Application of ICP-DRC-MS to screening test of strontium and plutonium in environmental samples at Fukushima M. Sakama a,n , Y. Nagano a , T. Saze b , S. Higaki c , T. Kitade d , N. Izawa d , O. Shikino e , S. Nakayama f a Department of Radiological Science, Division of Biomedical Information Sciences, Institute of Health Biosciences, the University of Tokushima, Kuramoto-cho 3-18-15 Tokushima 770-8509, Japan b Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, Inc., Muya-cho 115 Naruto 772-8601, Japan c Radioisotope Center, the University of Tokyo, Bunkyo Yayoi 2-11-16 Tokyo 113-0032, Japan d Department of Laboratory, M&S Instruments Inc., Yodogawa Mikunihon-cho 2-12-4, Osaka 532-0005, Japan e Department of Inorganic Analysis, PerkinElmer Japan Co. Ltd., Hodogaya Kanbe-cho 134 Yokohama 240-0005, Japan f Department of Nuclear Science, Institute of Socio-Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokushima, Jyosannjima-cho 1-1 Tokushima 770-8502, Japan HIGHLIGHTS  ICPMS is available for assessing Sr-90 and Pu in Fukushima samples.  Automated SPE separation device was coupled to ICP-DRC-MS.  The obtained LOD levels enabled us to use the system as the screening test tool. article info Available online 2 April 2013 Keywords: 90 Sr Pu isotopes Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants (FDNPP) Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) Automated solid phase extraction (SPE) equipment abstract An application of sequential automated SPE separation equipment coupled to the quadrupole-based ICPMS instrumentation with a dynamic reaction cell such as a screening test system of 90 Sr and Pu isotopes in environmental samples was developed in this work. So far, during the course of a large number of reports as to various specific radioactivities in environmental samples surveyed at radioactive contaminated area around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (FDNPP), there is a much smaller number of reports on 90 Sr and Pu isotopes than that of 134 Cs and 137 Cs since the FDNPP accident, and then it would be expected to develop the simple analysis method of these isotopes instead of radiation measurements currently in use. In particular, a screening for 90 Sr in environmental samples has been accomplished using an isotopic ratio measurement mode in comparison with the characterization on the Solid Phase Elution (SPE) separation between strontium and zirconium isotopes around the mass-90 fraction. As a result, for a trial analysis of environmental samples of a muddy snow water and a soil which were collected at Fukushima, it was found that the present developed system makes it applicable for achieving up to the specific activity levels of several hundreds Bq/kg ( 90 Sr) and about 1–2 Bq/kg (Pu isotopes) as the screening test system. & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The serious accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (FDNPP) was caused due to a gigantic tsunami followed by the East Japan Earthquake, where the epicenter was located in the northwest Pacific about 130 km off northeastern Japan, at 14:46 on March 11, 2011. As it turned out, the FDNPP lost the cooling system of nuclear reactors, resulting in hydrogen explosions destroying the external nuclear reactor buildings on March 12 and 14 in Unit 1 and 3 reactors. These explosions of the FDNPP caused massive releases of various radionuclides ( 131 I, 137 Cs, 134 Cs, 136 Cs, and 132 Te) into the atmosphere, which are originated when the nuclear power plants have usually operated to generate electricity. These released high volatility radionuclides were carried together with the air parcel like a plume of smoke, and caused accumulation of them on the ground to the northwest direction from the FDNPP. The fact has been borne out by the air dose monitoring data and the accumulation distribution map of radioactivities on the ground reported by the MEXT (MEXT: Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) and the atmosphere Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apradiso Applied Radiation and Isotopes 0969-8043/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2013.03.056 n Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +81 88 633 9862. E-mail address: sakama@medsci.tokushima-u.ac.jp (M. Sakama). Applied Radiation and Isotopes 81 (2013) 201–207