TY - CONF A1 - Zuliani, T. T1 - Advancing Stable and Long-lived Radiogenic Isotope Ratio Measurements of Environmental Pollutants N2 - The isotopic compositions of elements vary in the environment due to processes such as radioactive decay, cosmic ray spallation, mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation, and different anthropogenic sources such as industrial activities, nuclear weapon testing, nuclear accidents, as well as natural phenomena long-range atmospheric and water transport, climate change, etc. Isotope ratio data obtained by mass spectrometry now plays an important role as tracers of a multitude of processes in Earth and environmental sciences. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a widely used technique for detecting variations in isotopic abundances in e.g., environmental samples. Recent advancements in mass spectrometric instrumentation have significantly enhanced sensitivity and precision, enabling the reliable detection of even minute variations in the isotopic composition of most elements with more than one natural isotope. However, to fully realize these new capabilities, a significant analytical challenge remains due to a vast number of analyte/matrix combinations, concomitant matrix effects, spectral interferences, and instrumental isotopic fractionation that must be characterized before and during the measurements. Success in developing new and improved methods for stable and long-lived radiogenic isotope ratio measurements by mass spectrometric methods depends on improvements in the reduction and quantification of uncertainties associated with sample preparation, instrumentation, and external calibration. The goal of this presentation is to show the key findings of the European Partnership on Metrology project “Metrology for the harmonisation of measurements of environmental pollutants in Europe” - MetroPOEM (https://www.npl.co.uk/euramet/metropoem), with a focus on the ICP-MS techniques used for isotope ratio measurements. Several elements were used as model systems for the development and optimisation of sample preparation and measurement procedures, including Li, B, Cr, Cd, Ni, Sb, Pb, and U. Isotope ratios of these elements determined by multi-collector ICP-MS, sector field ICPMS, quadrupole ICP-MS, and ICP-MS/MS will be assessed and compared. Data on their performance will be presented and assessed in terms of accuracy and precision. Comprehensive uncertainty budgets for the determination of the isotope ratios of the selected elements by different calibration approaches will be presented. The presented results will highlight the potential of recent advances in ICP-MS technology. T2 - 11th Nordic Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry CY - Loen, Norway DA - 09.06.2024 KW - Isotope analysis KW - ICP-MS KW - Measurement uncertainty PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61599 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -