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Fast concentration of dissolved forms of cesium radioisotopes from large seawater samples

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Abstract

The method developed for cesium concentration from large freshwater samples was tested and adapted for analysis of cesium radionuclides in seawater. Concentration of dissolved forms of cesium in large seawater samples (about 100 L) was performed using composite absorbers AMP-PAN and KNiFC-PAN with ammonium molybdophosphate and potassium–nickel hexacyanoferrate(II) as active components, respectively, and polyacrylonitrile as a binding polymer. A specially designed chromatography column with bed volume (BV) 25 mL allowed fast flow rates of seawater (up to 1,200 BV h−1). The recovery yields were determined by ICP-MS analysis of stable cesium added to seawater sample. Both absorbers proved usability for cesium concentration from large seawater samples. KNiFC-PAN material was slightly more effective in cesium concentration from acidified seawater (recovery yield around 93 % for 700 BV h−1). This material showed similar efficiency in cesium concentration also from natural seawater. The activity concentrations of 137Cs determined in seawater from the central Pacific Ocean were 1.5 ± 0.1 and 1.4 ± 0.1 Bq m−3 for an offshore (January 2012) and a coastal (February 2012) locality, respectively, 134Cs activities were below detection limit (<0.2 Bq m−3).

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the help of Denys Vonderhaar and Gregory Ravizza with stable cesium analysis. This material is based upon work supported by NSF under grant No. RAPID OCE-1137412 and the School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 1680 East–West Road, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Jan Kameník, Henrieta Dulaiova & Kamila Šťastná

  2. Department of Nuclear Chemistry, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 7, 115 19, Prague 1, Czech Republic

    Ferdinand Šebesta & Kamila Šťastná

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  1. Jan Kameník
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  2. Henrieta Dulaiova
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  3. Ferdinand Šebesta
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  4. Kamila Šťastná
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Correspondence to Jan Kameník.

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Kameník, J., Dulaiova, H., Šebesta, F. et al. Fast concentration of dissolved forms of cesium radioisotopes from large seawater samples. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 296, 841–846 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2007-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-012-2007-4

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