Activity determination of 60Co and the importance of its beta spectrum

Abstract

The activity concentration of a 60Co solution was measured by means of two 4πβ-γ coincidence counting systems using a liquid scintillation counter and a proportional counter (PC) in the beta channel, respectively. Additional liquid scintillation measurements were carried out and CIEMAT/NIST efficiency tracing as well as the triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) methods were applied to analyse the data. The last two methods require computed beta spectra to determine the counting efficiencies.The results of both 4πβ-γ coincidence counting techniques are in very good agreement and yield a robust reference value. The initial activity concentration determined with liquid scintillation counting was found to be significantly lower than the results from 4πβ-γ coincidence counting. In addition, the results from TDCR and CIEMAT/NIST show some inconsistency.The discrepancies were resolved by applying new beta spectrum calculations for the dominant allowed beta transition of 60Co. The use of calculations which take screening effects as well as the atomic exchange effect into account leads to good agreement between all four methods; the combination of these techniques delivers an important validation of beta spectra.