Electrochemical determination of dissolved uranium in Krka river estuary

The applicability of the previously developed method for electrochemical determination of dissolved uranium concentration has been tested on natural water samples taken from the Krka river estuary during various seasons and along different depth profiles. The method is based on the following treatment of the sample: destroying the uranyl-carbonato complexes by adjusting the pH to 3, enabling the formation of adsorbable uranyl-hydroxo complexes by adjusting the pH to 6.5–7.0 and measurement by cathodic stripping voltammetry technique. As the signal of the dissolved uranium reduction is sometimes masked by the signal of the matrix of the sample, a resolution enhancement including digestion and/or deconvolution has to be applied. The measured concentration of dissolved uranium varies in the range from 0.4 to 3.3×10−8 mol l−1, corresponding to the data found in the literature. The depth profile of dissolved uranium concentration distributions shows conservative behaviour. The X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) confirmed the applicability of the method, yet pointing out to its limitations caused by the matrix of the solution.