Fluorescence Analysis of Actinides: Instrumentation, Applications, Quantification, Future Trends and Quality Assurance


Fluorescence Analysis of Actinides: Instrumentation, Applications, Quantification, Future Trends and Quality Assurance

Geipel, G.; Billard, I.

Since the discovery of uranium, the impact of actinides has dramatically increased in our every-day life, firstly through the naturally occurring elements Th, Pa and U, (that were first used mainly as color pigments or cancer-treatment) and secondly through the artificial ones, produced along all steps of the nuclear power process (mostly Pu, Np, Am and Cm). Considering the huge problem of providing safe and sustainable energy in order to supply the fast increasing world demand in the near future, nuclear power will be one of the major concerns of this century. It is therefore of tremendous importance to tackle associated problems, that are related either to the remediation of old mining and milling sites, to the control of fissile products throughout the nuclear power production cycle and finally to the long term disposal of generated wastes. In this field and according to the public concern, quantification and quality assurance are of outmost importance. However, owing to the radioactive properties of actinides, these objectives are liable to even more difficulties than for other, stable elements. Other problems that need to be overcome are mainly related to the complexity of the chemical behaviour of actinides, that display numerous oxidation states, a large tendency to hydrolysis, and, for the short-lived ones (mostly, elements above Cm), handling problems. Furthermore, the range of concentration of these elements which can be found in the environment (as a consequence of mining, milling, nuclear bomb testing and accidents, mainly) limit the use of speciation techniques, that need to be safe, fast, reliable and very sensitive. Fortunately enough, some major actinides display luminescence properties, which can be used for the determination of complex stabilities as well as for the direct detection of the formed species in different environments in a wide concentration range, from ultra traces to chemical usable concentrations up to reprocessing conditions.
In this chapter, we will present an overview of the field of actinide luminescence analysis (Time-Resolved Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy, TRLIFS), focussing on applications related to the nuclear fuel cycle, from reprocessing to validation of nuclear waste repositories. However, it is not possible to include all publications in this contribution and a personally influenced selection has been made, that highlights applications in solution. Also it should be mentioned that the contribution of laser-induced spectroscopy to actinide speciation has been reviewed recently in several publications [1-6]. Owing to the limited place allocated, the reader is also referred to books on basic actinide chemistry [7] and reviews [8].

Keywords: actinides; luminescence; fluorescence; laser-induced; spectroscopy

  • Contribution to external collection
    Resch-Genger, Ute: Standardization and Quality Assurance in Fluorescence Measurements State of the Art and Future Challenges Series: Springer Series on Fluorescence, Vol. 5, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag, 2008, 978-3-540-75206-6, 465-492

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Publ.-Id: 8568