Systematic separation and determination of some neutron-activated nuclides and actinides in fallout samples

A method for systematic separation and determination of some neutron-activated nuclides and actinides is described. The method is designed to utilize stable isotopes and radioactive tracers as chemical yield monitors and to separate nuclides of interest from a single limited sample. Gravimetric, spectrophotometric, radiometric and X-ray fluorescence analysis were used for determination of chemical yields of the nuclides. Overall chemical yields generally ranged from 60-90%. Separated and purified nuclides were detected by γ-spectrometry or isotope dilution α-spectrometry. The detection limit for neutron-activated nuclides is 107 nuclides and the precision is better than 3% RSD. (author) 3 refs.; 5 tabs