Determination of americium in presence of plutonium by ICP-AES technique

241Am which is a daughter product of 241Pu occurs in the plutonium product solutions of the Purex process and is generally estimated by separation techniques such as solvent extraction and ion exchange methods followed by α-counting. In general, radiochemical methods are sensitive and rapid. However, if the estimation of one actinide is to be carried out in presence of another it is necessary to employ elaborate separative techniques for their isolation from each other prior to the estimation. In the present studies an attempt has been made to determine americium directly in presence of plutonium matrix after appropriate dilution using ICP-AES technique