skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Strontium-90 determinations by Cerenkov radiation counting for well monitoring at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6396402· OSTI ID:6396402

A rapid method for determination of /sup 90/Sr (28.8 y half-life) via its daughter /sup 90/Y (64.1 h half-life) in aqueous samples from the solid low-level radioactive waste disposal areas at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) utilized the principle of direct Cerenkov radiation counting. This technique is applicable for beta particles exhibiting maximum energies greater than 0.42 pJ (263 keV) in aqueous solution. In the presence of other contributing energetic beta emitters the technique may serve as a useful screening method to distinguish low activity samples from more moderate or higher activity concentrations. A comparison between analysis of /sup 90/Sr by Cerenkov radiation counting and by standard wet chemical separation techniques indicated a high degree of correlation and excellent agreement. The detection limit for a 20-mL sample under the prescribed experimental conditions and a counting interval of 20 min was approximately 0.2 dpm/mL (0.1 pCi/mL).

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-26
OSTI ID:
6396402
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-7760; ON: DE81025853; TRN: 81-012252
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records