Abstract

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), coupled with a large-bore direct injection high efficiency nebulizer (LB-DIHEN), was utilized to determine the concentration and isotopic ratio of uranium in 11 samples of synthetic urine spiked with varying concentrations and ratios of uranium isotopes. Total U concentrations and ²³⁵U/²³⁸U isotopic ratios ranged from 0.1 to 10 μg/L and 0.0011 and 0.00725, respectively. The results are compared with data from other laboratories that used either α-spectrometry or quadrupole-based ICP-MS with a conventional nebulizer–spray chamber arrangement. Severe matrix effects due to the high total dissolved solid content of the samples resulted in a 60 to 80% loss of signal intensity, but were compensated for by using ²³³U as an internal standard. Accurate results were obtained with LB-DIHEN–ICP-MS, allowing for the positive identification of depleted uranium based on the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U ratio. Precision for the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U ratio is typically better than 5% and 15% for ICP-MS and α-spectrometry, respectively, determined over the concentrations and ratios investigated in this study, with the LB-DIHEN–ICP-MS system providing the most accurate results. Short-term precision (6 min) for the individual ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U isotopes in synthetic urine is better than 2% (<i>N</i> = 7), compared to ~5% for conventional nebulizer–spray chamber arrangements and >10% for α-spectrometry. The significance of these measurements is discussed for uranium exposure assessment of Persian Gulf War veterans affected by depleted uranium ammunitions.

Isotopic analysis by optogalvanic spectroscopy

P. Pianarosa, Y. Demers, and J. M. Gagné
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 1(5) 704-709 (1984)

Multielemental analysis of prehistoric animal teeth by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Michaela Galiová, Jozef Kaiser, Francisco J. Fortes, Karel Novotný, Radomír Malina, Lubomír Prokeš, Aleš Hrdlička, Tomáš Vaculovič, Miriam Nývltová Fišáková, Jiří Svoboda, Viktor Kanický, and Javier J. Laserna
Appl. Opt. 49(13) C191-C199 (2010)

Optogalvanic measurement of isotope shifts of doubly ionized uranium (U iii) made using natural-U samples

K. N. Piyakis and J.-M. Gagné
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6(12) 2289-2294 (1989)

A Preliminary Investigation of the Spectra of Uranium Isotopes*

J. Rand McNally
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39(4) 271-274 (1949)

Isotope shift of uranium in the infrared region between 1817 and 5598 cm⁻¹

John G. Conway and Earl F. Worden
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 1(6) 788-794 (1984)