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Improved procedure for Pu/Am, and U isotope analysis in fecal samples

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Abstract

Herein, we describe an improved procedure for 238Pu, 240Pu, 241Am, and natural U quantitation in fecal samples and validate it by analyzing reference samples of the intercomparison program. Interference caused by 237Np resulted in Pu content underestimation, which was corrected by the addition of an alternative tracer. Samples processed using the fusion method (to facilitate dissolution) exhibited significantly biased U contents compared to reference values, with the magnitude of the bias being dependent on the type of flux used. Conversely, the wet-ashing method afforded results closely matching reference values, being not significantly more time consuming than the fusion method.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS), funded by Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Republic of Korea (No. 50535-2018).

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Correspondence to Jung-min Kim.

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Yoon, S., Ha, WH., Park, S. et al. Improved procedure for Pu/Am, and U isotope analysis in fecal samples. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 316, 1151–1155 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-5892-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-5892-3

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