A comparison of two nuclear analytical techniques for determination of 210Pb-specific activity in solid environmental samples

Two nuclear analytical techniques for determination of ²¹⁰Pb-specific activity in solid environmental samples have been validated and compared. The first technique depends on determination of ²¹⁰Pb via its alpha emitting daughter ²¹⁰Po using alpha-particle spectrometry, while the second technique is based on direct determination of ²¹⁰Pb by measuring its activity at the 46-keV gamma line by low-energy gamma-ray spectrometry. Detection limits, repeatability, reproducibility, and surrogate recovery were the main validation parameters. Measurement uncertainties were estimated and compared for both techniques. Results of this study have shown that the expected activity of ²¹⁰Pb in the environmental samples and the required measurement uncertainty are the main factors influencing a selection of the appropriate method for the application.