INTER-ELEMENT INTERFERENCE STUDIES IN THE DETERMINATION OF TRACE AMOUNTS OF PLUTONIUM BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA ATOMIC EMISSION-SPECTROMETRY

Trace amounts of plutonium in aqueous solutions have been determined by an inductively coupled argon plasma-atomic emission spectrometric (ICP-AES) technique. Extensive studies have been carried out on interelement interference effects for two plutonium lines, viz., 300.06 nm and 453.6 nm, due to the presence of uranium, thorium, lanthanides and other metallic elements in the sample solutions. The analytical range obtained in the present case is 0.1-100-mu-g/ml with a precision of better than 1% R.S.D. The method is checked for accuracy by analyzing two well-characterized reference standards.