Establishment of a method for 222Rn determination in water by low-level liquid scintillation counter

Todorović, Nataša; Jakonić, Ivana; Nikolov, Jovana; Hansman, Jan; Vesković, M.

doi:10.1093/rpd/ncu240

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sample preparation and counter calibration followed the method described by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) (13), which is appropriate for Rn determination in drinking water from groundwater and surface water sources in both one-and two-phase samples (20). The calibration factor CF (cpm/Bq) (detection efficiency of 222 Rn or 226 Ra) was determined based on the calibration sample (Ra standard) count: [1] where S (cpm) is the calibration standard count, B (cpm) background sample count, C (Bq/L) is the concentration of 226 Ra standard solution, and V (L) is the volume of the calibration standard per analysed sample (10 mL in our experiments).…”

Section: Rn Measurement In Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Radium interference during radon measurements in water: comparison of one- and two-phase liquid scintillation counting

Stojković

Todorović

Nikolov

2021

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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Assessment of radiation exposure to drinking, surface, and groundwater and of the associated health risks calls for accurate and precise 226Ra and 222Rn measurements. One method that fits the bill is liquid scintillation counting (LSC), which allows measurements in one-phase (homogenous) or two-phase samples. The aim of our study was to compare the measurement efficiency with both variations in Niška Banja spa water, known for its elevated 222Rn content to get a better insight into the stability and behaviour of the samples and 226Ra interference in samples spiked with 226Ra with 222Rn measurement. 226Ra interference was more evident in homogenous, one-phase and much lower in two-phase samples. However, one-phase samples offer more accurate indirect 226Ra measurements. Water-immiscible cocktails (in two-phase samples) have shown a limited capacity for receiving 222Rn generated by Ra decay from the aqueous to organic phase when 222Rn/226Ra equilibrium is reached. We have also learned that samples with naturally high 222Rn content should not be spiked with 226Ra activities higher than the ones found in native samples and that calibration of two-phase samples can be rather challenging if measurements span over longer time. Further research would require much lower 226Ra activities for spiking to provide more practical answers to questions arising from the demonstrated phenomena.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rn Measurement In Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

Radium interference during radon measurements in water: comparison of one- and two-phase liquid scintillation counting

Stojković

Todorović

Nikolov

2021

Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology

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“…The physical basis for this method is the fact that, when mixed with a scintillation cocktail, radon from the water sample always diffuses into the organic phase for which it has a much greater affinity than for water [20]. For the calibration and standardization, the Radium Solution Method was applied, where a standard of 100 mL of 226 Ra solution was prepared such that the final activity was ~1.3 kBq/L.…”

Section: Liquid Scintillation Counting Methods and Equipmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The samples were then counted for 50 min in an LS counter using an energy discrimination circuit for alpha/beta particles (PSA circuit). All LSC samples (10 mL of sample + 10 mL of scintillation cocktail) were prepared in 20 mL High-Performance Glass vials (Perkin Elmer) [20]. A selection of scintillation cocktails suitable for organic samples was tested for 226 Ra determination: OptiPhase HiSafe 3 and Ultima Gold AB (water-miscible cocktails); Ultima Gold F, Mineral Oil Scintillator and OptiFluor O (water-immiscible cocktails).…”

Section: Liquid Scintillation Counting Methods and Equipmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cherenkov Radiation Detection on a LS Counter for 226Ra Determination in Water and Its Comparison with Other Common Methods

et al. 2021

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Reliable determination of 226Ra content in drinking water, surface water and groundwater is required for radiological health-risk assessment of populations and radiation-dose calculations after ingestion and inhalation. This study aimed to determine 226Ra presence in the untreated water samples on a liquid scintillation counter via Cherenkov radiation detection. Cherenkov counting is a faster, simpler, less expensive technique than other commonly used methods for 226Ra determination. Step-by-step optimization of this technique on the Quantulus detector is presented in this paper. Improvement of detection limit/efficiency in the presence of sodium salicylate was investigated in this study. The main parameters of the method obtained were detection efficiency 15.87 (24)% and detection limit 0.415 Bq/L achieved for 1000 min of counting in 20 mL of sample volume. When 1 g of sodium salicylate was added, efficiency increased to 38.1 (5)%, with a reduction in the detection limit to 0.248 Bq/L for 500 min of counting. A satisfactory precision level of Cherenkov counting was obtained, the results deviating between 5% and 20% from reference values. The precision and accuracy of the Cherenkov counting technique were compared to liquid scintillation counting (EPA Method 913.0 for radon determination) and gamma spectrometry (the direct method for the untreated water samples on HPGe spectrometer). An overview of the advantages/disadvantages of each technique is elaborated in this paper.

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“…It was not until the mid-1960s that it was used for the determination of alpha emitters, because of its high counting efficiency (close to 100%) [10]. Portable LSC devices allow large numbers of samples to be processed, with the advantage of in situ analysis [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of a portable liquid scintillation counting device for determining 222Rn in water

Celaya

Merino

Quindós

et al. 2018

Radiation Measurements

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The new EU Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom of 22 October 2013 introduced limits for the content of 222 Rn in drinking water. Radon analysis in water requires a lengthy task of collection, storage, transport and subsequent measurement in a laboratory. A portable liquid scintillation counting device allows rapid sampling with significant savings of time, space, and cost compared with the commonly used techniques of gamma spectrometry or methods based on the desorption of radon dissolved in water. In this study, we describe a calibration procedure for a portable liquid scintillation counting device that allows measurements of 222 Rn in water by the direct method, and we also consider the case of 226 Ra being present in the sample. The results obtained with this portable device are compared with those obtained by standard laboratory techniques (gamma spectrometry with a high-purity Ge detector, gamma spectrometry with a NaI detector, and desorption followed by ionization chamber detection).

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Establishment of a method for 222Rn determination in water by low-level liquid scintillation counter

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

Radium interference during radon measurements in water: comparison of one- and two-phase liquid scintillation counting

Radium interference during radon measurements in water: comparison of one- and two-phase liquid scintillation counting

Cherenkov Radiation Detection on a LS Counter for 226Ra Determination in Water and Its Comparison with Other Common Methods

Optimization of a portable liquid scintillation counting device for determining 222Rn in water

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