title: Plutonium determination in seawater by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: A review.
abstract: Knowing the concentration and isotopic ratio of Pu in seawater is of critical importance for assessing Pu contamination and investigating oceanic processes. In recent decades, the concentration of (239+240)Pu in seawater, particularly for surface seawater, has presented an exponential decreasing trend with time; thus determination of Pu in seawater has become a challenge nowadays. Here, we have summarized and critically discussed a variety of reported analytical methods for Pu determination in seawater sample based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analytical technique for rapid ultra-trace detection of Pu. Generally, pretreatments for seawater sample include co-precipitation, valence adjustment and chemical separation and purification procedures, all of which are comprehensively reviewed. Overall, the selected anion-exchange, extraction resins and operation condition are important for decontamination of interference from matrix elements and achieving satisfactory chemical yields. In addition, other mass spectrometric and radiometric detections are briefly addressed and compared with the focus on assessing ICP-MS. Finally, we discuss some issues and prospects in determination and application of Pu isotopes in seawater samples for future research.
authors.affiliation: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; Research Center of Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Liguo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China.
authors.forename: Wenting
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan. Electronic address: jzheng@nirs.go.jp.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address: span@nju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shaoming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Zhongtang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Anagawa 4-9-1, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uchida
mesh_terms: D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D011005:Plutonium / Q000032:analysis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D011005:Plutonium
keywords: Anion-exchange chromatography; Extraction chromatography; ICP-MS; Plutonium; Pu isotopic ratio; Seawater sample