Radiochemical analysis of210Po in coal gasification samples

The concentrations of²¹⁰Po in samples from a coal gasifier were determined by -pulse height analysis following separations from complex organic matrices. Samples were dissolved using wet acid digestion and persulfate fusion techniques and then extracted with trilaurylamine. Polonium was auto-deposited onto silver disks using²⁰⁹Po as a tracer for yield determination. The precision of the experimental method, determined on coal, was ±6% at the 95% confidence level. Excellent agreement was attained with published data on an EPA coal sample.This work was sponsored by the Office of Health and Environment, Office of Environmental Programs, and the Office of Coal Processing, U.S. Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-840R21400, with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.