Analytical Technology Status of ²³⁷Np in Environment

Due to the extremely long half-life, highly environmental mobility, and radioactive toxicity, ²³⁷Np is considered as one of the most concerned radionuclides in the environmental hazard assessment and nuclear waste repository research. The source of ²³⁷Np and its activity levels in the various of environmental medium were summarized at great length in this paper. Based on the developed radioanalytical method of ²³⁷Np, the digestion means of solid sample, the pre-treatment processes, radiochemical separation/purification steps and various measurement techniques were systematically reviewed. Meanwhile the primary difficulties and bottlenecks of obtaining reliable ²³⁷Np analysis results were highlighted, and the latest development direction of the analysis technology and application prospect were also prospected.