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Two ICP-MS methods were developed to measure the radiotoxic isotope 226Ra in brain tissues from a radium dial painter worker. The first method was a direct analysis of acid digested samples using quadrupole ICP-MS. The instrumental LOD of 226Ra was 0.1 ng kg−1. Polyatomic interferences at m/z 226 were investigated and Pb was identified from a polyatomic interferent in an in-house sample prepared from bovine brain, with a 226/208 formation ratio of 4 × 10−8. The quadrupole ICP-MS method was also used to measure levels of beryllium, strontium, and uranium. A second method was developed that included cation-exchange chromatography to separate 226Ra followed by analysis with sector field MC-ICP-MS. The instrumental LOD for the cation exchange method with MC-ICP-MS detection was 0.5 pg kg−1 (19 mBq kg−1). The measured concentrations of 226Ra in different brain regions ranged from 0.09–0.72 ng kg−1 (3.3–27 Bq kg−1) and radium was non-uniformly distributed in the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 239 Pu, 238 U, and 241 Am concentrations and 239 Pu/ 240 Pu, 235 U/ 238 U, and 236 U/ 238 U atom ratios were measured in the hair and nail samples using a new method utilized TEVA, UTEVA, and DGA extraction chromatography and multi-collector ICP-MS. Samples were collected from individuals who donated their bodies to the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. The concentration of 239 Pu ranged from 0.22 to 15.8 ng/kg. The 240 Pu/ 239 Pu isotopic ratios ranged from 0.026 to 0.127 which is consistent with weapons-grade plutonium. Concentration of uranium fell between 1.84 μg/kg and 29.5 μg/kg and 235 U/ 238 U ratios ranged from 4.8 × 10 -3 to 7.6 × 10 -3 . Elevated 236 U/ 238 U atom ratios were measured in two cases and ranged from 5.0 × 10 -6 - 2.4 × 10 -5 indicating exposure to spent or reprocessed uranium material. The concentration of 241 Am was measured in four hair samples and ranged from 0.02 to 0.21 ng/kg., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:John D. Brockman reports was provided by University of Missouri. John D. Brockman reports a relationship with University of Missouri that includes: employment., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Prompt analysis of fission products and rare earth elements (REE)s in post-detonation nuclear debris is critical for nuclear forensic analysis. In this work the compatibility of ammonium biflouoride fusion and microwave digestion in combination with high pressure ion chromatography (HPIC) separation was examined for the analysis of REEs. The refractory geological materials USGS G-2, QLO-1a, AGV-2 and BHVO-2 were used as surrogate post-detonation debris. The HPIC separation used a mixed bed ion exchange column with a gradient elution consisting of oxalic acid and diglycolic acid mobile phases. Quantitative recovery for seven REEs was achieved using the in-line HPIC-ICP-MS. An off-line HPIC method was also developed to separate U, Pu, and REE fission products. Collected fractions were analyzed by ICP-MS or gamma ray spectroscopy. The offline HPIC separation with detection of short-lived fission products with gamma ray spectroscopy had detection limits 5-20,000 times lower than quadrupole ICP-MS for stable REEs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)