Determination of uranium and thorium in complex matrices by two solvent extraction separation techniques and photon electron rejecting alpha liquid spectrometry

Abstract

The separation of uranium and thorium from complex matrixes such as marine sediments using solvent extraction and determination by means of Photon-Electron Rejecting Liquid Alpha Spectrometry (PERALS®) has successfully been performed. Two extraction schemes, using TOPO and HDEHP, respectively, were compared for the separation of uranium and thorium from the matrix components. The results show recoveries between 73 and 92% for 234U, 238U, 232Th, 230Th and 228Th with an accuracy of the methods ±12%. Minimum detectable activities for counting time up to 500000 seconds for 0.5 g sample material were between 0.34-1.15 Bq/kg for uranium and 0.31-1.66 Bq/kg for thorium.