TY - JOUR

T1 - Actinide imaging in environmental hot particles from Chernobyl by rapid spatially resolved resonant laser secondary neutral mass spectrometry

AU - Raiwa, Manuel

AU - Büchner, Sebastian

AU - Kneip, Nina

AU - Weiß, Martin

AU - Hanemann, Paul

AU - Fraatz, Polina

AU - Heller, Maximilian

AU - Bosco, Hauke

AU - Weber, Felix

AU - Wendt, Klaus

AU - Walther, Clemens

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank Sandra Reinhard and Janine Noordman for their age determination of the used MOX solution and Darcy van Eerten for proof reading. Part of this research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Funding number: 02NUK044A ).

PY - 2022/4

Y1 - 2022/4

N2 - Radioactive particles, so-called hot particles, are of great importance in the risk assessment of environmental pollution and human health hazards. Since most of these particles are only a couple of micrometers in size and thus have correspondingly small atomic inventory, information on origin and composition is difficult to obtain. Many analytical methods do not give insight into isotopic details or require the complete use up of the particle. Resonant laser secondary neutral mass spectrometry (rl-SNMS) has been proven to be a well-suited method for quasi-non-destructive analysis of trace elements. The technique provides high suppression of isobaric interferences and high spatial resolution without necessitating extensive chemical preparation. To measure multiple elements, it is often necessary to switch between laser excitation schemes, requiring elaborate adaptation of the laser setup. Here we present a novel rL-SNMS system capable of multi-element measurements in short succession without any manual adjustment to the laser system. For demonstration, ten micrometer sized hot particles from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are analyzed and the obtained isotopic ratios of uranium, plutonium and americium are discussed.

AB - Radioactive particles, so-called hot particles, are of great importance in the risk assessment of environmental pollution and human health hazards. Since most of these particles are only a couple of micrometers in size and thus have correspondingly small atomic inventory, information on origin and composition is difficult to obtain. Many analytical methods do not give insight into isotopic details or require the complete use up of the particle. Resonant laser secondary neutral mass spectrometry (rl-SNMS) has been proven to be a well-suited method for quasi-non-destructive analysis of trace elements. The technique provides high suppression of isobaric interferences and high spatial resolution without necessitating extensive chemical preparation. To measure multiple elements, it is often necessary to switch between laser excitation schemes, requiring elaborate adaptation of the laser setup. Here we present a novel rL-SNMS system capable of multi-element measurements in short succession without any manual adjustment to the laser system. For demonstration, ten micrometer sized hot particles from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are analyzed and the obtained isotopic ratios of uranium, plutonium and americium are discussed.

KW - Chernobyl

KW - Hot particle

KW - Isotopic ratios

KW - Resonance ionization

KW - SNMS

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124975061&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.sab.2022.106377

DO - 10.1016/j.sab.2022.106377

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85124975061

VL - 190

JO - Spectrochimica Acta - Part B Atomic Spectroscopy

JF - Spectrochimica Acta - Part B Atomic Spectroscopy

SN - 0584-8547

M1 - 106377

ER -