Key Progress on Chemistry and Analysis of 238U, 99Tc, and 137Cs Radionuclides

The exposure of long-lived radionuclides is extremely hazardous to the living organism and environments. Radionuclides can be broadly divided into α, β, and/or γ emitter, all of which exhibit diverse chemistry/chemical properties, and therefore, require different analytical tools/techniques for their measurements in the defined samples. In this review, we discuss the major progress in chemistry and analysis of α, β, and γ emitting radionuclides. More specifically, we focus on uranium-238 (²³⁸U), technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc), and cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) as representatives for α, β, and γ emitting radionuclide, respectively. First, we present the detailed chemical properties/species of these radionuclides in the given environmental conditions. Later, this review focuses on the common analytical techniques used for the determination of ²³⁸U, ⁹⁹Tc, and ¹³⁷Cs radionuclides in the given/environmental samples, including both the radiometry (α, β, and γ spectrometry) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Finally, we debate future challenges that need to be considered in developing advanced analytical approaches for measurements of various radionuclides in the environmental samples using both radiometry as well as mass spectrometry. We believe that this review will inspire research on the scope and application of key methods to efficiently define the chemical forms and analysis of α, β, and γ emitting radionuclides in the various environments.