title: Uranium isotopic ratio determination in urine using flow-injection ICP-MS: a tool for emergency monitoring.
abstract: An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry-based method is presented aimed at total uranium concentration and atomic ratio determination. The method includes flow-injection uranium separation based on TRU Eichrom extraction chromatographic cartridges. The method was tested with urine interlaboratorial exercise samples and certified reference materials (NBL-CRM-U020A and NBL-CRM-U050) providing reliable results. The proposed methodology was also applied to urine samples obtained after an incident at a nuclear facility. The obtained (235)U/(238)U and (234)U/(238)U atomic ratios in the urine of an exposed worker were equal to those observed for an enriched uranium solution from the same origin.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria, Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear, Av. Salvador Allende s/n, CEP 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Luiza D P
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: Ligia M Q C
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Julião
authors.forename: José Marcus
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Godoy
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D004630:Emergencies; D017022:Flow Injection Analysis; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D014501:Uranium / Q000652:urine*; D016482:Urinalysis
chemical_list: D014501:Uranium