Speaker
Description
In this study, a rapid method using single column separation and fusion for determination of the uranium in environmental samples (e.g., soil, sediment, air particulate, etc.) is presented. Various certified reference materials (CRM) of soil and sediment were used to evaluate the accuracy and precision for the developed method. Samples were rapidly digested using an alkali fusion (LiBO2) technique and readily dissolved in dilute nitric acid. Prior to separation using UTEVA resin, concentrated nitric acid has been added until the molar concentration of the sample aliquot becomes greater than 2 M. The prepared solutions were separated from a 20 mL column filled with UTEVA resin. The purified samples were diluted and measured through inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The analytical results agreed well with the certified values for all samples. All experiments for five samples including the sample digestion, separation, and determination could be conducted in 1.5 h. Thus, method developed in this study can offer the main advantages over existing methods in terms of simplicity and reliability for routine monitoring and emergency preparedness.
