Modified 2-window approach for rapid determination of 90Sr and 90Y at low quench level using liquid scintillation counting

⁹⁰Sr is a product of nuclear fission, the radioactivity of which can be determined by liquid scintillation counting (LSC). Because the LSC spectra of ⁹⁰Sr and its daughter ⁹⁰Y overlap each other, the following methods are usually used: (1) measuring immediately after ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y separation; (2) waiting to reach radioactive equilibrium; (3) adopting the conventional 2-window approach; and (4) using the spectra deconvolution technique. The first one requires ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y separation and immediate measurement; the second one is time-consuming; the third one is valid only for samples with the same quench level as the calibration standard; the last one is somewhat complicated, and in some cases it is not convenient to export the experimental data to some deconvolution software. Therefore, we have developed a modified 2-window approach to rapidly determine ⁹⁰Sr and ⁹⁰Y in either equilibrium or disequilibrium at low quench level. The key modification of the approach is to provide an LSC spectrum of pure ⁹⁰Y with the same quench level as the sample to be determined. This modification eliminates the need to conduct ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y separation for the sample itself, to prepare the quench curves, and to fit the LSC spectra with some deconvolution software.