The detection of trace uranium in water with a newly developed handheld photometer

A home-made low cost handheld photometer was developed for in situ colorimetric detection of uranium in water. Compared to conventional spectrophotometers, the new instrument is easy in fabrication, lower in power and high in sensitivity and precision. Main factors affecting its analytical performance were systematically investigated and discussed. A rapid procedure based on the proposed photometer for uranium determination was established using arsenazo III as the color-development reagent. The dynamic linear range of this method was found to be 0.05-100 μg/L; and the detection limit to be 0.05 μg/L. By using this method, the recovery of uranium for tap water, lake water, river water, spring water and water in tailing dam was from 95.7%. to 100.4%. The typical RSD values for all the measurements were found to be between 1.04%-2.78%(n=3). (authors)