Determination of uranium by means of ICP-QMS

The use of depleted uranium (DU, U-238) as ammunition is currently a major topic for discussion. DU is the main by-product from the processing of nuclear fuel (U-235). It is considered to be less radioactive than natural uranium, but despite this, there is still a serious hazard due to the alpha-radiation that is emitted. U like other heavy metals is a threat to both health and the environment because of its pronounced toxicity. Significant amounts of uranium have been released in the last decade with armor piercing ammunition that was manufactured from DU, not only during major conflicts but also on numerous military shooting ranges all over the world. The paper describes methods for the extraction of plant available DU from soils, digestion processes for plant material and the determination of U-238 by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (ICP-QMS) in soils, plants and waters.