Pioneering applications in AMS for the development of environmental radiology; Studies towards the implementation of Sr and Cs AMS

Honda, Maki   ; Martschini, M.*; Lachner, J.*; Marchhart, O.*; Wieser, A.*; Priller, A.*; Steier, P.*; Golser, R.*; Sakaguchi, Aya*

We have developed new analytical methods forSr (28.79 yr) and Cs (2.3x10 yr) by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for the further development of the research on the environmental fate of artificial radionuclidesSr and Cs (30.1 yr). The AMS method enables the analysis of trace amounts ofSr and Cs with a simple chemical separation procedure. Having a longer half-life Cs applies as a proxy for Cs. For Sr, SrF targets were prepared from radioactive environmental reference materials with known Sr concentrations (IAEA) by a chemical separation procedure that takes about two days to complete. Sr measured by AMS at VERA, University of Vienna. As a result, a limit of detection of 0.1 mBq was obtained, which is comparable to the ray measurement. The detection of Sr in environmental samples was also successful, indicating that the Sr AMS can apply to environmental samples. On the other hand, there are still some technical challenges in the Cs AMS. Therefore, the experimental measurements are in progress.