title: Ultra-trace determination of (90)Sr, (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239)Pu, and (240)Pu by triple quadruple collision/reaction cell-ICP-MS/MS: Establishing a baseline for global fallout in Qatar soil and sediments.
abstract: The development of practical, fast, and reliable methods for the ultra-trace determination of anthropogenic radionuclides (90)Sr, (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239)Pu, and (240)Pu by triple quadruple collision/reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CRC-ICP-MS/MS) were investigated in term of its accuracy and precision for producing reliable results. The radionuclides were extracted from 1 kg of the environmental soil samples by concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids. The leachate solutions were measured directly by triple quadrupole CRC-ICP-MS/MS. For quality assurance, a chemical separation of the concerned radionuclides was conducted and then measured by single quadrupole-ICP-MS. The developed methods were next applied to measure the anthropogenic radionuclides (90)Sr, (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239)Pu, and (240)Pu in soil samples collected throughout the State of Qatar. The average concentrations of (90)Sr, (137)Cs, (238)Pu, (239)Pu, and (240)Pu were 0.606 fg/g (3.364 Bq/kg), 0.619 fg/g (2.038 Bq/kg), 0.034 fg/g (0.0195 Bq/kg), 65.59 fg/g (0.150 Bq/kg), and 12.06 fg/g (0.103 Bq/kg), respectively.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories Unit, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar; Nuclear Physics Department, NRC, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, 13759, Egypt. Electronic address: amrewis@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Amr
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Physics Department, NRC, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, 13759, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdul-Fattah I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Helal
authors.affiliation: Radiation Protection Section, Ministry of Environment, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Athab T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Al-Kinani
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories Unit, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Perumal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
mesh_terms: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D011005:Plutonium / Q000032:analysis*; D011780:Qatar; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes; D011005:Plutonium
keywords: 137Cs; 90Sr; Plutonium isotopes; Radionuclide baseline; Reaction cell; Tandem ICP-MS/MS