APPLICATION OF ICP-MS RADIONUCLIDE ANALYSIS TO REAL-WORLD SAMPLES OF DEPARTMENT-OF-ENERGY RADIOACTIVE-WASTE

Disposal of Department of Energy (DOE) radioactive waste into reposito ries such as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the Nevada Tes t Site (NTS) requires characterization to ensure regulatory and transp ortation requirements ate met and to collect information regarding che mistry of the waste for processing concerns. Recent addition of an ind uctively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer in a radioactive contaminated laboratory at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) ha s allowed the evaluation of advantages of using ICP-MS over traditiona l techniques for some of these characterization needs. The measurement of long-lived beta nuclides (i.e. Tc-99) by ICP-MS has resulted in im proved detection limits and accuracy than the traditional counting tec hniques as well as reducing the need for separation/purification techn iques which increase personnel exposure to radiation. Using ICP-MS for the measurement of U isotopes versus the traditional Thermal Ionizati on Mass Spectrometer (TIMS) technique has reduced cost and time by mor e than half while still maintaining the needed accuracy to determine r isk assessment of the waste tanks. In addition, the application of ICP -MS to ORNL waste tank characterization has provided the opportunity t o estimate non-routine radionuclides (i.e. Cs-135 and Sm-151) and non- routine metals (i.e. Li, Ti, rare earths, etc.) using a rapid low cost screening method. These application methodologies and proficiencies o n ORNL waste samples are summarized throughout the paper.