Simultaneous determination of lead-210, gross beta and gross alpha activities of air filters by pulse shape discrimination liquid scintillation counting

A chemical procedure for transferring deposited solid matter from a cellulose filter into the liquid scintillation cocktail has been described. The influence of chemical and color quenching on alpha and beta detection efficiency, as well as on misclassification of beta and alpha pulses was corrected by an external standard method. Under the chosen pulse shape discrimination level (PSD), the alpha and beta detection efficiencies were above 85% and spillovers of alpha and beta pulses were below 10% and 2% respectively. Determination limits for samples containing up to 200 mg of mineral matter were 0.015 mBq m^–3 for alpha, 0.055 mBq.m^–3 for²¹⁰Pb and 0.055 mBq.m^–3 for beta activity (counting time 12000 s and volume of filtered air 1000 m³). The method has been applied for routine monitoring of²¹⁰Pb as well as for gross alpha and beta activities of longer-living radionuclides (T_1/2.>11 hrs) in suspended air matter.     

Automatic calculation of specific activities from liquid scintillation counter data using a desk-top computer

A desk-top computer is used to calculate the absolute specific activities of batches of chemicals routinely in a central assay laboratory of a manufacturer of labeled chemicals. Errors and operator fatigue were reduced and reporting was speeded out due mainly to the elimination of hand-transcribing of results. Other advantages were that tedious calculations of the absolute activities of double-labeled compounds were as easy to perform as for single-labeled compounds, and that samples having identical dilution parameters can be calculated without any manual manipulation at all. Programming methods are explained.     

Gross alpha/beta analyses in water by liquid scintillation counting

Summary The standard procedure for analyzing gross alpha and gross beta in water is evaporation of the sample and radioactivity determination of the resultant solids by proportional counting. This technique lacks precision, and lacks sensitivity for samples with high total dissolved solids. Additionally, the analytical results are dependent on the choice of radionuclide calibration standard and the sample matrix. Direct analysis by liquid scintillation counting has the advantages of high counting efficiencies and minimal sample preparation time. However, due to the small sample aliquants used for analysis, long count times are necessary to reach required detection limits. The procedure proposed consists of evaporating a sample aliquant to dryness, dissolving the resultant solids in a small volume of dilute acid, followed by liquid scintillation counting to determine radioactivity. This procedure can handle sample aliquants containing up to 500 mg of dissolved solids. Various acids, scintillation cocktail mixtures, instrument discriminator settings, and regions of interest (ROI) were evaluated to determine optimum counting conditions. Precision is improved and matrix effects are reduced as compared to proportional counting. Tests indicate that this is a viable alternative to proportional counting for gross alpha and gross beta analyses of water samples.     

The development of an alpha/beta separation liquid scintillation cocktail for aqueous samples

Scintillation cocktail components were studied with regard to their impact on pulse decay discimination (PDD) and hence the separation of alpha from beta activity, using a Packard 2250 CA /. Di-isopropyl naphthalene (DIN) was found to be the most suitable solvent, both from safety considerations and also the fact that it acts in a very similar manner to naphthalene in stretching the pulses produced at the photomultiplier tube anode and hence enhancing the separation. Increasing the surfactant concentration and the use of dimethylanthracene (DMA) as secondary fluor degraded the cocktail's performance. PMT anode pulse shapes were found to be a useful indicator of PDD efficiency but could not give a quantitative guide.     

Radiochemical determination of uranium and radium isotope in natural water using liquid scintillation counter

²³⁴U, ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²⁸Ra were analyzed in 14 Korean hot spring waters. Uranium was extracted with mixture of extractive scintillation cocktail containing HDEHP and ²³⁴U, ²³⁸U were analyzed with LSC. Radium isotopes were separated using Ba coprecipitation method and counted with LSC and ²²⁸Ra was also analyzed its daughter ²²⁸Ac with HPGe γ-detector. Among them ²²⁶Ra was ranged <0.01–0.155 Bq/L and ²²⁸Ra is below detection limit <0.1 Bq/L. And also, uranium content was ranged <0.01–49.7 μg/L and ²³⁴U/²³⁸U ratio was ranged 0.69–1.17.     

Fast determination of 90Sr using liquid scintillation counter based on shielding package

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A novel method for direct measurement of 90Sr in liquid samples was developed by using liquid scintillation counter. Based on the shielding...     

Variables influencing the gross alpha and gross beta activities in airborne particulate samples in Málaga,Spain

Variations of gross alpha and beta atmospheric radioactivity have been analyzed in Málaga (Spain) focusing on the influence of local meteorology and air mass origin during 2012–2015. Air mass origin and their features, as well as the airborne particulate levels play a critical role in atmospheric radioactive aerosol concentrations. African air masses at 3000 m and Mediterranean flows at 500 m are associated to high gross alpha and beta activities. A potential decay with increasing distance travelled by back-trajectories is found. Air temperature and wind speed present significant correlation with alpha and beta activities, while relative humidity has negligible impact.     

Neutron activation analysis of6Li isotopic abundance using a low background liquid scintillation counter

A neutron activation method based on the measurement of tritium radioactivity produced by⁶Li (n,)³H reaction was applied to determine the isotopic abundance of⁶Li in aqueous solution with known lithium concentration. Tritium radioactivity was measured with a low background liquid scintillation counter over a period of 2000 min. The present method demonstrated a good linearity between the isotopic abundance of⁶Li and tritium radioactivity produced per unit amount of lithium in a wide range of lithium concentration. A comparison of the present data with those from mass spectrometry showed agreement, though our method was 10 times less sensitive, than mass spectrometry. The present new approach should thus prove quite useful for determining the isotopic abundance of⁶Li.     

Determination of gross alpha and beta activities in seawater and plankton from the Upper Gulf of Thailand

Gross alpha and beta activities were determined in seawater and plankton samples collected during the wet and dry seasons from 10 different sampling stations in Chonburi, the Upper Gulf of Thailand. Seawater samples were sampling, 1 km from the coastal and 2 m below the water surface, during July 2008 to July 2009. Seawater samples were prepared by coprecipitation technique. Plankton samples were prepared by filtration and dryness on filter paper. Both types of samples were counted using a low background alpha/beta proportional counter with multiple detector type (Berthold LB770). The results showed that gross alpha activities in seawater and plankton sample are in the range of 0.0591 ± 0.0209–0.3914 ± 0.0606 Bq/l and 0.0029 ± 0.0020–0.0294 ± 0.0043 Bq/l, respectively and also showed the lowest and highest activity level in the same sampling time. The activities of gross beta in seawater and plankton sample are in the range of 0.2803 ± 0.0177–1.3064 ± 0.0319 Bq/l and 0.0208 ± 0.0123–0.9151 ± 0.0262 Bq/l, respectively. Minimum detectable activity (MDA) had been observed in the measurements. The MDA of seawater sample were estimated to be 0.0832 Bq/l for alpha and 0.0577 Bq/l for beta at counting time of 100 and 200 min, respectively. In plankton samples, the MDA were estimated to be 0.0053 Bq/l for alpha and 0.0409 Bq/l for beta at the same counting time of 250 min.     

Determination of 210Pb by measurement of 210Pb and its progenies using a liquid scintillation counter

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Lead-210 is a useful tracer in environmental studies for a wide range of applications, particularly in atmospheric research and geochronology....     

Determination of radon partitioning between groundwater and atmosphere by liquid scintillation counter

A simple method for the determination of the air?Cwater partition coefficient (K_air/water) of radon (Rn-222) was studied using a liquid scintillation counter. In the present work, the radon activity of groundwater phase in a closed container was measured and used to calculate the partition coefficient instead of the radon activity of gaseous phase in other works. The partition coefficient was determined for four groundwater samples by using a modified equilibrium partition coefficient in closed system method. The effect of temperature on the partition coefficient was investigated at 0, 10, 20 and 30?°C. Within the temperature range, the partition coefficients were 1.72?C2.03, 2.11?C2.28, 2.78?C3.92 and 4.93?C5.61 at 0, 10, 20, and 30?°C, respectively. It was found that the effect of temperature on the air?Cwater partition coefficient of groundwater radon was agreed well with literature values.     

Characterization and calibration of a large area beta scintillation detector for determination of Sr-90

A large area beta scintillation detector has been developed which is currently capable of determining Sr-90/Y-90 contamination in surficial soils. The detector system employs scintillating fiber optic arrays, with active dimensions approximately 15 cm wide by 100 cm long, both ends of which are coupled to multiple photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). Electronic processing includes coincidence requirements to optimize sensitivity and selectivity for the 2.28 MeV (maximum) beta particle from Y-90. Low energy beta particles and gamma rays are discriminated against using double ended and multi-layer coincidence requirements. The detector system is personal-computer-software controlled and data restored in a format compatible with standard database software for ease of final data reduction. Experimental calibration studies have shown a linear response for Sr-90/Y-90 soil concentrations from 12 to over 500 pCi/g and a discrimination factor of 50 to 1 versus Cs-137.Pacific Northwest Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle Memorial Institute under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830.     

Isolation and quantification of Fe and Ni in reactor effluents using extraction chromatography and liquid scintillation analysis

A novel extraction chromatographic resin based on diisobutyl ketone has been developed for the isolation of ⁵⁵Fe. This material has been used in conjunction with a dimethylglyoxime-based resin for the sequential separation of ⁵⁵Fe and ⁶³Ni and isolation of these radionuclides from associated contaminants. The preparation and characterisation of these resins is described along with an assessment of their performance for the isolation of ⁵⁵Fe and ⁶³Ni from a mixture of nuclear activation products. In addition, a refined approach for the measurement of these nuclides by liquid scintillation counting is discussed. The findings of these studies have been combined to develop a robust procedure for the analysis of ⁵⁵Fe and ⁶³Ni in reactor effluents which is now the preferred method for a number of UK analytical laboratories.     

A novel method for the simultaneous determination of125I and14C activities using liquid scintillation counting

The viability of a dual label liquid scintillation technique has been investigated. To avoid the need for two procedures, gamma counting for¹²⁵Iodine (¹²⁵I) and liquid scintillation counting for¹⁴C. Since the¹²⁵I spectrum covers almost as wide a range of pulse heights as¹⁴C, conventional dual label methods would result in very low¹⁴C counting efficiencies. The conventional dual label technique has ben modified to increase the¹⁴C counting efficiency and to accomodate the consequent additional spillover of¹²⁵I counts into the upper window. This dual label technique has been applied to the determination of¹²⁵I and¹⁴C activities in blood samples. The accuracy of the method has been tested, and its advantages and limitations are discussed.     

Simultaneous determination of alpha and beta-emitting nuclides by liquid scintillation counting

The determination of - and -emitting nuclides has been studied with a commercial liquid scintillation counter /Tri-Carb 2200CA/ equipped with Pulse Shape Analysis /PSA/. The results indicated that the efficiency for -emitters is virtually 100% and discrimination for -emitters is more than 99.9%. Liquid scintillation counting with PSA can be used for the determination of - and -emitting nuclides simultaneously.     

Extractive scintillators for alpha liquid scintillation counting: Anomalies in quenching evaluation

Two important effects in quenching evaluation when using some commercial extractive scintillators in alpha liquid scintillation counting are described. One affects the system quenching value but not the efficiency, while the other modifies the efficiency with no important change in the quenching. For these cocktails, alternative procedures for efficiency evaluation must be chosen. We propose an inner standard procedure which gave adequate results in the application to different kinds of samples.