Strålningsmätning

This document describes a generic test method for measuring alpha emitting radionuclides, for all types of sampling (soil, sediment, construction material, foodstuff, water, airborne, environmental bioindicator,
human biological samples as urine, faeces etc.) by alpha spectrometry. This method can be used for any type of environmental study or monitoring of alpha emitting radionuclides activities.
If relevant, this test method requires appropriate upstream treatment of the laboratory sample followed by specific chemical separation of the test portion in order to obtain a thin source proper to alpha spectrometry measurement.
This test method can be used to determine the activity, specific activity or activity concentration of a sample containing alpha emitting radionuclides such as 210Po, 226Ra, 228Th, 229Th, 230Th, 232Th,
232U,234U, 235U, 238U, 238Pu, 239+240Pu, 241Am or 243+244Cm.
This test method can be used to measure very low levels of activity, one or two orders of magnitude less than the usual natural levels of alpha emitting radionuclides. Annexes B of UNSCEAR 2000 and
UNSCEAR 2008 (References [4] and [5]) give, respectively, typical natural activity concentrations for air, foods, drinking waters and, soils and building materials. The detection limit of the test method depends on the amount of the analysed aliquot of the sample material (mass or volume) after concentration, chemical yield, thickness of measurement source and counting time.
The quantity of the sample to be collected and analysed depends on the expected activity of the sample and the detection limit to achieve.