@misc{oai:repo.qst.go.jp:00069585,
 author = {Takata, Hyoe and Aono, Tatsuo and Tagami, Keiko and Uchida, Shigeo and 高田 兵衛 and 青野 辰雄 and 田上 恵子 and 内田 滋夫},
 month = {Nov},
 note = {Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful analytical tool for the determination of trace metals, such as yttrium (Y) and rare earth elements (Rees) in natural waters. However, the variations of salinity in estuarine and coastal waters can affect the analysis of Y and REEs in the waters by ICP-MS. For example, concentrations of major ions in estuarine and coastal waters are extremely higher than those of Y and Rees, and these major ions would interfere with Y and REE countings by ICP-MS. Particularly, oxide complexes of Ba isotopes (135Ba, 137Ba, and 138Ba) bother REE analysis. Moreover, the concentrations of Y and REEs in estuarine and coastal waters are usually lower than the detection limits of ICP-MS if the samples were diluted to a suitable total matrix concentration for the measurement. The purposes of the current study is therefore to develop a rapid method for separation and preconcentration of Y and REEs in estuarine and coastal waters using a solid-phase extraction column packed with a polyamino-polycarboxylic acid chelating resin (NOBIAS-CHELATE resin). We tested the appropriate pH range and the effect of variations in salinity and in the concentrations of other elements for the separation and preconcentration of Y and REEs. The recoveries of Y and REE from the resin were pH dependent; at pH 5.7, almost 100% recovery of Y and REEs was observed. Most importantly, barium was not retained on the column at pH 5.7. In addition, the reproducibility of the results for Y and REEs was not affected by high concentrations of heavy metals, such as Fe, Mn, and Mo. The method was verified by the analysis of a coastal water standard reference material (NRCC CASS-4): the values obtained with the present method agreed with the previously reported values obtained by standard analytical techniques. We used this simple and quick method to determine the concentrations of Y and REEs in estuarine and coastal waters of the Mabechi River and off Aomori, Japan. Low salinity samples (<1) showed shale-normalized Y and REE patterns with positive Gd anomalies, probably resulting from local anthropogenic input mainly due to recent use of Gado-pentetic acid as a medical agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in hospitals. 
Acknowledgment
This work was partially supported by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan., 2008 Third Asia-Pacific Winter Conference},
 title = {Rapid preconcentration and purification of rare earth elements in estuarine and coastal waters using a NOBIAS-CHELATE resin},
 year = {2008}
}