High-resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma--Atomic Emission Spectroscopy applied to problems in Nuclear Waste Management

摘要

High-resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) is a variant of the more conventional ICP-AES that is widely used for environmental monitoring. The relevance of high-resolution capabilities of three such analytical problems are discussed herein. (1) Pu in very complex, radioactive matrices can be determined with good accuracy without the need for prior chemical separations. Isotopically resolved spectra from actinides in fuel dissolver solutions can be obtained after a simple ion-exchange step. (2) High-resolution methods permit the simultaneous determination of fission products and actinides in simulated high-level nuclear waste solutions. Such measurements can be useful for both safeguards and waste processing. (3) The ICP-AES technique, with a photodiode array detector, can be used to determine the composition of nuclear waste glasses. Such measurements can assist the glass producer as well as providing predictors of nuclear waste form performance in a repository. 16 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.