Laser resonance ionization mass spectrometry measurements of cesium in nuclear burn-up and sediment samples

Critical comparison of radiometric and mass spectrometric methods for the determination of radionuclides in environmental, biological and nuclear waste samples

“…Comparing with the GM counter, the background count rate is higher in LSC, the lowest count rate measured using the commercial Quantulus Ultra low-level LSC produced by Wallac, PerkinElmer is around 0.5 counts per minute (CPM) for the 3 H window and 1.5 CPM for the 99 Tc window while the background for the anticoincidence shielded GM counter may be as low as 0.1-0.2 CPM, this makes the detection limit of LSC is worse than using low level GM counters (Table 4). In addition, the quench correction is another drawback of LSC, which requires an extra work for acquiring accurate results.…”

“…This is mainly achieved by reducing the background count rate of the detector by using heavy lead shielding and a GM guard detector above the sample detectors, operating in anticoincidence mode with the sample detector(s). A background count rate of 0.1 counts per minute was reported for a commercial low-level GM counter produced at Risø National Laboratory, Denmark, and the detection limit reported is less than 1.5 mBq for 99 Tc and 90 Sr [15][16][17]. Table 4 lists radionuclides typically measured by beta counting and their approximate detection limits.…”

“…Several review articles have addressed the applications and limitations of ICP-MS for the determination of radionuclides [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Because of the high sensitivity, short analysis time and relatively easy operation, ICP-MS has been widely used for the determination of isotopes of uranium, thorium, and plutonium, 79 Se, 90 Sr, 99 Tc, 129 I, 135 Cs, 210 Pb, 226 Ra, 228 Ra, 231 Pa, 237 Np, 241 Am, 243 Am, and 244 Cm in environmental and waste samples .…”

“…RIMS as a highly selective and sensitive mass spectrometric technique for ultratrace and isotope analysis has been used for the analysis of many radionuclides such as 41 Ca, 90 Sr, 99 Tc, 135 Cs, 210 Pb, 236 U, 238 Pu, 239 Pu, 240 Pu, 242 Pu, and 244 Pu in environmental, biological and waste samples [33,34,[94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105]. In RIMS the solid or liquid samples are vaporized and atomized by an atomic beam source (e.g.…”

“…Meanwhile radionuclides released from the reprocessing plants can also be used as environmental tracer for the investigation of transport of water mass ( 134,137 Cs, 99 Tc, 129 I) and atmospheric circulation ( 129 I). In decommissioning of nuclear facilities and repository of nuclear waste, invitatory of radioactivity or concentration of various radionuclides in the waste samples need to be determined.…”