Separation Procedure for the Determination of Technetium-99 in Soil by ICP-MS

A simple method for determination of "Tc in soil by ICPMS is reported. The procedures involved are as follows: 1) Technetium is volatilized in a combustion apparatus for 3 hours at 950°C and trapped in a K2CO3 Solution. 2) After addition of H2O2, technetium is extracted into cyclohexanone to remove Ru which has also an isotope of mass 99. 3) Tc in the organic layer is back-extracted into deionized water. 4) The Solution is acidified with HNO3, and ^'Tc is measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The chemical recovery in the whole procedure is 52—64%. The temperature at which '®Tc in soil begins to evaporate was also investigated with the combustion apparatus. The technetium-99 concentration and the ®'Tc/'^''Cs ratio were determined in soil samples collected in Japan. Separation of with a combustion apparatus was investigated. in Solution is measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). ICP-MS was chosen because of its capability for determination of trace elements; it has been reported to detect environmental '®Tc with a high sensitivity [8, 9, 10],