The determination of technetium-99 in seawater and marine algae

Technetium-99 is preconcentrated from acidified seawater containing a trace of bromine by adsorbing it as the pertechnetate ion on the anion exchanger Duolite A101D. After elution with 4 M nitric acid, it is purified from other radionuclides by scavenging with hydrous iron(III) oxide and extracting from 5 M sodium hydroxide medium into methyl ethyl ketone. The organic phase is then evaporated and technetium is electrodeposited from oxalic acid medium onto a bronze disc and counted with a low background β-counter. Overall recovery is > 90% and the precision is ±0.2 pCi l -1 at a technetium level of 0.6–1.0 pCi l -1. Concentrations of the radionuclide in the central Irish Sea were found to lie in the range 0.4–2 pCi l -1. The same analytical scheme can be used for determining the element in nitric acid digests of marine algae.