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ANION EXCHANGE METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF PLUTONIUM IN WATER: SINGLE-LABORATORY EVALUATION AND INTERLABORATORY COLLABORATIVE STUDY
Citation:
Bishop, C., A. Glosby, R. Brown, AND C. Phillips. ANION EXCHANGE METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF PLUTONIUM IN WATER: SINGLE-LABORATORY EVALUATION AND INTERLABORATORY COLLABORATIVE STUDY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/7-78/122 (NTIS PB285435), 1978.
Description:
This report gives the results of a single-laboratory evaluation and an interlaboratory collaborative study of a method for determining plutonium in water. The method was written for the analysis of 1-liter samples and involved coprecipitation, acid dissolution, anion exchange, electrodeposition, and alpha pulse-height analysis. The complete method is given in the first appendix to the report. After the single-laboratory evaluation of the selected method, four samples were prepared for the collaborative study. There were two river water samples, a substitute ocean water sample, and a sample containing sediment. These samples contained plutonium-239 and a plutonium-238 at concentrations ranging from 0.42 to 28.9 dis/min/liter. Standard deviations of the collaborative study plutonium concentrations ranged from 5% to 13%. In three cases standard deviations agreed with what was expected from counting statistics. It is believed that hydrolysis occurred in the river water samples resulting in errors greater than what was expected from counting statistics.