The importance of the separation chemistry for the determination of radionuclides in the environmental samples

Separation chemistry plays an important role when alpha and beta emitting natural and artificial radionuclides at low levels must be determined in complex environmental matrices. This paper describes some separation techniques used in radioecology, with a special emphasis to extraction chromatography. The very high necessary decontamination factors are pointed out together with the suggested techniques. The following examples are given: a) determination of 90Sr in soils in the presence of high concentration of 210Bi; b)determination of cosmogenic 32P in sea water and its decontamination from 234Th; c) determination of 63Ni and 59Ni in liquid effluents; separation techniques used for the speciation of plutonium in sea sediments; e) plutonium and 241Am concentration and vertical distribution in moses. (author)