Isotope Dilution Resin Bead Mass Spectrometry—An Ultra Trace Technique for Measuring Nuclides in Three-Mile Island Water

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Abstract
From the onset of the Three-Mile Island reactor incident (March 28, 1979), the distinct possibility existed that actinide and fission product pollutants could escape into the surrounding environment. Experienced analytical chemists in command of techniques which achieve the highest sensitivity were called upon for assistance in performing analyses. Cooling water was analyzed for uranium and plutonium, certain fission products, additives, and possible corrosion products by isotope dilution mass spectrometry. In particular, the thermal emission isotope dilution technique, in which an anion exchange resin bead was used to concentrate the uranium and plutonium, provided technical information on samples orders of magnitude smaller than those necessary for conventional counting techniques. The resin-bead-loaded sample acts as a point source in a pulse counting two-stage high abundance sensitivity mass spectrometer, enhancing the sensitivity so that levels as low as 10−13 plutonium and 10−11M uranium concentrations have been detected in one ml of water; a full description of the methodology involved will be presented. The methodology employed for this exercise also provided isotopic information which was informative with respect to material source, located, and condition. Sample chronology and trace element data will also be presented on water from the Three-Mile Island site. Other potential applications of the technique will be discussed.