Progress of Cryogenics and Isotopes Separation , ISSN: 1582-2575
2018, Volume 21, Issue 1

Establishing routine procedure of radium 226 activity concentration determination in water samples using liquid scintillation counting

Abstract

The consumption of drinking water containing radium (Ra-226 and Ra-228) can lead to the accumulation of these radionuclides in the body, contributing to the radiological dose. This fact conducted to the necessity of establishing a measurement procedure for the two radionuclides. In this work, the procedural steps for measuring Ra-226 activity by liquid scintillation counting are set-up. The procedure involved applying the principle of ISO 13165-1. Alpha beta discrimination (Pulse Shape Analyse, PSA, for a Quantulus 1220 liquid scintillation counter) at different levels were used for a known activity of Ra-226, in order to establish optimum discrimination between alfa-emission of Rn-222 and its short-lived progenies. The optimal PSA parameter for ?/? discrimination was set to 60. Different type of water samples from Pascoaia geographical area were measured and low concentration of Ra-226 observed concluded that the main source of those waters is precipitation.