AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE 236U DETECTION LIMIT IN THE SURFACE AIR USING RADIOCHEMICAL SEPARATION AND ALPHA-SPECTROMETRY

Due to nuclear weapon testing, nuclear reactor accidents, uranium mining and nuclear fuel reprocessing, additional uranium has been introduced into the environment. 236U isotope is produced from 235U by capture of a thermal neutron and it can be used as an indicator for artificial uranium in the environment. In this paper the sensitive method for236U determination in the surface air is described. This method includes a total dissolution of the air dust in a mixture of mineral acids, uranium concentration and purification by anion-exchange chromatography. Long time measurements of the separated uranium fraction are made with the use of alpha-spectrometer based on PIPS-detector. The lower limit of detection for 236U in the surface air is determined as 5 • 10-9 Bq/m3 (2 ng/m3).