Improvements to sample processing and measurement to enable more widespread environmental application of tritium.
Previous measurements have demonstrated the wealth of information that tritium (T) can provide on environmentally relevant processes. We present modifications to sample preparation approaches that enable T measurement by proportional counting on small sample sizes equivalent to 120mg of water and demonstrate the accuracy of these methods on a suite of standardized water samples. We identify a current quantification limit of 92.2 TU which, combined with our small sample sizes, correlates to as little as 0.00133Bq of total T activity. This enhanced method should provide the analytical flexibility needed to address persistent knowledge gaps in our understanding of both natural and artificial T behavior in the environment.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA. Electronic address: james.moran@pnnl.gov.
James
J
Moran
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Thomas
T
Alexander
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Craig
C
Aalseth
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Henning
H
Back
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Emily
E
Mace
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Cory
C
Overman
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Allen
A
Seifert
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA.
Wilcox
W
Freeburg
Low background; Organically bound tritium; Proportional counter