Optimization of a new radiochemical method based on extraction chromatographic resins and plastic scintillation for measurement of 90Sr in nuclear waste

AbstractA purification method is developed to determine90Sr in radioactive waste. A separation based on Sr-resin ® with a pretreatment using TRU-resin® provides satisfactory Sr recovery yields before the90Sr measurement by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) regardless the analyzed samples with low or high activity level. The selectivity of the procedure is checked by measuring the90Y ingrowth after different days of separation without waiting for secular equilibrium. In order to obtain a REACH compliant method without scintillation cocktails, a plastic scintillation resin selective for Sr is implemented on the basis of the developed protocol. The optimized method is applied successfully to representative nuclear waste including samples with high Pu content (effluents, concretes and sludges).
Source: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Category: Nuclear Medicine Source Type: research