Determination of Radionuclides in Environment

Course guarantor:

Mojmír Němec

Lecturer:

Mojmír Němec

Tutor:

Supervisor:

Department of Nuclear Chemistry

Synopsis:

The introduction of the lecture consit of the list of the important and monitored radionuclides in the environment and their abundance. Sample types, sampling and pre-treatment of samples are discussed followed with quality assurance of analysis and their relation. The attention is also paid to individual instrumental separation methods for environmental samples such as gamma-ray spectrometry and gross alpha and beta activities measurement. Finally, the methods for determination of the selected radionuclides (isotopes of uranium and plutonium, 210Po, 210Pb, 226Ra, 222Rn, 3H, 14C, 85Kr, 131I, 137Cs, 90Sr) are discussed.

Requirements:

1.Full chemistry courses at bachelor level (inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry)

2.Course in nuclear chemistry

3.Separation Method in Radiochemistry 1

4.optional: Chemistry of the Environment

Syllabus of lectures:

1.Important radionuclides in the environment, the choice of the method for their determination.

2.Quality assurance in radioanalytical laboratories.

3.The types of samples, general rules for the sampling.

4.Gamma-spectrometric analysis of samples in environment.

5.Methods and rules for the determination of gross alpha activity.

6.Methods and rules for the determination of gross beta activity.

7.The determination of uranium, 210Po, 210Pb.

8.The determination of 222Rn.

9.The determination of 226Ra and 228Ra.

10.The determination of 14C and tritium.

11.The determination of plutonium in the water, sediments and soils.

12.The determination of 137Cs and 90Sr in the water, milk and urine.

13.The determination of 131I and 85Kr.

Syllabus of tutorials:

Study Objective:

Students will get knowledge of sampling and treatment procedures for environmental samples (ES), their analysis, its quality assurance, and knowledge about norms and methods of determination of the selected radionuclides. Their competencies will include orientation in problematics, proper choice and utilization methods for determination of the radionuclides in the environment.

Study materials:

Key literature:

1.Measurement of radionuclides in Food and the Environment. A Guidebook.

Technical Report Series No. 295, IAEA Vienna 1989

2.Radionuclides in the Environment, Atwood A.D. (ed.), John Wiley & Sons, New

Jersey, 2010.

Recommended literature:

1.W.D.Loveland, D.J. Morrissey, G.T. Seaborg: Modern nuclear chemistry, John

Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, 2006.

2.Handbook of Nuclear Chemistry, Vol.1-5, Vertes A., Nagy S., Klencsár Z.

(eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003

Note:

Time-table for winter semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans:

• Jaderná chemie (compulsory elective course)
• Vyřazování jaderných zařízení z provozu (elective course)