Analytical Methods for the Determination of Uranium in Urine

Sample treatment The sensitivity and specificity of the different analytical procedures that are used to determine the uranium content in urine dictate the treatment methodology. Some methods take the raw urine sample and introduce it directly into the analytical device, like flow injection-ICPMS (Lorber et al. 1996) or after performing a simple dilution (Ting et al. 1996). Other methods require total destruction 

Despite all these caveats, urine analysis is still by far the most commonly used bioassay for the assessment of exposure to uranium. For the general public, not involved in the nuclear industry or processes with uranium, the concentration of 

As mentioned earlier, there are several analytical methods that have been developed for the analysis of uranium in urine. Some of the older methods required separation and preconcentration of the uranium from the urine sample, but modern methods, based mainly on ICPMS, allow direct determination of the uranium in raw urine or after simple dilution. In the following section, some of the older analytical methods for determining uranium in urine will be described. This section is based in part on a review that was carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Bogard 1996). 

One study that used alpha spectrometry to determine background levels of uranium in human urine found a mean of 23 ng L in 12 subjects, while a value of 3.4 ng L was reported for analysis by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) of a 

FIGURE 4.10 Outline of radiochemical separation processes used to prepare uranium bioassay samples for alpha spectroscopy. (Adapted from training manual IAEA, Determination of Uranium in Urine by Alpha Spectroscopy, IAEA, Vienna, Austria, 2000.) 

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