Showcasing excellent data from Norbert Kavasi and the team at Fukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation
Phoenix TIMS users Norbert Kavasi and Sarata Kumar Sahoo and team have been working hard to measure low levels of 90Sr, typically in environmental samples or food and beverage samples. 90Sr is an anthropogenic isotope produced in relatively large quantities during nuclear fission processes. It is an isotope of concern because when ingested (usually in contaminated food or drink) some of the isotope is deposited in bones and bone marrow where it remains for a significant amount of time, potentially leading to leukaemia or bone cancer.
As a result, contamination by 90Sr is of serious concern, particularly following nuclear accidents or weapons tests. The low levels of the isotope make it difficult to monitor and characterise. Norbert and his team at F-REI have made accurate and precise measurements of 90Sr in contaminated foodstuffs at extremely low (femtogram) levels. Below are links to several recent publications that detail the scope of this work.
Please note that in this news article we only share the publicly-available content of each article. To obtain the full articles you may need to gain access via your academic institution.
Publication 1:
Measurement of 90Sr and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio in Japanese cow milk sample using thermal ionization mass spectrometry – (ScienceDirect); link here
Publication 2:
Accurate and precise determination of 90Sr at femtogram level in IAEA proficiency test using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry | Scientific Reports (nature.com); link here
Publication 3:
Method for 90Sr Analysis in Environmental Samples Using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry with Daly Ion-Counting System | Analytical Chemistry (acs.org); link here
