Determination of trace element impurities in nuclear materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in a glove-box

Abstract

The determination of trace level impurities in nuclear materials was performed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For this purpose extensive modifications of a commercial ICP-MS instrument were carried out and the operating conditions optimized. The effect of Zr, Th, U and Pu at concentrations of up to 1000 µg g^–1 on the signal of various isotopes was studied. A strong signal suppression effect at concentrations higher than 100 µg g^–1 was found for U and Pu. The effect of Zr and Th was found to be lower. Special effort was made to improve the detection limit for B; the detection limit for B in PuO₂ could be lowered to less than 1 µg g^–1.