A non-invasive bioassay capable of monitoring occupational or environmental exposure to special nuclear materials would be a useful tool for nuclear nonproliferation programs. Hair and nail are potential, non-invasive biomonitors of exposure to U and Pu. A method was created to measure isotope ratios of ultra-trace concentrations of U and Pu in hair and nail samples. The method uses multiple extraction chromatography resins to separate and recover U and Pu fractions from the sample matrix. The U recovery was quantitative while the Pu recovery ranged from 81-109%, with a U decontamination factor of 5 x 104. Following the separation 234U/238U, 235U/238U and 240Pu/239Pu were measured in human hair and nail samples using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS). Volunteers were recruited from the national laboratories and the Columbia, Missouri area under an IRB approved protocol. We present the U and Pu isotope ratios in human hair and nail in a control group and an occupationally exposed group.

Measurement of U and Pu isotope ratios in hair and nail samples of occupationally exposed workers and controls

248th National Meeting (2014)

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