URANIUM ISOTOPIC RATIO DETERMINATION IN URINE USING FLOW-INJECTION ICP-MS: A TOOL FOR EMERGENCY MONITORING

摘要

An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry-based method is presented aimed at total uranium concentration and atomic ratio determination. The method includes (low-injection uranium separation based on TRU Eichrom~® extraction chro-matographic cartridges. The method was tested with urine interlaboratorial exercise samples and certified reference materials (NBL-CRM-U020A and NBL-CRM-U050) providing reliable results. The proposed methodology was also applied to urine samples obtained after an incident at a nuclear facility. The obtained ~(235)U/~(238) and ~(234)U/~(238)U atomic ratios in the urine of an exposed worker were equal to those observed for an enriched uranium solution from the same origin.