Simple coprecipitation method combined with low-background γ-spectrometry: Determination of 7Be, 137Cs, 210Pb, and radium and thorium isotopes in small-volume coastal water samples

Abstract

Application of a coprecipitation method combined with low-background γ-spectrometry allowed the isolation of 7Be, 137Cs, 210Pb, and radium and thorium isotopes together with BaSO4, Fe(OH)3, or AMP/Cs in 18 L of coastal water. This simple method showed high chemical yields of 77–91% (mean, 85%) for 210Pb and radium isotopes, 87–92% (mean, 91%) for 7Be and thorium isotopes, and 98% for 137Cs. The activity of the nuclides showed good reproducibility with standard deviations of 1–8%, while the deviation of activity in particle-reactive 210Pb (32%) and 7Be (21%) in filtered water samples was exceptionally large.