Radioanalytical determination of americium in human urines by extraction chromatography and high resolution alpha-spectrometry

Within the radiation protection physical surveillance program of some workers, involved in the decommissioning operations of a nuclear reprocessing plant of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies Energy and Environment, CR Saluggia (ENEA) in the North of Italy, some radiotoxicological analyses, on human urines, have been carried out, in order to determine the possible internal contamination of Am-241. After an in-depth study of a former extraction chromatographic method, based on the use of Microthene-722 supporting HDEHP, a more suitable method has been developed and adopted in our laboratory, based on the use of TRU-Resin. This paper reports the results obtained with these two procedures as well as a comparison between them.