Rapid procedure for plutonium and uranium determination in soils using a borate fusion followed by ion-exchange and extraction chromatography

A rapid and highly precise method, which uses a borate fusion, of U and Pu determination in soils, sediments and other materials is described. The chemical separation steps are optimised by using an anion resin column stacked on an extraction chromatography column (Eichrom Industries UTEVA resin). The whole procedure was streamlined to measure 700 soil samples in 10 weeks as part of an urgent environmental monitoring programme. Uranium was measured using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry with a precision of 0.2% at the 95% uncertainty level. Pa was measured using alpha spectrometry with a precision of approximately 10% at the 95% uncertainty level. The method can be applied successfully to a wide range of sample types and other actinide elements (Th, Am, etc.) can also be effectively included in the analytical scheme. The whole method has been critically evaluated by measuring a range of international reference samples. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.