A new method for the determination of $^{210}Po$ in environmental samples using plastic scintillation resins

Abstract

We have developed a new method using a selective plastic scintillation resin (PSresin) based on Aliquat-336 for analysing 210Po in water samples. The PSresin effectively isolates 210Po while removing main interferences such as 210Pb and 210Bi by loading the sample in a HCl 1 mol L−1 medium and rinsing with HCl 1 mol L−1 and 6.25 mol L−1, consecutively. We optimized the rinse volumes and conducted a search for suitable chemical analogues of polonium to be used as tracers throughout the procedure. Zinc and cadmium were identified as the most suitable elements for preconcentration and separation of 210Po on the PSresin. We compared our PSresin method with reference methods (UNE-EN ISO 13161 and IAEA/AQ/12) based on alpha spectrometry by analysing drinking water samples. The results showed that the PSresin method is faster and provides accurate results, although the alpha spectrometry methods achieve lower detection limits.