Aufschluß und Veraschung organischer Substanzen durch Radikale in wäßriger Lösung

The method described utilizes the OH radicals formed from the reagent H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ in aqueous solution. It is especially suitable for foodstuffs (as meat, fish, flour), biological material (as animal carcases, faeces, urine) and various chemicals. The parameters of the method have been investigated with the wet-ashing of meat as example. Mild experimental conditions, large amounts of substances which can be ashed and simple manipulation in an open system are the essential advantages in comparison with methods hitherto used. The procedure is useful for analytical decomposition and ashing, for serial operation, as a rapid method, and for destruction of waste. In the present communication it is applied to the control of environmental radioactivity in the determination of very low activities of ¹³⁷Cs in meat and to the rapid and reliable measurement of accidental contaminations.