Overview
ISO 26062:2010 - "Nuclear technology - Nuclear fuels - Procedures for the measurement of elemental impurities in uranium- and plutonium‑based materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‑MS)" provides standardized guidance for measuring trace elemental impurities in uranium-, plutonium- and mixed actinide materials using ICP‑MS. The standard covers sample types (e.g., uranyl or plutonium nitrate solutions, oxide solids, unirradiated mixed oxide materials), outlines dissolution and optional matrix‑removal steps, and gives requirements for calibration, quality control and data reporting. It is intended for laboratories performing quantitative impurity analysis in nuclear fuel contexts.
Key technical topics and requirements
- Scope and applicability: Applicable to dissolved and solid uranium/plutonium matrices; not directly suitable for matrices containing significant quantities of other elements (for example uranium–gadolinium mixtures) unless their impact is evaluated.
- Analytical principle: Quantitative measurement of trace impurities by ICP‑MS after appropriate sample preparation (dissolution, optional chemical extraction or direct analysis in the actinide matrix).
- Sample preparation: Guidance on dissolution methods (hotplate, microwave), dissolution containers and optional chemical extraction (solvent extraction, chromatography) to remove actinide matrix when required.
- Reagents and blanks: Use of high‑purity reagents and 18 MΩ·cm water (ISO 3696 referenced); procedural blanks at preparation, extraction and measurement stages.
- Calibration and standards: Requirement for certified reference or traceable standards; use of matrix‑matched calibration standards and quality control standards; recovery control standards when chemical extraction is used.
- Internal standards & interferences: Use of internal standards to correct instrument drift and matrix effects; consideration of spectral and mass interferences and appropriate mass analyser/sample‑introduction choices.
- Instrumentation options: Discusses mass analyser choices (quadrupole, magnetic sector, time‑of‑flight) and sample introduction variants (conventional nebulisation, flow injection, ultrasonic nebuliser) and cell systems (collision/reaction cell, cool plasma).
- Quality assurance: Instrument performance checks, method performance evaluation, precision and uncertainty considerations and test reporting requirements.
Practical applications and users
- Applications: Nuclear fuel manufacturing and quality control, material certification for fuel fabrication, R&D on actinide materials, elemental impurity monitoring for regulatory compliance and safety assessments.
- Who uses it: Analytical laboratories in the nuclear industry, fuel fabricators, national metrology institutes, regulators and research institutions conducting trace‑level impurity analysis in uranium/plutonium matrices.
Related standards and resources
- Normative reference: ISO 3696 (Water for analytical laboratory use).
- Developed by ISO/TC 85 (Nuclear energy), Subcommittee SC 5 (Nuclear fuel cycle).
- Annexes in ISO 26062 include element tables measurable by ICP‑MS, example dissolution/extraction procedures and general ICP‑MS guidance to support method development.
Keywords: ISO 26062:2010, ICP‑MS, nuclear fuels, uranium, plutonium, elemental impurities, trace analysis, matrix‑matched standards, sample dissolution, quality control.