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Webinar: Exploring radionuclide contamination using new 226Ra standards & high resolution NanoSIMS analysis

星期一, 八月 18, 2025

In the recent webinar presented by Louise Darricau, Postdoctoral Researcher at the French Authority of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR) and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN, France), shared her latest research on radionuclide contamination. The presentation focused on the use of newly developed 226Ra standards and high-resolution NanoSIMS analysis to better understand contamination processes in environmental samples.

This session highlighted how NanoSIMS technology enables precise isotopic imaging and quantification at the sub-micron scale, offering new possibilities for environmental and nuclear safety research.

If you missed the live session or would like to review the material, the recording is now available.


  ⭐ Key learnings will include:
  • Understanding Radionuclide Contamination: Learn about the impact of human activities such as nuclear operations and mining on the release of radionuclides into the environment and their potential effects on ecosystems and populations.
  • Challenges in Traditional Analyses: Discover why traditional bulk sample analyses often fail to provide critical insights into contamination sources due to isotopic mixing and concentration dilution.
  • Advancements in High-Resolution Imaging: Explore how SIMS and NanoSIMS techniques offer powerful alternatives for isotopic mapping at the grain scale, providing detailed insights into radionuclide-bearing phases.
  • Development of 226Ra Standards: Gain insights into the development and validation of 226Ra-bearing barite standards for NanoSIMS calibration, addressing analytical challenges related to low abundance and spectral interferences.
  • Case Study - Rophin U-Mining Site: Understand the application of these techniques to contaminated wetland soils, revealing distinct U and Pb-bearing phases, multiple contamination sources, and heterogeneous distributions of radionuclides.
  • Implications for Remediation Strategies: Learn how these findings support improved models for contamination evolution and inform effective site remediation strategies.


    🎙️ About the speaker:
    Louise Darricau is a postdoctoral researcher at the French Authority of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR) and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN, France). Her work focuses on the development of high-resolution isotopic imaging methods using NanoSIMS to study radionuclide behaviour in contaminated environments. She completed her PhD in Geosciences at Université Paris-Saclay on the speciation and mobility of chemical elements in uranium-bearing mineralizations, and has expertise in both laboratory and field-based environmental geochemistry, with a strong interest in site contamination assessment and restoration strategies.

    A team of scientists from three leading research groups in France collaborated to this study: Louise Darricau1,2, Jérôme Aléon2, Maximilien Verdier-Paoletti2, Arnaud Mangeret1, Josselin Gorny1, David Suhard1, Virginie Sellier1, Gilles Montavon3, Alkiviadis Gourgiotis.1

    1. Autorité de Sureté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR), PSE-ENV/SPDR/LT2S, PSE-SANTE/SESANE/LRSI, F-92260, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
    2 Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), Sorbonne Université, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS UMR 7590, IRD, F-75005 Paris, France
    3. Laboratoire SUBATECH, UMR 6457, IMT Atlantique/Université de Nantes/CNRS/IN2P3, 4, rue Alfred Kastler, F-44307 Nantes, France

    You may download the full abstract.