Determination of plutonium and 90Sr in air particulate samples

Within the surveillance program of the gaseous effluents coming from the nuclear reprocessing plant EUREX of ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies Energy and Environment, CR Saluggia) in the North of Italy, the content of some radionuclides is continuously monitored. The so-called 1AW high-activity liquid waste (HLLW) is the aqueous raffinate of the first cycle of PUREX extraction process which was the starting point of the reprocessing activity of some MTR and CANDU spent fuel elements. Nowadays, 1AW-HLLW is stored in five tanks placed inside the EUREX plant site. This paper describes the sampling and radioanalytical methods employed to determine the activities of 241Am, plutonium isotopes and 90Sr in the total suspended particulate material (TSP) of the 1AW tank primary ventilation air circuit.