Abstract
Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is widely distributed in the crust of the Earth. This element is very common in mineral formations in regions with high levels of natural radioactivity, therefore, its determination in environmental samples is important. Thorium isotopes (228Th, 230Th, and 232Th) were determined in a reference material, the IAEA Soil 327 sample, to validate the two methods, these isotopes were also analyzed in two groups of food samples, employing these different resins. The initial preparation with acid dissolution is the same to both, in the first is used anion exchange resin (DOWEX 1x2) and electrodeposition in silver planchets. And in the second method is used a specific chromatographic resin (TEVA) and cerium fluoride microprecipitation. At the end both analysis are quantified by alpha spectrometry. The two methods the results obtained were satisfactory for the reference material used, with relative error of less than 4% for 228Th, 230Th, and 232Th. The analysis of variance for samples foods analyzed seen to be no significant difference between the methods used for thorium isotopes determination. The main differences found between methods were spectrums resolutions, time and cost of analysis.
Highlights
Thorium is a radioactive element that occurs naturally in low concentrations in the Earth’s crust
The method for the determination of actinides and strontium in samples has been developed at the Savannah River Site Environmental Lab (Aiken, SC, USA) that could be used in emergency response situations
3.1 Reference material analysis: The activity concentrations of 228Th, 230Th, and 232Th radioisotopes in the IAEA- Soil 327 obtained after radiochemical separations are presented in the Table 1, the recommended value is showed with 95% confidence interval
Summary
Thorium is a radioactive element that occurs naturally in low concentrations in the Earth’s crust. The longer-lived naturally occurring isotopes of thorium are all alpha emitters, so the alpha spectrometry technique can be used to quantify them directly [3]. In this study thorium isotopes, 228Th, 230Th, and 232Th, were determined in a reference material, the IAEA Soil 327 sample [8], to validate the two methods. These isotopes were analyzed in two groups of food samples belonging to the diet of the population of a city in southeastern Brazil, using electrodeposition in silver planchets for one group and cerium fluoride microprecipitation for the other group
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