Standard reference materials for thorium analysis

Reference materials (RMs) are used in analytical measurements for several purposes--to develop and validate analytical measurements, as quality control indicators and for calibration. It is therefore essential that suitable reference materials are available. Because thorium is usually found in very acid-resistant, mineral phases, this becomes even more critical when techniques such as ICP-MS are used, which require complete sample digestion. This paper gives an overview of the reference materials that are currently available for thorium (232Th and other thorium isotopes) in various matrices, sources and indicative costs. The IAEA database is identified as a particularly useful source of information, and the website address is: http://www.iaea.org/programmes/nahunet/e4/nmrm/index.htm A brief summary of the discussion held at the '1st European Workshop on the Analysis of Thorium in Workplace Materials', regarding reference materials, is given at the end of the paper. A general need for new RMs, specifically for workplace materials, was identified as a priority.