TITLE:
Optimization Method to Determine Gross Alpha-Beta in Water Samples Using Liquid Scintillation Counter
AUTHORS:
Waleed M. Abdellah
KEYWORDS:
Water; LSC; Pulse Decay Discrimination; Alpha; Beta
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
Vol.5 No.9,
September
30,
2013
ABSTRACT: Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is an adequate nuclear technique
to determine radioactivity levels, as verified by this study for the
determination of the gross alpha and beta activities of aqueous samples because
of its simplicity and low associated cost comparison with other techniques.
This paper discusses a new approach to the monitoring of gross alpha and gross
beta activities in water. The method consists of using pulse decay discrimination
(PDD) liquid scintillation counting LSC of 2 ml of the sample after
conditioning with 12 ml of AB-Ultima Gold LSC cocktail, and PDD 139 condition.
Different factors that affected on the counting efficiency were studied such as
quench reaction, volume of sample, and type of vial. The gross alpha and gross
beta particle activity measurement using 40K and 243Am
with different activities concentration for efficiency determination. The
calculated detection limits were 0.07 Bq/l and 0.12 Bq/l for gross alpha and
gross beta respectively for 500 min measurements of samples produced by
concentration of one liter of water.