Radiochemistry Policies and Procedures
Disclaimer of Responsibility
The following material is intended for research purposes only. Neither Washington State University nor the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries may be held responsible for unauthorized changes and/or use of this material.
Forward
The United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) began with the establishment of the National Plutonium Registry in 1968 by the Atomic Energy Commission. The program name was changed in 1970 to reflect a broader interest in transuranic elements. A similar program was created in 1978 to study the uranium decay series and was named the United States Uranium Registry. Analytical support for the registries was provided by Rocky Flats from 1968 until 1987, Pacific Northwest Laboratory from 1968 until 1978, and Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1971 until 1993. Responsibility for the Registries was transferred to Washington State University in February 1992 at which time the two registries were joined as the USTUR.
Authorship of these procedures is listed as USTUR Radiochemistry Staff. Appropriate citation of original LANL methods is included in each section. Modification and additions to LANL procedures and new procedures/methods were written by Jim Elliston, Roy Filby, Sam Glover, Cathy Grimm, Suzanne Love, Hongguo Qu, Dorothy Stuit, Gail Deckert, Sergei Tolmachev, and Fred Miller.
This manual represents the third edition of the USTUR Radiochemical Analysis Procedures Manual. All previous editions shall be immediately superseded by this edition.
Table of Contents
| Procedure # | Title |
| USTUR 001 | Forward |
| USTUR 010 | Chain of Custody, Sample Number Assignment, and Sample Storage |
| USTUR 020 | Handling Biohazardous Material |
| USTUR 025 | Radiation Safety Authorization |
| USTUR 030 | Document Control and Record Storage |
| USTUR 050 | Radiochemical Analysis Form Description |
| USTUR 070 | Preparation of Tracers and Tracking Standard Solutions |
| USTUR 080 | Cleaning of Labware |
| USTUR 100 | Tissue Ashing, Sample Dissolution, Sample Aliquot Selection, and Tracer Addition for Anion Exchange Isolation of Radionuclides |
| USTUR 140 | Sample Aliquot selection for Radiochemical Analysis |
| USTUR 150 | Pre-concentration of Plutonium and Americium from Tissue Samples |
| USTUR 200 | Anion Exchange Isolation of Plutonium from Prepared Tissue Solutions |
| USTUR 210 | Removal of Plutonium from Samples to be Analyzed for Americium only |
| USTUR 220 | Separation and Purification of Plutonium from Americium in Pre-concentrated Samples |
| USTUR 300 | Anion Exchange Isolation of Americium from Prepared Tissue Solutions |
| USTUR 310 | Separation and Purification of Americium from Pre-concentrated Tissue Solutions |
| USTUR 400 | Anion Exchange Isolation of Uranium from Prepared Tissue Solutions |
| USTUR 500 | Electrodeposition of Americium, Plutonium, Thorium and Uranium |
| USTUR 510 | Electrodeposition of Americium, Plutonium, Thorium and Uranium |
| USTUR 600 | Alpha Spectrometry Measurement for Radionuclides of Americium, Plutonium, Uranium, and Thorium |
| USTUR 620 | Routine Energy Calibration, Efficiency Calibration, Background Counts |
| USTUR 630 | Preparation of Secondary Sources |
| USTUR 640 | Decontamination of Alpha Spectroscopy Units |
| USTUR 650 | Alpha Spectroscopy Acquisition Procedure for Relative Analysis |
| USTUR 660 | Alpha Spectroscopy Acquisition Procedure for Absolute Analysis |
| USTUR 700 | Measurement of Actinium in Tissue Samples by Gamma Spectroscopy |
| USTUR 800 | Quality Assurance Plan |
| USTUR 810 | Laboratory Surveys for Removable Contamination |
| USTUR 900 | Manufacturers and Suppliers of USTUR Equipment |
| USTUR 1000 | Waste Management |
| USTUR 1050 | Radioactive Waste Management |
Archived Procedures (1992-2009) – no longer in use
| Procedure # | Title |
| USTUR 105 | Dry Ashing of Tissues |
| USTUR 110 | Wet Ashing of Tissues |
| USTUR 115 | Dissolution of Sample Ash |
| USTUR 120 | Hydrofluoric Acid Digestion of Soft Tissues |
| USTUR 125 | Sample Fusion using Potassium Fluoride |
| USTUR 710 | Measurement of Isotopic Th by Radiochemical Neutron Activation Analysis |
| USTUR 820 | Radioactive Liquid Waste Disposal |
| USTUR 1010 | Leaching Procedure for Radioanalysis of Incinerator Ash |