The use of 237Pu for the control of plutonium chemical yield in the process of its separation from environmental samples

Gamma-radiating 237Pu radionuclide (T1/2=45.5 days, Eγ=59.5 keV (3.3%); 97.1 keV (13.7%), 101.1 keV (21.8%) x radiation and other) is used as a label when investigating the methods of plutonium trace separation from the soil. In contrast to traditional 236Pu and 242Pu labels, control of 237Pu behaviour, exercised during the chemical separation using a semiconductor gamma-detector, allows one to determine stages, at which main losses of plutonium occur, which is especially important when developing new methods and analysing samples of various material content