• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.248-254
• /
• 2005

This paper presents a quantitative method of sequential separation of $^{90}Sr,\;^{241}Am$ and Pu nuclides with an anion exchange resin and a Sr-Spec resin. The Pu isotopes were purified with an anion exchange resin. The americium and strontium fractions were separated from the matrix elements with an oxalate co-precipitation method. Americium fraction was separated from the strontium fraction with iron co-precipitation method and purified from lanthanides with anion exchange resin. Strontium-90 was purified from other hindrance elements with the Sr-Spec resin after oxalate co-precipitation. The measurement of Pu and Am isotopes was carried out by an ${\alpha}$-spectrometer. Strontium-90 was measured by a liquid scintillation counter. The radiochemical procedure of $^{90}Sr,\;^{241}Am$ and Pu nuclides investigated in this study has been validated by application to IAEA-Reference soils.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.469-474
• /
• 2005

This paper presents a quantitative method of sequential separation of $^{90}Sr$, $^{241}Am$ and Pu radionuclides with an anion exchange resin and a Sr-Spec resin. The Pu isotopes were purified with an anion exchange resin. The americium and strontium fractions were separated from the matrix elements with an oxalate co-precipitation method. Americium fraction was separated from the strontium fraction with iron co-precipitation method and purified from lanthanides with anion exchange resin. Strontium-90 was purified from other hindrance elements with the Sr-Spec resin after oxalate co-precipitation. The measurement of Pu and Am isotopes was carried out by an ${\alpha}$-spectrometer. Strontium-90 was measured by a liquid scintillation counter. The radiochemical procedure of $^{90}Sr$, $^{241}Am$ and Pu radionuclides investigated in this study has been validated by application to IAEA-Reference soils.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.514-519
• /
• 2004

Soil samples collected from around the BOMARC Missile Site were measured for their activity concentrations and isotopic ratios of Pu and Am isotopes with particle sizes. The activity concentrations of Pu and Am in the BOMARC soil were remarkably higher than the fallout levels, and the activities decreased nearly exponentially with an increasing particle size of the soil due to a decreasing surface area. The activity ratios of Pu-238 / Pu-239, 240, Pu-241 / Pu-239, 240 and Am-241 / Pu-239, 240 observed in the BOMARC soil were much lower than those attributed to the nuclear reprocess plants and the Chernobyl fallout. Also, the atomic ratio of Pu-240 / Pu-239 in the BOMARC soil was remarkably lower than the fallout value influenced by the nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident. The atomic ratio of Pu-240 / Pu-239 was so close to the value of the weapons grade Pu released from the crash of a B52 plane in the Thule of the Greenland, such that the Pu isotopes detected in the BOMARC soil could have originated from the weapons grade plutonium.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.279-286
• /
• 1983

An apparatus was made for the electrodeposition of alpha emitting actinide nuclides, $^{207}Bi$ and $^{210}Po$. The electrodeposition was made on a polished stainless steel plate cathode. The anode was made of platinum wire and to stir the solution. With the ammonium chloride as electrolyte initial pH = 4, chloride concentration = 0.6M and solution volume = 15ml, a current of 1.5 ampere(current density = 0.59A/$cm^2$) was flowed for 100 minutes for the quantitative recovery of electrodeposition and on average recovery of 98.3% was obtained within ${\pm}$0.7% uncertainty. Alpha spectrometry of the electrodeposited sample showed alpha peaks from $^{210}Po, ^{234}U$ and $^{239}Pu$ having energy resolution (FWHM) of 18.3, 21.8 and 36.0 keV respectively. The electrodeposition and alpha spectrometry for a natural uranium sample of domestic origin gave $^{238}U : ^{234}U = 1 : 6.1{\times}10^{-5}$ and for a neutron-irradiated uranium sample did $^{238}U : ^{239}Pu : ^{241}Am = 100 : 0.0263 : 5.20{times}10^{-5}$. The result of $^{238}U$ determination in the irradiated sample by electrodeposition-alpha spectrometry was in accord within ${\pm}1.6%$ of relative error with the results of solid fluorimetry and mass spectrometry. For $^{239}Pu$ the result of electrodeposition-alpha spectrometry was in accord within ${\pm}$4.0% of relative error with the results of anion exchange separation and the thenoyltrifluoroacetone(TTA) extraction both followed by alpha spectrometries.