Determination of plutonium isotopes in low activity waste of NPP origin

The inventory analysis of the alkaline low level liquid radioactive waste collected during more than 30 years of NPP “Kozloduy” operation requires determination of eighteen radioactive isotopes with different decay properties. Plutonium isotopes of interest are Pu-238, Pu-239/Pu-240, and Pu-242. The preliminary investigations of the supernatant phase of model and authentic waste samples showed essential challenges for determination of plutonium due to its various oxidation states and low concentration in the complex matrix. Plutonium concentration was determined in precipitate and supernatant after the calcium phosphate precipitation and in the different fractions of the anion exchange steps. The separation by anion exchange and final purification of plutonium fraction by extraction chromatography on TEVA resin (EiChroM Industries) was studied by variation of plutonium oxidation states. The sources were prepared by micro precipitation with NdF₃ and counted by alpha spectrometry. As a result from the performed experiments, plutonium determination procedure was optimized and applied to real waste samples.