Cs isotopic ratios can provide the age, origin, and history of anthropogenic Cs contamination in the environment. One challenge with Cs analyses is that most environmental samples contain ultra-trace, femtogram quantities of fission product Cs. Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) is one method that enables accurate quantification of Cs isotopic ratios at some of the lowest detection limits currently achievable. However, TIMS requires highly purified Cs samples; complete removal of any isobaric and ionization inhibiting interferents becomes increasingly important with decreasing concentration. We report a new chromatographic method for performing Cs isotopic ratio measurements from environmental samples using TIMS. This method utilizes the extremely high selectivity of ammonium molybdophosphate-polyacrylonitrile resin (AMP-PAN) to extract Cs under a wide variety of environmental matrices (soil, rice, clover, spinach, grass, and others) and mass loads. Application of this method to several case study samples, where the power of Cs isotopic analyses for the determination of environmental Cs contamination, will also be discussed.

Cs isotopic ratio measurements from environmental samples using thermal ionization mass spectrometry: Applications to ultra-trace environmental analyses and nuclear forensics

248th National Meeting (2014)

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