Johnson RRMC Presentation.ppt

An Update: Automated An Update: Automated Radionuclide Radionuclide

Separation System for Separation System for Field Laboratory and Field Laboratory and Fixed Laboratory UseFixed Laboratory Use

C. Martin Johnson, Jr.USAFSAM/OEHHLandDr. James T. HarveyNorthStar EngineeredTechnologies, LLC

Every Airman a Force Multiplier

31 OCT 08

v3 – 28 Jan 08 - nam


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OverviewOverview

Mission Statement

Current Capability

Gap

How do we overcome the gaps?

The ARS2

QUESTIONS?


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Technical OverviewTechnical Overview

Air Force Radiation Assessment Team Air Force Radiation Assessment Team

Mission StatementMission Statement

Provide timely, high-quality health physics recommendations to Incident Commanders to enable decision superiority to ensure mission accomplishment while minimizing adverse consequences.


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The Air Force Radiation Assessment Team (AFRAT) field laboratory is only capable of determining gross alpha/beta results, gamma spectrometry results, and qualitative alpha spectrometry.

The Air Force’s fixed laboratory has the capability for high quality alpha, beta and gamma analyses.

Current CapabilityCurrent Capability



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The AFRAT field laboratory is unable to rapidly or accurately quantify alpha and pure beta emitting radionuclide specific information to the Incident Commander to determine the risk and health effects from an incident.

The laboratory is lacking in rapid (less than 8-hours) methods radionuclide separation techniques and manpower in case of an incident.

Gaps



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How Do We Overcome the Gaps?How Do We Overcome the Gaps?



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How Do We Overcome the Gaps? (Continued)How Do We Overcome the Gaps? (Continued)


The ARS2 will give the Air Force field laboratory state of the art capability to meet and exceed the required mission statement in a timely manner.

The ARS2 will give the Air Force fixed laboratory supplemental manpower when AFRAT is deployed during an incident. Manpower resource availability is critical in incident response. Sample processing must be as hands free as possible.


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The ARS2The ARS2



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Last year NorthStar presented a paper about their automated radionuclide separation system (ARS2) used in the nuclear medicine.

The ARS2 has been used in medical isotope separations/purification for medical treatments and diagnostics and is FDA approved.

In the medical use of this instrument it is for single radioisotope purification of high activity radioisotopes.

The ARS2The ARS2



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After last year’s presentation the Air Force commenced to establish a R&D relationship to develop a system to place in the AFRAT mobile laboratory.

The ARS2 will help give the AFRAT mobile laboratory rapid sample processing and separation chemistry capabilities.

The ARS2 will provide radiochemistry expertise in the field with minimal manpower and training.

Northstar Engineered Technologies, LLC has performed some preliminary work with two and three column separations. The following slides show the results of the preliminary development.

The ARS2 (Continued)The ARS2 (Continued)



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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

99% Am0.5% Pu<0.1% U

<0.1% Am0.2% Pu99% U

<0.1% Am99% Pu0.1% U

<0.1% Am<0.1% Pu0.9% U

Rinse6 M HCl0.05 M

HF

Load 233U, 239Pu and 241Am in 10 mL of 4.0 M HNO

3 + 0.1 M NaNO

2

Rinse0.1 MHCl

239PuRinse4 M

HNO3

0.1 M NaNO

2

241Am233U

Background

Rinse1 MHCl

cp

m/m

L

Bed Volumes

0.5 mL columns of UTEVA and TODGA, 22(1)oC, 50-100 m, 2 mL/min (ARS)


This slide shows the separation of U, Pu, and Am using a two column system which accomplishes a complete separation in 10 to 15 minutes.


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0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

0.3% Pu48% Sr

99Tc85Sr

Rinse6 M HCl0.05 M

HF

99% Am<0.1% Pu<0.1% U

0.1% Pu99% U

99% Pu0.1% U

99% Tc52% Sr

Rinse6 M HCl0.05 M

HF

Load 85Sr, 99Tc, 233U, 239Pu and 241Am in 10 mL 4.0 M HNO

3 + 0.1 M NaNO

2

Rinse0.1 MHCl

239Pu

Rinse4 M

HNO3

0.1 M NaNO

2

241Am233U

Rinse1 MHCl

cp

m/m

L

Bed Volumes

0.5 mL columns of UTEVA and TODGA, 22(1)oC, 50-100 m, 2 mL/min (ARS)


The second slide shows the separation of Sr, Tc, U, Pu, and Am using a two column method. This method shows good separation of the alpha emitters (U, Pu, and Am), but the beta emitters (Sr and Tc) separation was poor (about 50% separation).


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The third slide shows the separation of Sr, Tc, U, Pu, and Am using a three column method. This method shows a very good separation of all five radionuclides.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

3.4% Pu1.5% Sr

Rinse1 M

NH4OH

<0.1% Am98% Sr

99Tc 85Sr

Rinse4 M HCl

>99% Am0.5% Sr

<0.1% Pu99% U

96% Pu0.5% Tc

97% Tc0.1% Pu

Rinse1 M HCl

Load 85Sr, 99Tc, 233U, 239Pu and 241Am in 10 mL 2.0 M HNO

3 + 0.1 M NaNO

2

Rinse1 MHCl

239Pu

Rinse2 M

HNO3

241Am

233U

Rinse1 MHCl

cp

m/m

L

Bed Volumes

2.0 mL cartridges WBEC/UTEVA/TODGA-Sr Resin (1:2), 22(1)oC, 50-100 m, 2 mL/min



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Fraction Solution BV Tc Pu U Th Sr AmLoad 2 M HNO3/0.1 M NaNO2 5 4.8 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.2

5 2.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.2Rinse 2 M HNO3 5 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.2

5 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.6 0.0Th Strip 6 M HCl 6 0.2 0.0 0.1 30.1 0.0 0.1

6 0.2 0.0 0.1 40.0 0.0 0.2Pu Strip 1 M HCl 6 0.1 98.4 0.3 1.2 0.1 0.6

6 0.1 99.0 0.2 3.1 0.1 1.6Tc Strip 1 M NH4OH 6 94.1 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0

6 96.8 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0U Strip 1 M HCl 6 0.4 0.5 98.6 66.7 0.0 0.2

6 0.5 0.3 98.8 54.1 0.1 0.5Sr Strip 4 M HCl 6 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 97.9 0.0

6 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 97.8 0.0Am Strip 1 M HCl 6 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.9 98.4

6 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.9 97.3WBEC cartridge 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0

0.2 0.2 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0UTEVA cartridge 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.7 0.0 0.0

0.0 0.1 0.1 0.9 0.0 0.0DGA/Sr cartridge 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

%USAF Method (Tc Pu Th U Am Sr) 2 mL Cartridges


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USAF Method (Tc Pu Th U Am Sr) 1 mL Cartridges

Fraction Solution BV Tc Pu U Th Sr AmLoad 2 M HNO3/0.1 M NaNO2 5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 4.8 0.0

5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 2.7 0.0Rinse 2 M HNO3 5 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.0 10.7 0.0

5 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.0 8.6 0.0Th Strip 6 M HCl 6 5.3 0.0 0.4 41.1 0.0 0.0

6 5.1 0.0 0.4 39.7 0.1 0.1Pu Strip 1 M HCl 6 0.1 98.5 0.4 0.6 0.1 0.6

6 0.1 98.4 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.6Tc Strip 1 M NH4OH 6 90.7 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.0

6 90.5 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.0U Strip 1 M HCl 6 2.2 0.6 97.2 51.5 0.0 0.3

6 2.9 0.6 97.5 55.5 0.1 0.4Sr Strip 4 M HCl 6 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.1 81.0 0.0

6 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.2 84.8 0.0Am Strip 1 M HCl 6 0.2 0.2 0.7 5.6 3.1 98.7

6 0.2 0.2 0.4 3.3 3.7 98.7WBEC cartridge 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0

0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0UTEVA cartridge 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.8 0.1 0.0

0.0 0.2 0.3 0.8 0.0 0.0DGA/Sr cartridge 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

%


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The two column methods take approximately 15 minutes per analysis using the small columns (0.5ml).

The three column method shown used large columns (2ml) and takes approximately 35 minutes for the analysis. One of the development goals is to get the time down to 10 to 15 minutes per sample analysis.

The ARS2 will allow quick and easy chemical separation of radioisotopes in the field allowing the field laboratory to provide quantitative alpha and beta analyses for strontium, technetium, thorium, uranium, plutonium, and americium from one sample digestion.

The ARS2 could be used to perform emergency bioassay samples for the above isotopes plus with module column modifications 210Polonium or other radionuclides could be easily analyzed in the field or laboratory quickly.




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In the laboratory this automated system will aid in performing emergency samples with minimal support in far less time than most separation chemistry methods already developed.

In a national emergency, sample load requirements will be significantly higher than normal. The ARS2 will help the reach back laboratory be able to keep laboratory capabilities to a high standard while military members of the laboratory are deployed with the AFRAT team.

Other radionuclide combinations could be performed after method development to be used for more specific analyses after the initial sample screen analysis.




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The ARS2 can be operated or programmed remotely via “Remote Desktop” by qualified personnel.

The ARS2 can be runoff a battery via UPS or DC to AC power converter.

The ARS2 provides detailed logging of all process steps.

Protocols can only be changed or manipulated by a designated “Administrator”.




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QUESTIONS?QUESTIONS?


Johnson RRMC Presentation.ppt

Health & Medicine

Transcript of Johnson RRMC Presentation.ppt