Rapid methods for radiostrontium determination in aerosol filters and vegetation in emergency situations using PS resin

Abstract

This study describes a rapid and novelty method for radiostrontium determination in aerosol filters and vegetation based on the use of plastic scintillation resins (PS resin), which combines the separation and measurement preparation into a single step. The optimization of the pre-treatment steps and the use of PS resin allows a simplification of the radiochemistry and a reduction in the time of analysis to 8 h and 12 h for aerosol filters and vegetation, respectively. The limits of detection were on average 0.04 Bq (filter)−1 and 3 Bq (kg-fresh)−1. The method obtained high recoveries (82% on average) and relative bias for total radiostrontium were below 30%. Individual activities of 89Sr and 90Sr were obtained by deconvolution methods.