Environmental Radiochecmical Analysis II

436 Pages·2003·40.24 MB·English

by  Anthony Ware

Environmental Radiochemical Analysis I1

Environmental Radiochemical
Analysis I1
Edited by
Peter Warwick
Department of Chemistry, Lough bo rough University, Le icestershire
RSaC
advancing the chemical sciences
The proceedings of the 9Ih International Symposium on Environniental Radiochemical
Analysis held on 18-20 September 2002 in Maidstone, Kent, UK.
Special Publication No. 29 1
ISBN 0-85404-6 18-6
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
0 The Royal Society of Chemistry 2003
All rights reserved
Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study, or criticism or
review as permitted under the ternis of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,
this publicalion may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, without the prior perinissiori iri writing of The Royal Society of Chemistry, or in the
case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the term of the licences
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK,o r in accordance with the terms of
the licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK.
Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to The
Royal Society of Chemistry at the address printed on this page.
Published by The Royal Society of Chemistry,
Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Road,
Cambridge CB4 OW, UK
Registered Charity Number 207890
For further information see our web site at www.rsc.org
Printed by Athenaeum Press Ltd, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, UK
Preface
Environmental Radiochemical Analysis I1 is a collection of refereed papers
presented at the gth International Symposium on Environmental Radiochemical
Analysis held in Maidstone, Kent, UK in September 2002. The Symposium is part
of the Radiochemical Methods Group’s programme and is held every four years.
The papers provide the latest information on new methods of radionuclide analyses,
developments and improvements in existing methods, method comparisons,
environmental studies, method uncertainties, underground laboratories and software
development. The papers were presented as posters or oral presentations and were
delivered by experts from many different parts of the world. The book therefore
presents the latest information concerning environmental analysis.
Particular thanks go to members of the Organising Committee: Prof Susan
Parry (Imperial College), Dr Anthony Ware, Mr Peter Hodson (Veternary
Laboratories Agency), Dr Belinda Colston (De Monfort University) and Dr Kinson
Leonard (CEFAS) for their help in making the Symposium a success.
Peter Wanvick
V

Contents
Development of an In-Vitro Procedure to Measure the Availability of Soil-
Associated Radionuclides for Uptake After Inadvertent Ingestion by Humans 1
S. Shaw and N. Green
Separation of Iron-55/59 From Fisson and Activation Products Using Di
Isobutylketone-Based Extraction Chromatographic Materials 8
P. E. Warwick and I. W. Croudace
Synthesis of a Novel Ion Exchanger, Zirconium Vanadate, For Immobilising
134,137C s Radionuclides 17
R. Kamalika, D. K. Pal, S. Basu, D. Nayak, A. DeandS. Lahiri
Investigation of a Method for Measuring Radon in Irish Domestic
Groundwater Supplies 21
S. Sequeira, L. McKittrick, T. P. Ryan and P. A. Colgarz
A Comparison of Three Methodologies for the Determination of Gross Alpha
Activity in Water Samples 31
C. Zhou, R. Zhou, S. Lin, Z. Clzeng, S. Feng, K. Zhao
Efficiency and Resolution of Germanium Detectors as a Function of Energy
and Incident Geometry 38
R. M. Keyser
New Method for Determination of Transplutonium Isotopes by Using a
PM-1 43 Tracer 45
A. Ermakov, T. Kuprishova, L. Velichko, Yu Maslov, S. Malinovsky,
A. Sobolev and A. Novgorodov
Ultra Low-Background Gamma Spectrometry for the Monitoring of
Environmental Neutrons 53
K. Komura
Estimation of Uncertainty in Radiochemical Analysis from Sub-sampling
Solid Matrices 60
G. J. Ham and M.J . Youngman
A Rapid Determination of RA-226 and RA-224 Using Extraction
Chromatography 69
A. H. Thakkur, M. J. Fern and D. McCurdy
Vll
...
Vlll Contents
Construction of an Uncertainty Budget for Alpha Spectrometry: A Case Study
(The Determination of Uranium Isotopic Activity Levels in Vegetation Samples
Using Extraction Chromatography) 76
T. Gingell and M. Hanuood
Spatial and Temporal Variation of Tritium Activities in Coastal Marine
Sediments of the Severn Estuary (UK) 92
P. E. Warwick, I. W. Croudace, A. G. Howard, A. B. Cundy, J. Morris
and K. Doucette
High Precision PU Isotope Ratio Measurements Using Multi-Collector
ICP-MS 104
I, W. Croudace, T. Warneke, P. E. Warwick, R. N. Taylor and J. A. Milton
Measurement of Gross Alpha and Gross Beta Activity in Sediment: An
Analysts’ Intercomparison 113
J. Toole
The Radiological Significance of Foods Collected from the Wild 120
N. Green
Natural Radionuclides Measurements in Drinking Water by Liquid
Scintillation Counting. Methods and Results 128
M. Forte, R. Rusconi, E. Di Caprio, S. Bellinzoria and G. Sgorbati
Po Concentrations in UK Seafood 143
A. K. Young, D. McCubbin, K. Thonias, W. C. Caniplin, K. S. Leonard
and N. Wood
A Study of Colloids in the Near-Field Waters at the Low-Level Waste
Repository Site at Drigg 150
P. Warwick, S. J. Allison, A. Eilbeck
Low Level Liquid Scintillation Counting in a Deep Underground Laboratory:
Background Reduction Aspects 160
F. Verrezen and C. Hurtgeiz
Complete Dissolution of Soil Samples by Fusion 167
A. V. Harms
LSC: From the Routine Counter to the Real Spectrometer 174
I. A. Kashirin, A. I. Ermakov, S. V. Maliriovskiy and K. M. Efinzov
Simultaneous Determination of Long-Lived Radionuclides in Environmental
Samples 185
N. Vajda, 23. Molnar, E. Kabi and Sz. Osvath