium were separated from the seawater by iron hydroxide scavenging then treated with a mixture of nitric, hydrochloric, and perchloric acids. A series of anion exchange separations were used to remove interferences and purify plutonium and americium; then each was electroplated on platinum disks and measured by solid state alpha particle spectrometry. The overall chemical yields averaged 62 +- 9 and 69 +- 14 percent for /sup 236/Pu, and /sup 243/Am tracers, respectively. Following the iron hydroxide scavenge of the transuranics, cesium was removed from the acidified seawater matrix by adsorption onto ammonium phosphomolybdate. Cesium carrier and /sup 137/Cs isolation was effected by ion exchange and precipitations were made using chloroplatinic acid. The samples were weighed to determine overall chemical yield then beta counted. Cesium recoveries averaged 75 +- 5 percent. After cesium was removed from the seawater matrix, the samples were neutralized with sodium hydroxide and ammonium carbonate was added to precipitate /sup 85/Sr tracer and the mixed alkaline earth carbonates. Strontium was separated as the nitrate and scavenged by chromate and hydroxide precipitations. Yttrium-90 was allowed to build up for two weeks, then milked and precipitated as the oxalate, weighed, and beta counted. The overall chemical yields of /sup 85/Sr tracer averaged 84 +- 16 percent. The recovery of the yttrium oxalate precipitates averaged 96 +- 3 percent.

• Research Organization: Energy Research and Development Administration, New York (USA). Health and Safety Lab.
• OSTI ID: 7345589
• Report Number(s): HASL-307; TRN: 76-018791
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
AMERICIUM
ALPHA SPECTROSCOPY
CESIUM
RADIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS
PLUTONIUM
SEAWATER
STRONTIUM
ADSORPTION
AMERICIUM 241
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
ION EXCHANGE
IRON HYDROXIDES
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
PRECIPITATION
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
IRON COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPES
METALS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SORPTION
SPECTROSCOPY
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSPLUTONIUM ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
400103* - Radiometric & Radiochemical Procedures- (-1987)