Summary of Method

Strontium is separated and concentrated from 1.5 gram samples of concrete or brick. Samples are finely ground and fused in a zirconium crucible for 15 minutes at 600°C with 15 grams of sodium hydroxide. The fusion cake is dissolved in water and strontium is concentrated and separated from the matrix using a calcium phosphate precipitate enhanced with iron. A secondary precipitation with calcium fluoride removes additional
matrix and decreases the volume of precipitate. The calcium fluoride precipitate is dissolved with nitric acid-boric acidaluminum nitrate to form the Sr Resin load solution. Strontium is separated from remaining matrix and potentially interfering radionuclides using stacked 2mL and 1mL Sr Resin cartridges. Batches of 12-24 samples can be prepared for analysis in less than 8 hours. Radiostrontium is measured by gas flow proportional counting or liquid scintillation counting. Chemical yield of strontium is determined by gravimetric yield of stable strontium or ICP-AES measurement.