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Improvement of Am and Cm determination in soil samples

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Abstract

The determination of Am and Cm in a radiochemical procedure for the sequential analysis of Pu, Am, and Cm in soils was improved and optimized. This method uses only solvent extraction and extraction chromatography for the separation and cleaning of Am and Cm from soils up to 50 g sample weight. After leaching with 8M nitric acid, Pu is extracted with TOPO/cyclohexane. Am and Cm are extracted out of the remaining leaching solution at pH 1 with TOPO/cyclohexane, too. After backextraction with 2M nitric acid, Am and Cm are separated from traces of matrix elements, especially Fe, on a TRU-column, afterwards on a TEVA-column from lanthanides (TRU-resin and TEVA-resin of Eichrom Europe, SARL, Paris, France). The clean Am/Cm-fraction is electroplated and measured by alpha-spectrometry. The detection limit of this optimized procedure is 0.03 Bq/kg soil at a 95% confidence level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Safety Department, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, P.O. Box 3640, D-76021, Karlsruhe, Germany

    M. Pimpl

  2. National Centre for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control, Atomic Energy Authority, 3 Ahmed El Zomor St., Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt

    R. H. Higgy

Authors
  1. M. Pimpl
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  2. R. H. Higgy
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Pimpl, M., Higgy, R.H. Improvement of Am and Cm determination in soil samples. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 248, 537–541 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010658310049

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