In situ determination of uranium in soil by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

摘要

The concentration of uranium in soil has been determined for 80 sites in an area suspected to have uranium contamination by in situ laser ablation- inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (LA-ICPAES), utilizing a field-deployable mobile analytical laboratory. For 15 of the 80 sites analyzed, soil samples were collected so that the field LA-ICPAES results could be compared to laboratory-determined values. Uranium concentrations determined in the field by LA-ICPAES for these 15 sites range from u3c20 parts per million (ppm) by weight to 285 ppm. The uncertainty in the values determined, however, is large relative to the uranium concentrations encountered at this site. The 95% confidence interval (CI) values are approximately 85 ppm. The uranium concentrations determined by laboratory LA- ICPAES analysis range from u3c20 to 102 ppm (95% CI of approximately 50 ppm); microwave dissolution and subsequent standard addition determination of uranium by solution nebulization ICPAES using an ultrasonic nebulizer yields 19-124 ppm uranium (95% CI of approximately 10 ppm). For 11 of the 15 samples, the field- and laboratory-determined uranium concentrations agree, within the uncertainty of the determined values.