Determination of activity concentrations and activity ratios of plutonium, americium and curium isotopes in radioactive waste samples

This paper presents a rapid and quantitative radiochemical separation method for the Pu, Am and Cm isotopes with an anion exchange resin and a TRU resin. After the Pu isotopes were purified with an anion exchange resin method and the Am and Cm isotopes were purified with the TRU resin method, micro-coprecipitation method was applied for an alpha-source preparation. The activity concentrations and activity ratios for the Pu, Am and Cm isotopes in a radioactive sample were measured by radiation counting methods such as an alpha-spectrometry and a liquid scintillation counting as well as by a mass spectroscopic method such as a thermal ionization mass spectrometry.