TY - JOUR
T1 - Ultratrace Determination of 99 Tc in Small Natural Water Samples by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry with the Gas-Filled Analyzing Magnet System
AU - Quinto, Francesca
AU - Busser, Christoph
AU - Faestermann, Thomas
AU - Hain, Karin
AU - Koll, Dominik
AU - Korschinek, Gunther
AU - Kraft, Stephanie
AU - Ludwig, Peter
AU - Plaschke, Markus
AU - Schäfer, Thorsten
AU - Geckeis, Horst
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2019/4/2
Y1 - 2019/4/2
N2 - In the frame of studies on the safe disposal of nuclear waste, there is a great interest for understanding the migration behavior of 99 Tc. 99 Tc originating from nuclear energy production and global fallout shows environmental levels down to 10 7 atoms/g of soil (∼2 fg/g). Extremely low concentrations are also expected in groundwater after diffusion of 99 Tc through the bentonite constituting the technical barrier for nuclear waste disposal. The main limitation to the sensitivity of the mass spectrometric analysis of 99 Tc is the background of its stable isobar 99 Ru. For ultratrace analysis, the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) setup of the Technical University of Munich using a Gas-Filled Analyzing Magnet System (GAMS) and a 14 MV Tandem accelerator is greatly effective in suppressing this interference. In the present study, the GAMS setup is used for the analysis of 99 Tc in samples of the seawater reference material IAEA-443, a peat bog lake, and groundwater from an experiment of in situ diffusion through bentonite in the controlled zone of the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) within the Colloid Formation and Migration (CFM) project. With an adapted chemical preparation procedure, measurements of 99 Tc concentrations at the fg/g levels with a sensitivity down to 0.5 fg are accomplished in notably small natural water samples. The access to these low concentration levels allows for the long-term monitoring of in situ tracer tests over several years and for the determination of environmental levels of 99 Tc in small samples.
AB - In the frame of studies on the safe disposal of nuclear waste, there is a great interest for understanding the migration behavior of 99 Tc. 99 Tc originating from nuclear energy production and global fallout shows environmental levels down to 10 7 atoms/g of soil (∼2 fg/g). Extremely low concentrations are also expected in groundwater after diffusion of 99 Tc through the bentonite constituting the technical barrier for nuclear waste disposal. The main limitation to the sensitivity of the mass spectrometric analysis of 99 Tc is the background of its stable isobar 99 Ru. For ultratrace analysis, the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) setup of the Technical University of Munich using a Gas-Filled Analyzing Magnet System (GAMS) and a 14 MV Tandem accelerator is greatly effective in suppressing this interference. In the present study, the GAMS setup is used for the analysis of 99 Tc in samples of the seawater reference material IAEA-443, a peat bog lake, and groundwater from an experiment of in situ diffusion through bentonite in the controlled zone of the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) within the Colloid Formation and Migration (CFM) project. With an adapted chemical preparation procedure, measurements of 99 Tc concentrations at the fg/g levels with a sensitivity down to 0.5 fg are accomplished in notably small natural water samples. The access to these low concentration levels allows for the long-term monitoring of in situ tracer tests over several years and for the determination of environmental levels of 99 Tc in small samples.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063159276&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b05765
DO - 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b05765
M3 - Article
SN - 0003-2700
VL - 91
SP - 4585
EP - 4591
JO - Analytical Chemistry
JF - Analytical Chemistry
IS - 7
ER -