EFFICIENT RADIOCHEMICAL SEPARATION FOR THE DETERMINATION OF PLUTONIUMIN ENVIRONMENTAL-SAMPLES, USING A SUPPORTED, HIGHLY SPECIFIC EXTRACTANT

A radiochemical separation procedure has been developed for a very eff icient isolation of plutonium from environmental samples. Essentially, the method involves the following steps: ashing of the sample and pre paration of the load solution; separation of plutonium by a column con taining a commercially available, highly specific, supported extractan t; electrodeposition of Pu and subsequent alpha-spectrometry. Detailed procedures are reported for liver samples and for soil. The modificat ions necessary for sample sizes above 5 g dry weight and up to 200 g a re also given. Recoveries of added tracers are 60-70%. The precision o f the method is <10% (RSD). The accuracy was examined by analyzing als o certified standard reference materials. Due to the very efficient is olation of Pu, the resulting alpha-spectrum is virtually free of inter fering alpha-emitters of Th and U.