A procedure for the sequential determination of radionuclides in soil and sediment samples

We present a new radiochemical procedure for the sequential determination of Sr, Am, Pu, Th and U radionuclides. For the validation, seven IAEA certified reference materials were analyzed for Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, U-238 and Th-232 isotopes by ICP-MS, Am-243 by alpha spectrometry and Sr-90 by low level gas proportional counting. The sequential method was then used for determining the radionuclide profiles in one sediment core collected in the River Rhine, near Augst, downstream of the Swiss nuclear power plants.