A review of measurement methodologies and their applications to environmental 90Sr

Abstract

The high fission yield product ⁹⁰Sr has been released into the environment in large amounts due to nuclear weapon tests, nuclear power plant accidents, and nuclear fuel reprocessing industries. It is a long half-life radionuclide (28.9 y), with serious consequences to human health; hence, it is desirable to perform routine monitoring of ⁹⁰Sr in environmental samples. Many ⁹⁰Sr radiometric methods have been developed in the past decades, which generally require complicated separation and purification steps with a relatively long analytical time. Moreover, some nominally rapid methods usually have high method detection limits, making them unsuitable for the environmental samples with ultra-low ⁹⁰Sr levels. In this review, some rapid and practical methods for ⁹⁰Sr routine monitoring are summarized. Different sample pretreatments and major purification procedures for ⁹⁰Sr developed in recent years, such as variable digestion methods and extraction chromatography using Sr resin or DGA resin, are especially described. Additionally, four conventional and widely used β spectrometric and mass spectrometric methods are demonstrated. Finally, ⁹⁰Sr evaluations focusing on contaminated soil and seawater samples collected after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, and ⁹⁰Sr application as tracers for environmental behavior are also reviewed.

Keywords: (90)Sr; Environmental monitoring; Mass spectrometry; Nuclear accident; Tracer application.