Liquid scintillation counting methodology for ⁹⁹Tc analysis. A remedy for radiopharmaceutical waste

Journal Article · Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Analytical Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5b02279· OSTI ID:1229954

Khan, Mumtaz ^[1]; Um, Wooyong ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Science and Technology, Gyeongbuk (Korea)
2. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

This paper presents a new approach for liquid scintillation counting (LSC) analysis of single-radionuclide samples containing appreciable organic or inorganic quench. This work offers better analytical results than existing LSC methods for technetium-99 (^99gTc) analysis with significant savings in analysis cost and time. The method was developed to quantify ^99gTc in environmental liquid and urine samples using LSC. Method efficiency was measured in the presence of 1.9 to 11,900 ppm total dissolved solids. The quench curve was proved to be effective in the case of spiked ^99gTc activity calculation for deionized water, tap water, groundwater, seawater, and urine samples. Counting efficiency was found to be 91.66% for Ultima Gold LLT (ULG-LLT) and Ultima Gold (ULG). Relative error in spiked ^99gTc samples was ±3.98% in ULG and ULG-LLT cocktails. Minimum detectable activity was determined to be 25.3 mBq and 22.7 mBq for ULG-LLT and ULG cocktails, respectively. A pre-concentration factor of 1000 was achieved at 100°C for 100% chemical recovery.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1229954
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-112076; 600301020
• Journal Information: Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 87, Issue 17; ISSN 0003-2700
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Cocktail
Ultima Gold
Optimization
Quench
Technetium
Counting