Strontium Extraction from Urine Samples Westinghouse Savannah River Company Gerald D. Levi, Jr. 1

Strontium Extraction from Urine Samples Introduction Strontium Analysis Process Flow Current Strontium Extraction Method Method Enhancements Summary 2

Strontium Analysis Process Flow Sample Receiving Acidification Co-Precipitation Clean-Up Ion Exchange 3

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Current Strontium Extraction Method Acidify Samples with 10 mL of 8 M HNO3 Condition Sr resin with 5 mL of 8 M HNO3 Transfer acidified samples onto Sr resin Rinse Sr resin with 5 mL of 8 M HNO3 Rinse Sr resin with 5 mL of 3 M HNO3 - 0.05 M Oxalic Acid Rinse Sr resin with 10 mL of 0.05 M HNO3 Heat lamp dry samples onto planchets Analyze sample planchets by gas proportional counting 9

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Method Enhancements Removed a rinse step with 5 mL of 8 M HNO3 - Save approximately 10-20 minutes a batch Matrix matched the calibration standards and samples - More representative detector efficiency Replaced the gravity flow method with a vacuum method - Reduced the batch extraction time by a factor of two Switched from Columns to Cartridges - Improved spike recovery from 70% + 10 % to 85% +10% 11

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Summary Routine recoveries of 75% - 95% Minimized Inconclusive Analyses (IA) and Reruns due to higher recoveries Reduced batch extraction time from 4 hrs. to 2 hrs Cost savings due to freeing up technician time to complete other lab tasks 14

Acknowledgement Sherrod Maxwell David Fauth Christy Posey Ginny Lackey 15