Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology

An analytical method of 99Tc concentration in soil was set up and discussed considering the 99Tc concentration in Korean soil measured with its analytical method. A selective TEVA resin was used to separate and purify the 99Tc in the soil sample. 99mTc from a commercial 99Mo/99mTc generator was used as a yield tracer for the chemical separation of 99Tc and its problem when using 99mTc as a tracer was discussed. The chemical recovery yield of 99Tc was above 70 %. The optimum conditions of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry system(ICP-MS) were set up to determine the 99Tc after the separation process. The minimum detectable activity(MDA) was 15 mBq/kg-dry in this analytical procedure. The 99Tc concentration in soils of Jeju and Kori were measured in the rage of 33.73 - 89.16 mBq/kg-dry. Those values were less than those reported in other countries and seemed to be originated from atmospheric fallout.

Keywords

99Tc analysis,TEVA resin,Yield tracer,ICP-MS,99Tc concentration