NIST offers several environmental standard reference materials (SRM) that were collected at or near known contaminated industrial sites and are certified for radioactivity. However, a SRM that represents typical global fallout concentrations or isotopic ratios is not currently available. NIST SRM 1648a is atmospheric urban particulate matter collected during the mid-1970s and is certified for inorganic elements. This material was investigated as a possible source of globally-dispersed fallout radionuclides derived from atmospheric nuclear testing conducted during the sample collection timeframe. This paper reports radiometric measurements (alpha spectrometry) of 238Pu, 239,240Pu, and 241Am as well as Pu isotopic composition (ICP-MS) for 1648a. The physical form and sample activity (e.g. 239,240Pu = 6.6 mBq/g) suggests this material as a convenient matrix standard to validate analytical methods in environmental monitoring programs.

NIST Standard Reference Material 1648a contains fallout radionuclides from atmospheric nuclear testing

245th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.