Actinide determination and analytical support for characterization of environmental samples

Clean chemical and Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) procedures have been developed to permit the determination of environmental actinide element concentrations and isotopic signatures. The isotopic signatures help identify element origin and separate naturally occurring or background contributions from local anthropogenic sources. Typical sample sizes for processing are 2 liters of water, 1--10 grams of sediment, and 1--20 grams of soil. Measurement limits for Pu, Am, and Np are < 1 x 188 atoms, and for U are < 2.5 x 1012 atoms. For isotopic signatures, < 5 x 108 atoms of Pu, Am, and Np are necessary, and 8 x 1012 atoms of U are required. Of potential interest to the IAEA is the incorporation of these techniques into their Safeguards Analytical Laboratory for environmental sampling. Studies made of surface waters, sediments and soils from the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) in Colorado, US, are used as examples of this methodology. These studies showed that, although plant boundary actinide concentrations approached, on the downstream side, natural or background levels, isotopic signatures characteristic of plant operations were still discernible