Development of some natural matrix standards — Progress report

Substantial progress has been made in the production of environmental level, natural matrix, radioactivity standards of soil of low organic and low carbonate content, and of human lung and human liver. This is in response to the deliberations of the 1977 ICRM meeting at which the need for such standards was voiced and the criteria suggested. The soil samples have been reduced to optimum particle size and are ready for blending and standardization. A ten year supply of this standard should be ready in a year or less. Reducing the dried lung and liver to less than 74 μm has proven formidable because of the natural fat and oil content. Using cyrogenic milling techniques more than three quarters of the total mass of each has been reduced to the desired particle size; the balance will either be reduced or removed and we can then proceed to the final standardization.     

Time history of trace elements in sediments from Standley Lake,Colorado

Eighteen trace elements were analyzed in sections from a 50 cm long sediment core from Standley Lake, Colorado. The core was dated by the use of bomb-produced ¹³⁷Cs. Ten of the elements measured (Ag, Cd, Cu, Ga, Hg, Pb, Se, Sn, Tl, and Zn) appear to be enriched in this sediment; seven (Al, As, Be, Co, Cr, Ni, and V) are probably of local geological origin; and Te was not detected. Several of the constituents increase with depth in the sediment, and the concentrations of some compare to levels in lake sediments near highly industrialized centers. Based upon comparisons with other work, fluxes, enrichment factors, benzo(a)pyrene concentrations, and other evidence we conclude that the primary source of the “excess” elemental concentrations is local stream pollution.     

Time pattern of off-site plutonium deposition from rocky flats plant by lake sediment analyses

A sediment core from a lake downwind of the Rocky Flats Plant, where nuclear weapons components are produced, was used to reconstruct a time pattern of off-site plutonium deposition. Core sections were dated by analyses of ¹³⁷Cs, ^239,240Pu, ²³⁸Pu, and ²⁴¹Am fallout from nuclear testing and ²³⁸Pu fallout from a satellite failure. A peak in transuranic concentrations occurred in late 1969 which was attributable to the Plant. This was confirmed by mass isotopic analysis of plutonium isotopes in selected core segments where the global fallout and Plant contributions could be differentiated. The 18 nCi ^239,240Pu per m² from the Plant that had accumulated in the sediment is reasonable when compared to soil analyses.     

Spiked sample standards; Their uses and disadvantages in analytical quality control

Standard samples, that is matrices containing precisely known concentrations of various radionuclides, are necessary adjuncts to any analytical quality control program. In general, we prefer the use of “natural matrix standards,” samples into which the radionuclides have become incorporated under natural conditions, and over as long a time span as possible. Under some circumstances, however, real advantages are offered by “spiked sample standards” samples to which the isotope of interest has been added in a precisely known amount, at the time of preparing the standard. It is our purpose to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of spiked standards and to contrast them with those of natural matrix standards, as well as to discuss the preparation of the former class of standards and the evidence supporting our recommendation of caution in their use.In general, spiked standards offer advantages of low cost of preparation, of advance assurance that the amount and chemical form of the radioisotopes added are known, and of the possibility of preparation of unnatural matrices, or of nuclides that are to be expected but not yet to be found in nature. The most salient disadvantages of spiked standards derive from the usual uncertainty concerning the concentration of any radionuclides in the matrix before spiking and from the difficulty of insuring that there will be no difference in analytical behavior between the spike and the same isotope that has become incorporated in the matrix under natural conditions. Consideration of these advantages and disadvantages leads to identification of a list of special problems for which spiked standards may be advantageous and of a list of precautions indicated in the interpretation of the resulting data. The argument against the general applicability of spiked standards appear overwhelming.