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• Routine analysis of naturally occurring radionuclides in environmental samples by alpha-particle spectrometry (PDF 1,058 KB)

About the report

The high sensitivity and wide range of applicable sample types make alpha-particle spectrometry a powerful technique for the determination of low-level activities in environmental samples. Radiochemical techniques are described here for the determination of the following alpha-emitting nuclides:

²³⁸U, ²³⁵U and ²³⁴U

²³²Th, ^23OTh and ²²⁸Th

²²⁶Ra, ²²⁴Ra and ²²³Ra, and

²¹⁰Po

together with a method for the determination of ^21OPb by beta counting. In addition, the beta-emitters ²²⁸Ra, ^21OPb and ²²⁷Ac can be determined within a few months of their separation from the sample digest via measurement of their alpha-emitting daughters.

After addition of a suitable tracer and dissolution of the sample, a chemical separation scheme is utilised which allows the sequential separation and analysis of all of the above nuclides on the same sample digest. This scheme has been developed with the aim of achieving consistent high chemical yields while minimising analysis time.

Sample pretreatment criteria, tracer isotope selection and spectral analysis procedures for each element are discussed, and typical spectra shown. A set of computer programs used for the calculation of results are also described.