Re is a Mexicana de Física
ISSN: 0035-001X
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Sociedad Mexicana de Física A.C.
México
Luna Po es, M.; Manjón Collado, G.; Díaz, I.; Ren e ía, M.; Mon e o Cab e a, M.E.
De e mina ion o u anium and polonium in Spa us au a a by alpha spec ome y
Re is a Mexicana de Física, ol. 58, núm. 3, junio, 2012, pp. 224-227
Sociedad Mexicana de Física A.C.
Dis i o Fede al, México
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RADIATION PHYSICS Re is a Mexicana de F´
ısica 58 (2012) 224–227 JUNIO 2012
De e mina ion o u anium and polonium in Spa us au a a by alpha spec ome y
M. Luna Po es1, G. Manj´
on Collado2, I. D´
ıaz2, M. Ren e ´
ıa1, M.E. Mon e o Cab e a1∗
1Cen o de In es igaci´
on en Ma e iales A anzados, S.C.,
Miguel de Ce an es 120, Complejo Ind. Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chih., M´
exico
2Depa amen o de F´
ısica Aplicada II de la Escuela T´
ecnica Supe io de A qui ec u a,
Uni e sidad de Se illa, Espa˜
na.
∗Co esponding au ho : elena.mon e o@cima .edu.mx
Recibido el 3 de junio de 2011; acep ado el 4 de eb e o de 2012
The aim o his s udy was op imizing condi ions o he speci ic ac i i ies de e mina ion o some u anium-se ies adionuclides p esen in
Spa us au a a by alpha spec ome y. De e mina ions o speci ic ac i i ies we e conduc ed a ying he ype o diges ion: acid a ack on
ho pla e, con olled mic owa e diges ion and acid a ack a e calcina ion o he sample. The la e p ocedu e was applied only o he case
o u anium iso opes de e mina ion. The a ia ion in he iso ope ex ac ion me hod consis ed o applying he echniques o liquid-liquid
ex ac ion using T ibu yl phospha e (TBP) o ch oma og aphic UTEVA esin. Resul s depending on he ype o ea men gi en o he
samples we e compa ed based on ob ained chemical yields. The esul s e eal a highe bioaccumula ion o polonium in he li e sample,
wi h ac i i ies o 0.809, 2.495 and 2.439 Bq kg−1 esh w compa ed wi h he ille . The bes chemical yields o polonium we e close o
60% o samples ha we e diges ed by mic owa e. In he case o u anium he bes chemical yields, close o 80% o ille , we e ob ained
wi h a p e ious calcina ion o he sample and using he UTEVA esin.
Keywo ds: U anium; polonium; alpha spec ome y; ish.
El obje i o de es e es udio ue la op imizaci´
on de las condiciones pa a la de e minaci´
on de las ac i idades espec´
ı icas de algunos adion´
uclidos
de la se ie del u anio p esen e en Spa us au a a po espec ome ´
ıa al a.Las de e minaciones de las ac i idades espec´
ı icas se ealiza on
a iando el ipo de diges i´
on: a aque ´
acido en pa illa, en mic oondas y a aque ´
acido despu´
es de la calcinaci´
on de la mues a. Es e ´
ul imo
p ocedimien o ue aplicado solamen e en el caso de la de e minaci´
on de los is´
o opos de u anio. La a iaci´
on en el m´
e odo de ex acci´
on
del is´
o opo, consis i´
o en la aplicaci´
on de las ´
ecnicas de ex acci´
on l´
ıquido-l´
ıquido u ilizando el os a o de ibu ilo (TBP) o sepa aci´
on
c oma og ´
a ica empleando la esina UTEVA. Los esul ados ob enidos en los di e en es ipos de a amien os que se les dio a las mues as,
ue on compa ados con los endimien os qu´
ımicos ob enidos. Los esul ados e elan una mayo bioacumulaci´
on de polonio en la mues a
de h´
ıgado, con ac i idades de 0.809, 2.495 y 2.439 Bq kg−1de peso esco en compa aci´
on con el ile e.Los mejo es endimien os qu´
ımicos
pa a el polonio ue on ce canos al 60% pa a las mues as que se some ie on a diges i´
on po mic oondas. En el caso del u anio los mejo es
endimien os qu´
ımicos, ce canos al 80% en ile e, se ob u ie on con una calcinaci´
on p e ia de la mues a y el uso de la esina UTEVA.
Desc ip o es: U anio; polonio; espec ´
ome o al a; peces.
PACS: 91.62.+g; 89.60.-k.
1. In oduc ion
The impo ance o s udying con amina ion le els by hea y
me als and me alloids (HMM) in he aqua ic en i onmen is
due o he ac ha HMM a ebioaccumula i e, no biodeg ad-
able, and may be easily inco po a ed in o he ood chain.
This con amina ion may ha e se ious e ec s on human
heal h [1,2].
O ganisms wi h me als in hei issues a e o en used
o indica e and quan i y he le els o con aminan s o hei
bioa ailabili y in he en i onmen . A bioindica o is an o -
ganism ha con ains in o ma ion abou he quali y o he
en i onmen ; a biomoni o con ains in o ma ion abou he
quan i a i e aspec s o he quali y o he en i onmen [3,4].
In he ma ine en i onmen di e en o ganisms such as oys-
e s, sh imp and ish [5] ha e been used o con amina ion
moni o ing.
Fish a e ideal indica o s o pollu ion because hey occupy
di e en ophic le els; u he mo e, ish samples a e o di -
e en sizes and ages [1].
The up ake o adionuclides by ish depends on a iables
such as die a y habi s, loca ion, ish physiology and physical-
chemical a iables such as pH, empe a u e and wa e (in-
cluding he concen a ion o adionuclides) [6].
The Po-210 en e s he human body ia inhala ion o
adon gas Rn-222 and inges ion o ood and wa e , inges-
ion o ood being he majo ou e [7]. Ma ine bio a ha e
been ound o con ain high concen a ions o Po-210, which
is conside ed o be he majo con ibu o o adia ion dose e-
cei ed by man (abou 0.11 mS yea −1)[8, 9]. The e o e,
many coun ies and se e al in e na ional o ganiza ions ha e
de e mined he concen a ions o his adionuclide in sea ood
[7].The objec i e o his s udy was op imizing he p ocedu e
o he de e mina ion o speci ic ac i i ies o some u anium-
se ies adionuclides p esen in Spa us au a a by alpha spec-
ome y.
This species was selec ed o he p esen s udy because i
is a med in almos all Medi e anean coun ies and i s size
can a y om 20 o 57 cm. These a e impo an ac o s o
DETERMINATION OF URANIUM AND POLONIUM IN SPARUS AURATA BY ALPHA SPECTROMETRY 225
conside ing i as a possible biomoni o o con amina ion by
adionuclides.
2. Ma e ials and me hods
Fish samples we e ob ained om a local supe ma ke a he
ci y o Se ille in Spain .The a ge species was Spa us au a a
(commonly known as ”Golden”). Se en ish samples we e
used o he adiochemical analysis. Fish sizes a ied om
26 o 28 cm o leng h, o no in oducing size o age as a
a iable in ou analysis.
2.1. Sample p epa a ion
Be o e dissec ion, he samples we e washed ho oughly wi h
dis illed wa e and hen hey we e measu ed and weighed.
Subsequen ly he ish we e sepa a ed o analysis in o h ee
pa s: li e , edible ille and bone; he weigh s o hese
h ee pa s we e eco ded o u he calcula ions. Biological
samples we e lyophilized o i e days o ex ac he wa e .
Weigh s we e eco ded o ge he mois u e loss and inally,
se en samples o each pa o he ish we e combined and
homogenized be o e he analysis.
2.2. Radiochemical me hods and measu emen ech-
niques
Samples we e subjec ed o adiochemical analysis o Po-210,
U-234 and U-238. The p ocedu es employed we e p e iously
desc ibed [10, 11]. The s anda ds yield ace s used ( om
Iso ope P oduc s) we e Po-209 (Ac i i y=172.7±5.2 mBq/g)
and U-232 (Ac i i y=117.8±0.6 mBq/g).
Alpha spec ome y wi h su ace ba ie silicon PIPS de-
ec o s ( om CANBERRA) was he me hod applied o de e -
mine he speci ic ac i i ies in ish samples.
Gene al p ocedu e o he diges ion o samples is p e-
sen ed in Figu e 1.
2.2.1. Polonium de e mina ion
A s anda d yield ace Po-209 was added in di e en quan i-
ies o ish samples which we e diges ed by mic owa e o ho
pla e.
Au odeposi ion o polonium was done by using asco bic
acid in HCl solu ion, hen solu ion was hea ed o 80oC and
Powas spon aneously pla ed on o a o a ing coppe disc. Po-
210 ac i i y was co ec ed o eco e y by compa ison wi h
he measu ed ac i i y o he Po-209 yield ace .
FIGURE 1. Gene al p ocedu e o sample diges ion.
2.2.2. U anium de e mina ion
A s anda d yield ace U-232 was added in di e en quan i-
ies o ish samples which we e diges ed by calcina ion o in
solu ion wi h a ho pla e.
The iso ope ex ac ion me hods applied we e liquid-
liquid ex ac ion wi h ibu yl phospha e (TBP) and ch o-
ma og aphic UTEVA esin. The iso ope ex ac ion me hods
a e based on he me hod ini ially de eloped [12-14].
The men ioned ex ac ion me hods a e p esen ed in Fig-
u es 2 and 3.
Figu e 3 shows he low diag am o u anium and ho ium
ch oma og aphic sepa a ion wi h UTEVA esin. The diges ed
sample is pou ed on he esin and hen 5 mL HNO33M is
added. The ex ac ion me hod o ho ium and u anium is
pe o med sequen ially by adding acids solu ion in concen-
a ions shown by he a ows in s ep 3 and 4.
U anium was elec odeposi ed om he solu ion on a pol-
ished s ainless-s eel disc, using Halls adius me hods [15].
The cell used o his elec odeposi ion is made o e lon
which p e en s he adionuclides om adso bing on he wall
o he cell [10, 15-17].
FIGURE 2. Liquid - liquid ex ac ion echnique.
FIGURE 3. Ch oma og aphic sepa a ion echnique using UTEVA
esin.
Re . Mex. Fis. 58 (2012) 224–227
226 M. LUNA PORRES, G. MANJ´
ON COLLADO, I. D´
IAZ, M. RENTER´
IA, M.E. MONTERO CABRERA
TABLE I. Po-210 ac i i y concen a ions gi en on esh weigh ba-
sis, ob ained o di e en ypes o sample ea men and di e en
sample issues. F means ille and L means li e .
SAMPLES Po-210 YIELDS TREATMENTS
(Bq kg−1) (%)
S1-F 0.21±0.03 27 Ho pla e
S2-F 0.16±0.03 28 Ho pla e
S3-F 0.44±0.08 11 Ho pla e
S4-F 0.15±0.02 61 Mic owa e
S5-F 0.12±0.02 62 Mic owa e
S6-F 0.14±0.02 56 Mic owa e
S1-L 2.50±0.13 66 Mic owa e
S2-L 2.44±0.13 60 Mic owa e
S3-L 0.81±0.11 61 Mic owa e
3. Resul s and discussion
The da a ob ained om he adiochemical analysis o
Po-210, U-234 and U-238 in all ish samples a e p esen ed
on he basis o esh weigh .
3.1. Polonium concen a ion in ish edible ille and li e
Figu e 4 p esen s an alpha spec um o polonium iso opes ex-
ac ed o a ish sample, showing bo h Po-210 and ace Po-
209 lines. The da a ob ained om he adiochemical analysis
o Po-210 in ish samples a e p esen ed in Table I. I shows
ha he chemical yields a ained o samples diges ed in ho
pla e a e e y low, a ying be ween 11.25% and 28.04%. I
was obse ed a yellowish suspension, sugges ing ha his
p ocedu e does no ully diges he lipids p esen in he sam-
ples, and hen i hinde he p ecipi a ion p ocess o ac inide
necessa y a e diges ion. By con as , mic owa e sample di-
ges ion p oduced chemical yields abou 60%, because diges-
ion o lipids p esen in he ish sample was almos comple e.
De e mina ion o polonium concen a ion in sea ish
muscle in Sy ia shows concen a ions abou 0.12±0.01 and
0.13±0.042 Bq kg−1we weigh s o he species Spa us au-
a a [7]. Resul s ob ained in he p esen wo k o he same
species (see Table I a e o he same o de o magni ude as
hose epo ed in [7], pa icula ly o hose ob ained by mi-
c owa e diges ion p ocedu e. The di e ences be ween al-
ues epo ed in he p esen wo k and hose epo ed in [7]
may be jus i ied acco ding o eeding pa e ns and concen a-
ions o polonium p esen in he aqua ic en i onmen whe e
ish li e.
Polonium in li e samples showed he highes speci ic ac-
i i y alues (see Table I). This is expec ed because his o gan
ypically bioaccumula es mo e polonium [18].
FIGURE 4. Alpha spec um o polonium iso opes, in loga i hmic
scale, ex ac ed om a ish li e sample.
TABLE II. U-238 and U-234 ac i i ies concen a ions, gi en on esh weigh basis, ob ained o di e en ypes o sample ea men .
No e: LD deno es below de ec ion limi = 0.004 Bq/kg.
SAMPLES U-234 U-238 YIELDS U-234/U238 TREATMENTS
(Bq kg−1) (Bq kg−1) (%)
S1-F LD LD 38.15 - Ho pla e UTEVA esin
S2-F LD LD 25.41 - Ho pla e TPB
S3-F LD LD 10.05 - Ho pla e TPB
S4-F 0.008±0.002 0.005±0.001 83.96 1.67 Calcina ion UTEVA esin
S5-F 0.007±0.001 0.005±0.001 68.62 1.33 Calcina ion TPB
S6-F 0.012±0.001 0.008±0.0005 59.73 1.37 Calcina ion TPB
S7-F LD LD 79.50 - Calcina ion UTEVA esin
S1-B 0.28±0.05 0.74±0.17 10.89 0.38 Calcina ion UTEVA esin
S2-B 0.27±0.03 0.57±0.18 3.73 0.47 Calcina ion TPB
Re . Mex. Fis. 58 (2012) 224–227
DETERMINATION OF URANIUM AND POLONIUM IN SPARUS AURATA BY ALPHA SPECTROMETRY 227
3.2. U anium concen a ion in ish edible ille and
bone.
The da a ob ained om he adiochemical analysis o U-234
and U-238 in ish samples a e p esen ed in Table II. I shows
ha he chemical yields achie ed o samples diges ed by
acid a ack on he ho pla e a e e y low, a ying be ween
10% and 38%. By con as , he calcina ion o he samples be-
o e acid a ack o diges ion p oduced chemical yields abou
60%, because i ensu es he diges ion o ma e ial ha could
in e e e wi h u anium de e mina ion (see Table II).
In he case o bone samples, i was no possible o
achie e good measu emen s because calcium ( e y abun-
dan in bones) in e e ed wi h he p ecipi a ion o ac inides.
The e o e, de eloping p ocedu es o a oid in e e ence by
calcium is needed o u anium de e mina ion in bone.
4. Conclusions
The bes al e na i e o de e mining u aniumin ille and li e
biopsies is he calcina ion o he samples be o e acid a ack
o diges ion, ollowed by UTEVA esin ex ac ion. This is
a as e p ocedu e, highe chemical yields a e ob ained and i
ensu es u anium measu emen in he sample. The bes p oce-
du e o polonium de e mina ion was ob ained by mic owa e
diges ion. De eloping p ocedu es o a oid in e e ence by
calcium o u anium de e mina ion in bone is sugges ed.
Acknowledgemen s
This esea ch has been pa ially suppo ed by Becas Mix as
CONACYT and he Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain. Au ho s
wan o hank C. Solis o sugges ions and ui ul discus-
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