Determination of (210)Pb and (210)Po in sediment and soil leachates and in biological materials using a Sr-resin column and evaluation of column reuse.

摘要

In this work we present a suitable way to release lead and polonium from sediments and other samples. Results obtained by hot-acid dissolution and cold leaching showed that while good recoveries of (210)Pb were obtained in both the cases, (210)Po recovery in hot dissolution was poor due to volatility of polonium, and might lead to erroneous results due to non-equilibration of added (208)Po tracer and (210)Po in the matrix. A Sr-resin column was used for separation of Pb and Po. We also studied the possibility of reusing columns used earlier. The most significant problem in reuse is the reduction in column capacity, resulting in a reduction to half of its initial capacity. Other natural radionuclides do not interfere in the determination of (210)Pb and (210)Po and we found no measurable contamination of the column on repeated usage.