A Radioanalytical method for samarium-151 and promethium-147 in environmental samples

Sumiya, Shuichi ; Hayashi, Naomi; Katagiri, Hiromi; Narita, Osamu

A radioanalytical method for low level Samarium-151 (Sm-151) and Promethium-147 (Pm-147) in environmental samples has been studied for the environmental assessment around nuclear facilities. In this study, we use the separation method with HPLC to determine Sm-151 and Pm-147 in environmental samples such as sea sediment and marine organisms. Samarium-151 and Pm-147 in environmental samples are coprecipitated with other lanthanoids after adding a stable neodymiun (ND). these nuclides are purified by anion exchange methods in methanol-mineral acid media. After the purification, Sm-151 and Pm-147 are separated with HPLC in lactic acid-sodium hydroxide media, and determined with liquid scintillation counting, respectively. The Nd is determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to correct chemical recoveries of these nuclides. The detection limits for 151Sm and 147Pm in this method are about 0.01 Bq/sample