To accurately determine ultra-trace Pu isotopes in small environmental samples, we explored ICP-MS/MS in NH-He mode, and investigated mechanism of U interference removal and measurement sensitivity improvement for plutonium isotopes. The interference of uranium and uranium hydrides was effectively eliminated using 0.4 mL/min NH as reaction gas by shifting them to U(NH) and UH(NH). The overall interference of uranium was reduced to <2.4 × 10, while remaining excellent Pu sensitivity (13,900 Mcps/(mg/L)) mainly due to ion focusing effect of Pu by helium gas. On this basis, the purification of plutonium using a single AG1- × 4 column was proved to be sufficient for accurate determination of plutonium isotopes by the developed detection method, and the detection limits for the method were estimated to be 0.16 fg (0.4 μBq) for Pu, 0.046 fg (0.4 μBq) for Pu and 0.039 fg (0.15 mBq) for Pu. The method was validated by analyzing plutonium isotopes in certificated reference materials and reported environmental samples of only 1-2 g. The analytical results of ultra-trace Pu isotopes in small amounts (∼1 g) of lake sediments obtained by the developed method were successfully applied to sediment dating.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2021.123152 | DOI Listing |
Anal Chim Acta
February 2025
Departament d'Enginyeria Química i Química Analítica, Universitat de Barcelona, Marti i Franqués, 1-11, ES-08028, Barcelona, Spain; Serra-Húnter Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain; Institut de Recerca de l'Aigua, University of Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:
Background: Analyzing mixtures of radionuclides is a complex task. Two situations are the mixtures of Sr with Sr and Sr with plutonium isotopes. The challenge arises in emergency scenarios resulting from accidents where the activity of Sr is over 20 times higher than that of Sr, complicating its quantification and requiring delayed measurements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Xi'an AMS Center, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, PR China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Xi'an 710061, PR China. Electronic address:
Radiation risk through seafood consumption is a big public concern under the discharge of nuclear contaminated water. Plutonium is an important radionuclide in view of radiation risk due to its high radiological and chemical toxicity, as well as consistent presence in the environment. The distribution and level of plutonium isotopes (Pu, Pu) in marine biota collected along the coast of China in 2022-2023 were investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTalanta
January 2025
National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Chiba, Chiba, 263-8555, Japan; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan.
Natural uranium isotopes have extremely long half-lives; therefore, analytical methods based on the number of atoms, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, are suitable for uranium detection. However, XRF measurements cannot be used to detect the major isotopes of americium when present in amounts barely detectable using radiation measurements, owing to their relatively short half-lives. Because of α-decay-induced internal conversion, where orbital electrons are emitted instead of γ-rays, these nuclides emit characteristic X-rays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedicine (Baltimore)
December 2024
Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China.
This study investigated the potential association between uranium exposure and mortality from cerebrovascular diseases, with a focus on the mediating effects of lipid indicators. Employing recommended sampling weights to account for National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey' complex survey design, this analysis drew from data collected between 2005 and 2016. The study examined the impact of uranium on mortality from cerebrovascular diseases using various statistical approaches, including Cox regression to assess linear relationships within metal mixtures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
December 2024
Qilian Alpine Ecology and Hydrology Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Cryoconite is abundant in artificial radionuclides such as plutonium (Pu) and amounts of radioactive contaminants is stored in glaciers. Under global warming and glaciers rapid retreating, glaciers could be a second source for radioactive contaminants and the stored Pu isotopes could be released to the downstream areas through surface runoff. However, the knowledge and understanding on the migration behavior and cycling of Pu isotopes in the ice cap is quite limited.
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