Determination of cadmium in solutions containing uranium, neptunium, and plutonium

An analytical method was developed for determining cadmium in solutions containing fissionable materials and high alpha activities. The solutions were first extracted with 30% tributyl phosphate in dodecane to separate the actinide elements from the cadmium. This extraction step removed interfering ions and reduced the alpha activity. The cadmium concentrations were determined by atomic absorption analysis. The method has been applied to solutions containing 20 to 30 g Cd/liter, about 10 g Pu/liter (38% /sup 238/Pu), about 15 g /U/liter (66% /sup 235/U) and about 0.05 g Np/liter with a standard deviation for cadmium of 2.65%. The fissionable materials were generally reduced from about 25 g/liter to about 10/sup -7/ g/liter in the solutions analyzed, i.e., about 0.5 picogram of fissionable material was introduced to the atomic absorption flame. 2 figures, 6 tables.