Improvement in the chemical separation and determination of uncertainties for bulk analysis of Pu isotopes at ultra-trace levels by using MC-ICP-MS

Improved bulk analysis based on extraction chromatography and systematic evaluations of uncertainties of plutonium isotopes at ultra-trace levels in environmental swipe samples are presented. In the modified method based on a single column system using UTEVA resin for MC-ICP-MS, hydrogen peroxide was introduced to obtain pure plutonium isotopes from chemical separation by removing excess organic-based reducing reagents. We confirmed that hydrogen peroxide effectively decomposed the reducing reagents characterized by UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy and the peak fluctuations were significantly reduced. To examine the reliability of analytical performance, we systematically evaluated the combined uncertainties during the overall chemical procedures using simulated samples containing Pu reference materials.