A system to detect plutonium in urine quickly in an emergency has been developed by Canadian scientists.

Dominic Larivière and colleagues at the Radiation Protection Bureau at Health Canada and Carleton University, Canada, used extraction chromatography with an automated flow injection system to analyse 10 ml samples of urine within 15 minutes. This small amount is representative of a typical sample that would be received from an individual following an emergency. This, together with the ability to process up to 80 samples per day per instrument, makes the technique suited for emergency situations, according to Larivière.

Other methods for detecting plutonium, which involve radiochemical separation followed by alpha spectrometry, can take hours to days to process one sample, explained Larivière. In emergency situations, analysis has to be performed quickly to give a prognosis and determine treatment strategies. Analysis needs to be easy to perform by personnel with minimal training, and a high sample throughput would be needed to cope with the large number of samples that would have to be tested following an event.

'Following September 11, 2001, the government of Canada recognized a need for the development of rapid analytical methodologies to detect and quantify radioactive contamination,' said Larivière. 'This project was developed to fill a gap in emergency preparedness and response.'

Larivière said the new system could also be used for occupational exposure assessments for workers. This would take longer because of the longer time spent preparing samples, but would be more sensitive. The system can also measure plutonium isotopes (²⁴⁰Pu and ²³⁹Pu) which means that it could be used for 'nuclear forensics' - helping to identify the origin and processes involved in the manufacturing of the nuclear material.

Larivière is hoping to show the potential of this automated system to detect plutonium in other areas that are relevant to emergency response, such as milk, food and air particulates.

Caroline Moore