IAEA Reference Materials
Reference
Sheets
IAEA-381
RADIONUCLIDES IN IRISH SEA WATER
Intended
Use
This sample is intended to be used as a reference material for the measurement of
radionuclides in sea water. It can also be used as a quality control material for the assessment of a laboratory's analytical work, for the validation of analytical methods and for quality assurance within a laboratory.
Origin
and preparation of the material
About
3600 litres of surface water were collected by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic
Agency (BSH), Hamburg, Germany in September 1993. Sampling was performed during
cruising between two shallow (20 m water depth) stations located at 54°24.89'N
- 003°33.62'W and 54°23.2'N - 003°33.45'W. The sample was taken at a depth
of 5 m. The sample was stored in 600 litre containers and was acidified to
pH<1 immediately, without prior filtration.
In order to ensure the homogeneity
of the material, the sample was split into seven 600 litre containers at BSH.
All the containers were linked into a pumping circuit (>50 litre/min flow
rate) and thorough mixing was assured by pumping the water for 6 periods of
4 x 45 min and 2 x 20 min (For details, see report IAEA/AL/118). After mixing,
four 600 litre containers containing about 2200 L of seawater were sent to
IAEA-MEL. The sample was dispensed into 30 litre aliquots and sent to participating
laboratories.
Date of Release:
January 2000
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Unit Price:
250 €
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Unit Size:
5 L
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| Producer:
Marine Environment Laboratory (MEL) International Atomic Energy Agency B.P. No 800 MC-98012 Monaco |
Supplier:
Analytical Quality Control Services Agency's Laboratories, Seibersdorf A-2444 Seibersdorf, Austria |
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Reference Sheet:  IAEA-381(.pdf) |
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Reference
Date for decay correction: 7st September 1993 |
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241Pu |
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244Cm |
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| * |
Number of accepted laboratory results which were used to calculate the
certified or information massic activities and their respective confidence
intervals about the median value. |
| (C/I) | Classification
assigned to the property value for Analyte (Certified/Information) |
The values listed above were established on the basis of statistically valid results submitted by laboratories which had participated in an international intercomparison exercise organized between 1995-96, as well as results obtained from expert laboratories participating in the certification procedure. The details concerning the criteria for qualification as a recommended value can be found in the report (IAEA/AL/118; IAEA/MEL/66) "Report on the Intercomparison Run and Certified Reference Material IAEA-381: Radionuclides in Irish Sea Water" [1]. This report is available free of charge upon request.
Homogeneity
The
homogeneity tests were carried out in two phases:
i) initial homogeneity testing of seawater in seven 600 L containers by analysis of concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs in non-filtered 5 L water samples taken at random from the containers.
ii) analysis of 3H (9 filtered samples), 90Sr (4 filtered and 3 non-filtered samples), 137Cs (3 filtered and 4 non-filtered samples), 239+240Pu (14 filtered and 21 non-filtered samples) in 1 to 5 L samples of filtered or non-filtered water taken at random from seven 30 L drums.
The results of the first tests indicated homogeneity for 90Sr and 137Cs between containers. The results for 3H, 9090Sr, 137Cs and 239+240Pu in the second test indicated that the differences in activities between subsamples were not statistically significant. The analysis of filtered (0.45 µm cut-off) and non-filtered water showed that the fraction of radionuclides in suspended matter was generally small. Although the differences in concentration between filtered and non-filtered water were not significant, the homogeneity tests revealed that analysis on total water should be preferred.
Instructions
for use
The
reference material is supplied in 5 L containers. On the basis of the homogeneity
tests, the sea water sample could be considered sufficiently homogeneous for
the radionuclides tested at a volume of over one litre.
No degradation in the water quality has been observed over the last five year
period. However, it is recommended to thoroughly mix the contents of the drum
before sub-samples are taken, in order to re-suspend any material that may
have settled out over time.
References:
| [1] |
Last updated 30 March 2004
