Abstract
Isotope ratio analysis of individual uranium–plutonium (U–Pu) mixed oxide particles contained within environmental samples taken from nuclear facilities is proving to be increasingly important in the field of nuclear safeguards. However, isobaric interferences, such as 238U with 238Pu and 241Am with 241Pu, make it difficult to determine plutonium isotope ratios in mass spectrometric measurements. In the present study, the isotope ratios of 238Pu/239Pu, 240Pu/239Pu, 241Pu/239Pu, and 242Pu/239Pu were measured for individual Pu and U–Pu mixed oxide particles by a combination of alpha spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). As a consequence, we were able to determine the 240Pu/239Pu, 241Pu/239Pu, and 242Pu/239Pu isotope ratios with ICP-MS after particle dissolution and chemical separation of plutonium with UTEVA resins. Furthermore, 238Pu/239Pu isotope ratios were able to be calculated by using both the 238Pu/(239Pu+240Pu) activity ratios that had been measured through alpha spectrometry and the 240Pu/239Pu isotope ratios determined through ICP-MS. Therefore, the combined use of alpha spectrometry and ICP-MS is useful in determining plutonium isotope ratios, including 238Pu/239Pu, in individual U–Pu mixed oxide particles.
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