Scalable Dialysis-Based Method for the Isolation of Strontium from Milk for Radioanalysis

An ashless dialysis-basedmethod for the convenient and timelyremoval of strontium from milk for radioanalysis has been describedfor samples ranging from 100 to 500 mL following a brief (30 min)treatment with formaldehyde solution. Overall strontium recovery issuitably high and remarkably consistent across all sample sizes (81-84%),with the final isolation of strontium from milk comfortably achievedwithin 32 h. For strontium carrier quantification and quality assurancepurposes, two chromatographic high-pressure ion chromatography methodswere developed to fully resolve strontium from the cationic mineralconstituents of milk, as well as yttrium, while method validationwas performed with a certified reference material (IAEA-152 milk powder)containing strontium-90. This methodology is highly amenable to concurrentmultisample processing which, considering its scalability, makes itwell-suited to environmental surveillance of radiostrontium in milkfor both routine and emergency response applications.