Determination of Pb-210 ((210)Pb) in aqueous solution is a common radioanalytical challenge in environmental science. Widely used methods for undertaking these analyses (e.g., ASTM D7535) rely on the use of stable lead (Pb) as a yield tracer that takes into account losses of (210)Pb that inevitably occur during elemental/radiochemical separations of the procedures. Although effective, these methods introduce technical challenges that can be difficult to track and potentially introduce uncertainty that can be difficult to quantify. Examples of these challenges include interference from endogenous stable Pb in complex sample matrices; contamination of stable Pb carrier with (210)Pb; and high detection limits due to counting efficiency limitations. We hypothesized that many of these challenges could be avoided by the use of the electron-capture, gamma-emitting isotope, (203)Pb as a chemical yield tracer in the analysis of (210)Pb. A series of experiments were performed to evaluate the efficacy of (203)Pb as a tracer. Four different matrices were analyzed, including a complex matrix (hydraulic-fracturing produced fluids); and samples comprising less complicated matrices (i.e., river water, deionized water, and tap water). Separation techniques and counting methodologies were also compared and optimized. Due to a relatively short-half life (52 h), (203)Pb tracer is effectively massless for the purposes of chemical separations, allowing for reduced chromatography column resin bed volumes. Because (203)Pb is a gamma emitter (279 keV; 81% intensity), recovery can be determined non-destructively in a variety of matrices, including liquid scintillation cocktail. The use of liquid scintillation as a counting methodology allowed for determination of (210)Pb activities via (210)Pb or (210)Po; and recoveries of greater than 90% are routinely achievable using this approach. The improved method for the analysis of (210)Pb in aqueous matrices allows for the analysis of complex matrices, at reduced cost, while providing greater counting flexibility in achieving acceptable detections limits.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 24 February 2017.
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#17,289,387
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#1,004
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#12
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