https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06439-1
Regular Article
Unlocking a radiological puzzle: a comprehensive approach for the simultaneous radiochemical determination of radium, thorium and uranium in solid matrices
National Reference Center for the Detection of Radioactivity in Feed and Foodstuff, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, Via Manfredonia, 20, 71121, Foggia, Italy
a marco.iammarino@tin.it, marco.iammarino@izspb.it
Received:
26
February
2025
Accepted:
15
May
2025
Published online:
4
June
2025
In this work, a radiochemical method that efficiently separates and detect three radioactive chemical species: radium, thorium, and uranium, along with their respective alpha-emitting isotopes, is presented. These isotopes, along with their short-lived daughters, are among the most hazardous natural radionuclides for human health. The radiochemical process includes adding tracer isotopes to samples, achieving complete alkaline fusion using NaOH at 600 °C. The resulting “fusion cake” is dissolved in ultrapure water, and the pH is adjusted for the precipitation of hydroxides. Further chromatographic separation utilizes UTEVA resin to isolate U and Th while allowing Ra and Ba to elute. Thorium is eluted with a specific acid solution, while uranium is treated to ensure correct oxidation states for precipitation. Radium separation involves forming a BaSO4 precipitate, allowing RaCl2 to remain in solution, followed by recovery in diluted HNO3. Radium sources are prepared using MnO2-impregnated disks, ready for alpha spectrometry analysis. The results indicated satisfactory selectivity and chemical yields above 75% for all analytes, with thorium and uranium yields exceeding 85%. The method’s detection and quantification limits varied based on sample type, achieving higher sensitivity in biological matrices. A comparisons with existing methods showed that this approach is efficient, yielding results within 72 h, demonstrating its suitability for assessing radium, thorium, and uranium radionuclides in food and environmental samples.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
