Rapid Emergency Methods for Actinides and Sr-89/90 Sherrod L. Maxwell, III Westinghouse Savannah River Company

Background Radiological Preparedness Exercise (NRIP’04) Kenneth Inn, NIST spoke at RRMC-2004 of “need to improve efficiency and effectiveness of radioanalytical capabilities” Need for faster actinide and Sr-89/90 analyses for Homeland Security reasons Current water/air filter methods may take 1-2 days Need for fast, reliable methods (< 8 hours)

Developments at SRS Water/Air Filters Method Streamline calcium phosphate precipitation (water) Dissolve air filters Collect and prepare Sr-89/90 with actinides No ashing of Am/Cm or Th fractions Eichrom prefilter cartridges/Resolve filters

Developments at SRS Streamline calcium phosphate precipitation Eliminate heat step for volumes less than 200 mL/add Ba to complex carbonate Use 200 mL (or less) sample volumes in centrifuge tubes Prep time: ~1-1.5 hours-12 samples Stack TEVA (Pu, Np, Th) + TRU (Am,Cm, U) + Sr Resin (Sr-89/90) Collect Sr-89/90 at same time Prep time: <4 hours-12 samples Count time actinides-1 hour (or as needed) Sr-89/90-10 minutes (or as needed)

Rapid TEVA-TRU-Sr Separations (Pu, Np, Am, Cm, U, Sr)

Remove Sr on Sr Resin, Pu from TEVA and Am-Cm/U from TRU

Am Strip with Prefilters Below TRU

Performance 20 groundwater samples 200 mL volume/ 6 hour counts * Sr carrier recoveries: 98.1% (3.9% rsd) Pu-242 recoveries: 104% (4.9% rsd) Am-243 recoveries: 92.6% (6% rsd) U-232 recoveries: 85.6% (5.4% rsd) *count less time in emergency when high levels expected

Other Efficiency Improvements Eliminate ashing steps used for extractant bleed-off that affects alpha resolution Prefilter cartridge(~$5) with Resolve filters Saves time, labor, better FWHM faster TAT improved alpha resolution less rework

Resolution with Filters from “Bad” Lot

Summary Need to share radioanalytical methods-Ken Inn Faster actinide and Sr-89/90 methods developed Quality and Speed Streamlined precipitation for water samples Collect Pu, Am, Cm, U, Sr in a single stacked column High recoveries, good resolution, no interferences Applicable to radiological emergency analyses Improved efficiency and effectiveness Short count as needed Analysis time < 8 hours