Issue 2, 2024

Direct quantification of femtogram per liter (fg L−1) level 90Sr in rainwater using thermal ionization mass spectrometry

Abstract

Thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) is a specialized technique that precisely measures isotopic ratios. This paper proposes the direct quantification of 90Sr at femtogram per litter (fg L−1) levels using isotope dilution (ID)-TIMS of preconcentrated samples. Although preconcentration is ineffective when measuring isotope ratios in classical TIMS, the magnification afforded by preconcentration improves the limit of detection (LOD) of 90Sr in ID-TIMS. After fixing the isotope ratio between stable Sr isotopes and 90Sr, the fg L−1-level 90Sr concentration was successfully obtained by the ID method (recovery R% = 100 ± 11.1%). The obtained LODs are improved by 105 times from those of conventional radiometric analysis such as oxalic acid precipitation/low background gas flow counters, which depend on the amount of coexisting natural Sr. Under the optimized conditions, the LOD was 9.03 attograms per liter (ag L−1), equivalent to a radioactivity concentration of 46.1 micro becquerels per liter (μBq L−1). The sample volume (10 mL containing 10 μg L−1 of natural Sr) roughly corresponds to a rainwater-level sample with 104-fold preconcentration. Spike and recovery tests were conducted on rain water and related environmental waters (stagnant stock water collected from a swimming pool immediately after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident). The 90Sr levels were successfully quantified by the proposed method.

Graphical abstract: Direct quantification of femtogram per liter (fg L−1) level 90Sr in rainwater using thermal ionization mass spectrometry

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Aug 2023
Accepted
29 Nov 2023
First published
07 Dec 2023

J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2024,39, 408-413

Direct quantification of femtogram per liter (fg L−1) level 90Sr in rainwater using thermal ionization mass spectrometry

J. Aoki and Y. Takagai, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2024, 39, 408 DOI: 10.1039/D3JA00294B

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