Characterization of natural water resources in Israel by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract

Analytical procedures are applied for the determination of plutonium, uranium and strontium concentration, their isotope ratios and the analysis of rare earth elements (REE) at trace and ultratrace level in natural Israeli water resources with relatively high matrix content (Na = 20–150 mg L −1, Mg = 20–50 mg L −1 and Ca = 40–100 mg L −1) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). To avoid matrix and clogging effects on the cones during mass spectrometric measurements and to analyze Pu and REE at extremely low concentration levels, separation procedures from matrices were applied. An extremely low Pu contamination of the Sea of Galilee was observed due to global nuclear fallout after the nuclear weapons test in the 1960s. The detection limit, for example, for 239Pu was found to be <10 −19 g mL −1. For uranium a natural variation of the 234U/ 238U isotope ratios by a factor of up to 2 in comparison to the IUPAC table value was detected using ICP-MS. This paper discusses the application of double-focusing sector field ICP-MS with single and multiple ion collection as well as quadrupole-based ICP-MS (ICP-QMS) for the quantitative determination of REE, plutonium, uranium and strontium and their isotope ratios after analyte/matrix separation at trace and ultratrace levels in natural water.