Determination of Pu isotopes in sediment and soil samples by SF-ICP-MS: an improved anion-exchange procedure for Pu separation.

An analytical method was established for the determination of plutonium isotopes in sediment and soil samples based on sector field ICP-MS and an improved anion-exchange procedure for Pu separation. A high U decontamination factor of 4 × 10 was obtained and the chemical yield of Pu was improved to be about 65%. The developed method was validated by the analysis of four soil and sediment reference materials, the analytical results agreed well with the certified and information values. We further applied this method to determine Pu isotopes in actual sediment and soil core samples for Pu source identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]