NRC-8, EuCheMS International Conference on Nuclear and Radiochemistry

INVITED LECTURE - Rapid Radiochemical Analysis of Radionuclides Difficult to Measure in Environmental and Waste Samples

18 Sept 2012, 12:30

20m

Como, Italy

Invited Lecture Reaction mechanisms and nuclear recoils, nuclear based spectroscopies (MOSSPEC and PAS), radiation geochronology, isotope effects Session 4 - Reaction mechanisms and nuclear recoils, nuclear base spectroscopies, radiation geochronology, isotope effects

Speaker

Dr Xiaolin Hou (Center for Nuclear Technologies, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark)

Description

With the increasing requirement on rapid reaction system fot nuclear emergency preparedness, increasing numbers of nuclear facilities being decommissioned, as well as radioecological investigation, a large number of environmental, biological and waste samples need to be rapid analyzed for various radionuclides. Except gamma emitting radionuclides, other radionculides have to be first separated from the sample matrix and purified from the interferences before measurement, therefore defined as radionuclides difficult to measure. The traditional analytical methods for these radionuclides normally take a few days to weeks for one analysis; this makes the emergency reaction impossible in one day, and impossible to analyse a large number of sample from decommissioning work and radioecological investigation. In recent years, considerable efforts have been focused on the development of automated and rapid analytical methods. In our laboratory, automated analytical systems have been established by exploiting flow/sequential injection approach, using chromatographic separation concept, combined with rapid measurement of radionculides using ICP-MS. A number of analytical methods have been developed to determine 99Tc, 237Np, and isotopes of Pu and U in biological, environmental and nuclear waste samples. This work aims to summarize these automated and rapid analytical methods for the determination of various radionculides.