Recent developments in and applications of resonance ionization mass spectrometry

Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry (RIMS) has nowadays reached the status of a routine method for sensitive and selective ultratrace determination of long-lived radioactive isotopes in environmental, biomedical and technical samples. It provides high isobaric suppression, high to ultra-high isotopic selectivity and good overall efficiency. Experimental detection limits are as low as 10(6) atoms per sample and permit the fast and sensitive determination of ultratrace amounts of radiotoxic contaminations. Experimental arrangements for the detection of different radiotoxic isotopes, e.g. Pu236-244, Sr-89,Sr-90 and Tc-99 in environmental samples are described, and the application of RIMS to the ultrarare long-lived radioisotope Ca-41 for cosmochemical, radiodating and medical purposes are presented.