Determination of radium-226 in aqueous samples using liquid scintillation counting

Abstract

A direct method for determination of ²²⁶Ra in aqueous samples using a heterogeneous liquid scintillation counting system has been developed. In this method, radium is separated and purified from the sample as the chloride using barium as a carrier. The chloride salt is soluble in less than 1 ml of water, which is then emulsified into scintillator using Triton X-100. A lower limit of detection of 1.2 mBq l^–1(0.033 pCi l^–1) was achieved. Any scintillation cocktail for β-counting can be used.