Alpha particle sulfate

Sample preparation is rather involved. A sample of urine or fecal matter is obtained and treated with calcium phosphate to precipitate the plutonium from solution. This mixture is then centrifuged, and the solids that separate are dissolved in 8 M nitric acid and heated to convert the plutonium to the +4 oxidation state. This nitric acid solution is passed through an anion exchange column, and the plutonium is eluted from the column with a hydrochloric-hydroiodic acid solution. The solution is evaporated to dryness, and the sample is redissolved in a sodium sulfate solution and electroplated onto a stainless steel planchette. The alpha particles emitted from this electroplated material are measured by the alpha spectroscopy system, and the quantity of radioactive plutonium ingested is calculated. Approximately 2000 samples per year are prepared for alpha spectroscopy analysis. The work is performed in a clean room environment like that described in Workplace Scene 1.2. 

Gross alpha and gross beta activity can be determined by various radioactive counters, such as internal proportional, alpha scintillation, and Geiger counters. Radium in water can be measured by co-precipitating with barium sulfate followed by counting alpha particles. Radium-226 can be measured from alpha counting of radon-222. Various methods are well documented (APHA, AWWA, and WEF 1998. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20 ed. Washington DC American Public Health Association). 

The activity of Ra is calculated from the count rate of the three alpha particles of its progeny. Adjustments are made for the ingrowth and decay of Rn, the detector counting efficiency, and any losses during the precipitation of barium sulfate and the transfer of the gas into the cell. 

The adsorption of some complexes on some substrates have been found to correlate with the changes in adhesion energy (Wa) [33]. For this study, the cationic surfactant dihydro-genated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride (DHTDMAC) was complexed with four different anionic surfactants [i.e., sodium linear alkyl benzene sulfonate (LAS), sodium alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS), sodium alkyl sulfate (AS), and sodium alkyl ethoxy sulfate (AES). The amount of cationic surfactant adsorbed on three different textiles was closely correlated to the work of adhesion (Wa). Figure 6 shows the correlation for different cationic surfactant particle sizes on polyester, nylon, and cellulose. Wa between the complexes and the surface of the textiles was calculated using Wu s equation [34] measuring the contact angle of two liquids with the complex [35]. ... 

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