Search results for "Plutonium"
showing 8 items of 38 documents
Speciation of the oxidation states of plutonium in aqueous solutions by UV/Vis spectroscopy, CE-ICP-MS and CE-RIMS
2007
For the speciation of the plutonium oxidation states in aqueous solutions, the online coupling of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been developed. Depending on the radius/electrical charge ratio, the oxidation states III, IV, V, and VI of plutonium are separated by CE, based on the different migration times through the capillary and are detected by ICP-MS. The detection limit is 20 ppb,i.e.109–1010atoms (10-12–10-13g) for one oxidation state with an uncertainty of the reproducibility of the migration times of ≤1% and ≤5% for the peak area. The redox kinetics of the different plutonium oxidation states in the presence of humic subs…
Stabilization of polynuclear plutonium(IV) species by humic acid
2014
Abstract Although the formation of tetravalent plutonium (Pu(IV)) polymers with natural organic matter was previously observed by spectroscopy, there is no quantitative evidence of such reaction in batch experiments. In the present study, Pu(IV) interaction with humic acid (HA) was investigated at pH 1.8, 2.5 and 3, as a function of HA concentration and for Pu total concentration equal to 6 × 10−8 M. The finally measured Pu(IV) concentrations ([Pu(IV)]eq) are below Pu(IV) solubility limit. Pu(IV)–HA interaction can be explained by the complexation of Pu(IV) monomers by HA up to [Pu(IV)]eq ∼ 10−8 M. However, the slope of the log–log Pu(IV)–HA binding isotherm changes from ∼0.7 to ∼3.5 for hi…
Plutonium(III) complexation by humic substances studied by X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy
2006
Abstract We determined structural parameters for the near-neighbor surrounding of plutonium(III) in complexes with humic and fulvic acids at pH 1 and for the purpose of comparison also for the plutonium(III) aquo ion by means of X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. It could be shown that in the complexes with humic substances as well as in the plutonium(III) aquo ion sample the trivalent oxidation state of plutonium was stable within the time of the experiment. In the humate and fulvate complexes, the plutonium(III) is surrounded by about eight oxygen atoms with an average Pu–O distance of 2.48 ± 0.02 A. The structural parameters determined for plutonium(III)–humate and –ful…
Depth profiling of Pu, 241Am and 137Cs in soils from southern Belarus measured by ICP-MS and alpha- and gamma-spectrometry
2003
The depth distribution of plutonium, americium, and Cs-137 originating front the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was investigated in several soil profiles in the vicinity from Belarus. The vertical migration of transuranic elements in soils typical of the 30 km relocation area around Chernobyl NPP was studied using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), alpha spectrometry, and gamma spectrometry. Transuranic concentrations in upper soil layers ranged from 6 x 10(-12) g g(-1) to 6 x 10(-10) g g(-1) for plutonium and from 1.8 x 10(-13) g g(-1) to 1.6 x 10(-11) g g(-1) for americium. These concentrations correspond to specific activities of Pu239+240 of…
Speciation and interactions of plutonium with humic substances and kaolinite in aquifer systems
2007
Abstract The speciation of plutonium (Pu) in contact with humic substances (HS) and kaolinite has been performed in aquifer systems. Mainly the redox behavior, complexation, and sorption of plutonium are discussed here. The redox behavior of Pu(VI) in contact with HS was studied and it was found that Pu(VI) is reduced to Pu(III) and Pu(IV) within a couple of weeks. The complexation constants (log β LC ) of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) with HS have been determined by means of the ultrafiltration method. Furthermore, the sorption of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) onto kaolinite has been investigated as a function of pH by batch experiments under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
Trace Analysis of Plutonium and Technetium by Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry Using an Atomic Beam and a Laser Ion Source
1990
A method for low level detection of plutonium and technetium is described with a detection limit of less than 107 atoms. Plutonium is a very toxic element due to its radioactive decay as well as its chemical behaviour. It was released to the environment in large amounts during the fifties and sixties of his century, principally by nuclear-weapon tests and some accidents. As a result about 0.4 − 4 mBq per gram 239Pu(T1/2 = 24390 y), corresponding to 4 × 108 − 4 × 109 atoms, can be found in the Northern Hemisphere in soil samples.
High-resolution laser spectroscopy of long-lived plutonium isotopes
2017
Long-lived isotopes of plutonium were studied using two complementary techniques, high-resolution resonance ionisation spectroscopy (HR-RIS) and collinear laser spectroscopy (CLS). Isotope shifts have been measured on the $5f^67s^2\ ^7F_0 \rightarrow 5f^56d^27s\ (J=1)$ and $5f^67s^2\ ^7F_1 \rightarrow 5f^67s7p\ (J=2)$ atomic transitions using the HR-RIS method and the hyperfine factors have been extracted for the odd mass nuclei $^{239,241}$Pu. Collinear laser spectroscopy was performed on the $5f^67s\ ^8F_{1/2} \rightarrow J=1/2\; (27523.61\text{cm}^{-1})$ ionic transition with the hyperfine $A$ factors measured for $^{239}$Pu. Changes in mean-squared charge radii have been extracted and s…
Applicability of pulse shape analysis methods in measurements of low energy gamma rays from human lungs
2015
Pulssimuoto-analyysi menetelmiä sovellettiin gammaspektrometrisiin mittauksiin, tavoitteena vähentää matala-energistä Compton taustaa spektrissä. Tarkasteltu käytännön sovellus oli sisäänhengitetyn plutoniumin havaitseminen suorissa keuhkomittauksissa. Vuorovaikutussyvyyden ja pulssin nousuajan välillä ei löydetty mittauksissa yhteyttä. Mittauksissa käytetyssä plutonium-239 keuhkot sisältävässä phantomissa oli ei-toivottu americium-241 kontaminaatio. Työssä keskustellaan myös mittarisuunnittelun keinoista, joilla pulssimuotoanalyysin tehokkuutta voitaisiin parantaa. Pulse shape analysis methods were applied to gamma spectroscopy measurements in an attempt to reduce the contribution from low…