Development and Performance of the Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films Technique for the Measurement of Technetium-99 in Seawater.

French, M.A. and Zhang, H. and Pates, Jackie M. and Bryan, S.E. and Wilson, R.C. (2005) Development and Performance of the Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films Technique for the Measurement of Technetium-99 in Seawater. Analytical Chemistry, 77 (1). pp. 135-139. ISSN 0003-2700

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Abstract

A novel technique for obtaining time-integrated 99Tc concentrations in seawater has been developed, using diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT). The performance of TEVA resin as a binding agent for 99Tc was investigated via laboratory experiments. The accumulated 99Tc activity per unit area of resin-gel was proportional to both the bulk solution activity and the exposure time for deployments of up to 2 weeks. The response of DGT was found to be independent of solution chemistries over the pH range 3-8 and ionic strength range 0.01-1.3 M. Seawater has pH 8 and ionic strength of approx. 0.7 M; therefore, the potential of the technique for field deployment in seawater was demonstrated. Detection limits of 0.05 and 0.025 Bq/L, for 2- and 4-week DGT deployments, respectively, were calculated for 99Tc measurement by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Using quadrupole ICPMS to measure bound 99Tc could reduce these detection limits to 0.125 mBq/L for a 4-week deployment. These detection limits are sufficiently low for monitoring contaminated environments, including the Irish Sea. This method is simpler and faster than other 99Tc analysis methods and represents the only means of obtaining timeintegrated data.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Analytical Chemistry
Additional Information:
Figures only available.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1600/1602
Subjects:
?? technetium-99 irish sea diffusive gradients in thin filmsanalytical chemistryge environmental sciencesqd chemistry ??
ID Code:
4506
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
25 Mar 2008 16:19
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
30 Aug 2024 23:39