A rapid radiochemical procedure for indium

A rapid radiochcmical procedure was developed for the separation of indium radionuclides from a mixed fission-product solution. An alcoholic pyridine solution is added to a uranium solution containing indium and tin carriers. The resulting tin precipitate is separated from the indium-containing solution by filtering through a cellulose membrane filter. The decontamination factor for tin is 2·10³. Other fission products are only partially removed. The chemical yield of indium is about 44%, and the time required for the separation is about 10 sec. After the tin-separated indium has decayed, the tin daughters of indium are removed from all the other fission products at a specified time and measured, so that the amount of indium present at the time of the tin precipitation is determined.     

A rapid iodine radiochemical procedure

A radiochemical procedure was developed to determine fission yields and radiation characteristics of short-lived iodine fission products.Iodine was separated from other fission products of uranium in less than 10 sec after completion of irradiation. High decontamination factors of iodine from Sn, Sb, Te, Xe, Cs and Ba, and high chemical yields were obtained. The sample was prepared by dissolving uranium peroxide in molten periodic acid; the melt was cooled, ground and mixed with activated carbon. After irradiation, the periodic acid was decomposed by heat and the gaseous iodine formed was collected in carbon tetrachloride or in a cooled counting chamber. Higher temperatures could be used than in conventional aqueous systems, thus enhancing the exchange of carrier and fission product iodine.     

Spectrophotometric determination of uranium in natural waters

A method for the spectrophotometric determination of uranium in samples of natural water is described. Ion exchange with Amberlite IR-120 (H⁺) to concentrate the metal was used. The absorption properties of the complex formed between uranium and the chromogenic reagent Arsenazo III, its stability over several hours, the effect of the pH on the ability of the resin to retain uranium, the reproducibility of the method and the effects of ionic interferences were considered. The sensitivity was 0.67 and 0.05 μg l^?1 of uranium for the direct and the addition methods, respectively. Uranium concentrations for the samples analysed were between 0.10 and 0.50 μg l^?1.     

A new radiochemical procedure for uranium assay in environmental samples

A new and economical method for assay of environmental samples for uranium isotopes is proposed. Separation and radiochemical purification of uranium isotopes (²³⁴U,²³⁵U and²³⁸U) from other elements is achieved on a single anion exchange column by washing with various concentrations of hydrochloric acid. Iron, the principal interfering element is removed from the colum by washing with 4.5M hydrochloric acid with a combination of reducing agents under the conditions described. Weightless samples of uranium are prepared by either evaporation in a polished stainless steel dish or electroplated on a stainless steel planchet. This method is applicable for air particulates, soils, sediments, coal, water, vegetation, and biologicals. Text of the paper presented in the symposium on Practical Applications of Nuclear and Radiochemistry, at Las Vegas, Nevada, August 25–29, 1980. Submitted for publication in Advances in Chemistry Series.     

A rapid quantitative method for humic substances determination in natural waters

A simple and rapid method was proposed for humic substances (HS) determination at microgram levels in natural waters. This assay method is based on the binding of a dye, Toluidine Blue (TB), to HS molecules to produce a dye-HS complex, which causes a decrease in absorbance at 630 nm. This method was calibrated with HS samples with up to a concentration of 40 mg L⁻¹, which covered the range of dissolved HS concentrations present in natural waters. The detection limit was 0.8 mg L⁻¹ of HS, and the relative standard deviation of 10 replicate measurements for a 20-mg L⁻¹ standard sample was 3.5%. From the Langmuir adsorption isotherm theory, the binding equilibrium constant and total number of binding sites at neutral pH were calculated to be (8.17 ± 0.42) × 10⁵ L mol⁻¹ and N of 1.45 ± 0.04 mmol g⁻¹ HS, respectively. The determination results with five water samples from lake, river and pond were consistent with those measured with the reference methods, demonstrating that this quantification method for HS determination was rapid, sensitive and feasible.     

Fluorimetric method for the determination of uranium in natural waters

A method is described for the fluorimetric determination of uranium in natural waters. The limit of detection is 0.3 ppM. Ion-exchange is used to preconcentrate the uranium by a factor of 22 and separate it from quenching ions in the sample. The fluorescence is measured in a medium that is 1.35M in both sulphuric and phosphoric acids. The uranyl ions are excited by radiation of wavelength 280 nm and bandwidth 40 nm. The emitted signal is scanned from 470 to 510 nm. After spiking of the sample solution with a small volume of standard uranium solution, the fluorescence signal is scanned again and the uranium content of the sample calculated from the two readings. The coefficient of variation is 8.5% for determinations of U in a synthetic water sample having a uranium content of 1.9 ppM. Destruction of organic matter in the eluates gives 0.1 ppM detection limit.     

A green analytical procedure for flow-injection determination of nitrate in natural waters

Nitrate determination in waters is generally carried out with cadmium filings and carcinogenic reagents or by reaction with phenolic compounds in highly concentrated sulfuric acid medium. In this work, it was developed a green analytical procedure for nitrate determination in natural waters based on direct spectrophotometric measurements in ultraviolet, using a flow-injection system with an anion-exchange column for separation of nitrate from interfering species. The proposed method employs only one reagent (HClO₄) in a minimum amount (equivalent to 18 μL concentrated acid per determination), and allowed nitrate determination within 0.50-25.0 mg L⁻¹, without interference of up to 200.0 mg L⁻¹ humic acid; 1.0 mg L⁻¹ NO₂⁻; 200.0 mg L⁻¹ PO₄³⁻; 75.0 mg L⁻¹ Cl⁻; 50.0 mg L⁻¹ SO₄²⁻ and 15.0 mg L⁻¹ Fe³⁺. The detection limit (99.7% confidence level) and the coefficient of variation (n = 20) were estimated as 0.1 mg L⁻¹ and 0.7%, respectively. The results obtained for natural water samples were in agreement with those achieved by the reference method based on nitrate reduction with copperized cadmium at the 95% confidence level.     

A sequential radiochemical procedure for isotopic analysis of uranium and thorium in soil

A sequential radiochemical procedure for isotopic analysis of uranium and thorium in soil has been developed. Analysis involves total dissolution of the samples to allow equilibration of the natural isotopes with added tracers, followed by radiochemical separation using anion exchange chromatography (BioRad AG 1–X8). Further separation and purification is performed employing solvent extraction techniques. Finally, the U and Th fractions are co-precipitated with lanthanum and cerium fluoride, respectively, and quantified by alpha-particle spectrometry. Overall chemical yields range from 60 to 90%. Under normal operating conditions and present counting set up, the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) is approximately 2 Bq/kg for soil samples. This is based on one gram aliquot of sample, 80% chemical yield, and 1000 minute counting with a detector having about 15% counting efficiency. The procedure has been successfully tested with Standard Reference Materials. Various soil samples were analyzed with high chemical yields and fine quality of alpha-spectra. Decontamination factor studies were performed to determine the extent of the carry over of²¹⁰Po,²²⁵Ac,²²⁶Ra, and²²⁹Th into U fraction and²¹⁰Po,²²⁵Ac,²²⁶Ra, and²³²U into Th fraction.     

A radiochemical procedure for ultratrace determination of chromium in biological materials

Chromium is one of the most difficult elements to accurately determine at the naturally occuring, ultratrace levels normally found in uncontaminated biological samples. In view of the importance of Cr, both as an essential and as a toxic element, efforts have focused on developing a simple, yet reliable, radiochemical procedure for Cr determination using neutron activation analysis. A number of problem areas have been identified in earlier methods, and an improved radiochemical separation procedure, based upon the liquid/liquid extraction of Cr(VI) into a solution of tribenzylamine/chloroform, has been developed. The fast neutron interference from Fe has been evaluated for the highly thermal RT-4 facility of the NBS Research Reactor, and Cr concentrations have been determined in samples of whole human blood collected under clean conditions and in two certified reference materials.     

Microwave-assisted UV-digestion procedure for the accurate determination of Pd in natural waters

A procedure was developed for the selective determination of Pd in environmental aquatic solutions. The method is based on a preliminary microwave-assisted UV-digestion for the degradation of dissolved organic material, and the subsequent determination of Pd using a recently presented enrichment procedure with ETAAS detection. Due to the simultaneous use of microwave and UV irradiation only extremely small quantities of hydrogen peroxide were necessary to yield a quantitative degradation of interfering organic ligands. Thus the on-line pre-concentration of Pd in the digested samples using the complexing agent N,N-diethyl-N′-benzoylthiourea was possible without any further sample pre-treatment. Using a sample volume of 1.57 ml for FI-ETAAS analysis a limit of detection of 15 ng l⁻¹ was obtained for the combined procedure, with a relative standard deviation being not more than 4.9%. The method was applied to quantify the water-soluble fraction of Pd in urban road dust. Extractions with a rain sample of pH 5.9 revealed that an average of 2.2% (n = 8) of the total Pd present in urban road dust was water soluble.     

A simple method for the determination of natural uranium and226Ra in waters and soils

A procedure for the determination of natural uranium and²²⁶Ra in waters and soils has been carried out and applied to the analysis of samples for environmental radiological monitoring.²²⁶Ra determination consists of co-precipitation with BaSO₄,²²²Rn emanation in toluene and finally liquid scintillation counting. Natural uranium is then determined by a fluorometric technique. This paper describes the method and the conditions that were tested to optimize it. The technique was found to be suitable for the analysis of surface and ground waters, samples from rivers, streams and lakes and soil samples, because of its few steps, short processing time, high recovery percentages and suitable detection limits.     

A green flow-based procedure for fluorimetric determination of acid-dissociable cyanide in natural waters exploiting multicommutation

A flow system designed with solenoid valves is proposed for determination of weak acid dissociable cyanide, based on the reaction with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) and glycine yielding a highly fluorescent isoindole derivative. The proposed procedure minimizes the main drawbacks related to the reference batch procedure, based on reaction with barbituric acid and pyridine followed by spectrophotometric detection, i.e., use of toxic reagents, high reagent consumption and waste generation, low sampling rate, and poor sensitivity. Retention of the sample zone was exploited to increase the conversion rate of the analyte with minimized sample dispersion. Linear response (r = 0.999) was observed for cyanide concentrations in the range 1–200 μg L⁻¹, with a detection limit (99.7% confidence level) of 0.5 μg L⁻¹ (19 nmol L⁻¹). The sampling rate and coefficient of variation (n = 10) were estimated as 22 measurements per hour and 1.4%, respectively. The results of determination of weak acid dissociable cyanide in natural water samples were in agreement with those achieved by the batch reference procedure at the 95% confidence level. Additionally to the improvement in the analytical features in comparison with those of the flow system with continuous reagent addition (sensitivity and sampling rate 90 and 83% higher, respectively), the consumption of OPA was 230-fold lower.     

Simple radiochemical neutron-activation method for the determination of uranium in ultramafic rocks

A radiochemical neutron-activation method for the determination of trace concentrations of uranium in rocks is described. The method is based on separation of 23·5-min ²³⁹U after alkaline fusion by extraction with tri-n-butyl phosphate from moderately concentrated nitric acid, followed by measurement of the 74-keV γ-ray with a Ge(Li) detector. The limit of detection is 0·2 ng of U under the present conditions, and the precision at the 0·005 ppm level is about 10%. The method is especially useful for determination of uranium in ultramafic rocks.     

Application of the fission-track technique to the determination of uranium in natural waters

A procedure for the determination of the uranium content of natural waters is presented. To 100 ml of natural waters, 200 ml of conc. hydrochloric acid are added and this solution is passed through a 6-ml column of Dowex 1-X8. The uranium is eluted with 60 ml of 0.1M hydrochloric acid, and the eluate is evaporated to dryness. The residue is subjected to the fission-track technique described previously. The uranium content of the river waters in Fukuoka City was determined.     

A multi-pumping flow-based procedure with improved sensitivity for the spectrophotometric determination of acid-dissociable cyanide in natural waters

An analytical procedure with improved sensitivity was developed for cyanide determination in natural waters, exploiting the reaction with the complex of Cu(I) with 2,2′-biquinoline 4,4′-dicarboxylic acid (BCA). The flow system was based on the multi-pumping approach and long pathlength spectrophotometry with a flow cell based on a Teflon AF 2400^® liquid core waveguide was exploited to increase sensitivity. A linear response was achieved from 5 to 200 μg L⁻¹, with coefficient of variation of 1.5% (n = 10). The detection limit and the sampling rate were 2 μg L⁻¹ (99.7% confidence level), and 22 h⁻¹, respectively. Per determination, 48 ng of Cu(II), 5 μg of ascorbic acid and 0.9 μg of BCA were consumed. As high as 100 mg L⁻¹ thiocyanate, nitrite or sulfite did not affect cyanide determination. Sulfide did not interfere at concentrations lower than 40 and 200 μg L⁻¹ before or after sample pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide. The results for natural waters samples agreed with those obtained by a fluorimetric flow-based procedure at the 95% confidence level. The proposed procedure is then a reliable, fast and environmentally friendly alternative for cyanide determination in natural waters.     

Spectrophotometric determination of uranium in natural waters after preconcentration on TBP-plasticized dibenzoylmethane-loaded polyurethane foams

A method is presented for the spectrophotometric determination of uranium in natural waters after a preconcentration step involving percolation of a suitable aliquot of the water sample whose pH is adjusted to 6.0–6.5 through a TBP-plasticized dibenzoylmethane-loaded polyurethane foam bed. Uranium on the foam is eluted with 0.6M HCl solution and then determined spectrophotometrically using arsenazo III as a chromogenic reagent.     

Field method for the estimation of uranium in natural waters

Summary A method, applicable in the field, for the quantitative determination of uranium at the 1-ppm level in natural water has been developed. Equipment and reagents have been assembled and listed for convenience. While 1-ppm solutions have been analyzed lower concentrations can probably be evaluated in the same way.

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Zusammenfassung Eine Feldmethode zur Bestimmung von etwa 1 ppm Uran in natürlichen Wässern wurde entwickelt. Die dazu nötigen Geräte und Reagenzien wurden angegeben. Wahrscheinlich können auch noch geringere Konzentrationen in gleicher Weise bestimmt werden.

     

A portable fluorescence analyzer for determining uranium(VI) in natural waters

A portable fluorescence analyzer has been developed for determining 0.03–3000 ng/L of uranium(VI) in various types of waters; the relative standard deviation is 10%. The principle of time selection of the luminescence of analyte and the impurities has been used. In contrast to the previous apparatus with a bulky nitrogen laser or a low-power light diode, this apparatus involves a powerful pulse xenon lamp.     

Activity ratios of natural uranium in surface waters

The enrichment of²³⁴U in ground waters is a well established experiments fact. In the course of measurements of uranium contamination in rivers of the Guadiana basin we have found the contamination near the uranium mines with the equilibrium isotope ratios of uranium. With distance from the mines we found not only the expected decrease in contamination but also an increasing enrichment of the lighter isotopes. For the²³⁵U isotope, this is the first observation with good separation and low interference between the most significant peaks of each isotope.