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A rapid method for determining 90Sr in leaching solution from cement solidification of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes

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Abstract

A rapid, low cost method for the determination of 90Sr in leaching solution of cement solidification was developed using triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) Cerenkov counting of 90Y. In this method, 90Y was separated from sample matrix and interfering radionuclides through two co-precipitation steps with hydrous titanium oxide followed by yttrium fluoride (YF3) precipitation. After dissolution of the YF3 precipitate, 90Y was measured by TDCR Cerenkov technique. The performance of the method was examined using a series of the samples spiked with various activities of 90Sr ranging from 1.75 to 32 Bq L−1, along with the procedural blanks. The mean chemical recovery of Y was 86 ± 8%. The measured 90Sr agreed well with the expected 90Sr within an acceptable deviation of ~10%. The minimum detectable concentration was about 0.3 Bq L−1 for 0.2 L sample with a counting time of 5400 s by a Hidex 300 SL TDCR liquid scintillation counter. The overall decontamination coefficients were determined to be >5400 for 60Co, >5300 for 137Cs, >14,500 for 40K and 4500 ± 580 for 210Pb/210Bi, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the China Institute for Radiation Protection (CIRP). The authors sincerely appreciate the help from Weibing Yang on sample acquisition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan, China

    Yonggang Yang, Lijuan Song, Maoyi Luo, Xiongxin Dai & Xiliang Guo

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Suzhou, China

    Yonggang Yang, Maoyi Luo & Xiongxin Dai

Authors
  1. Yonggang Yang
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  2. Lijuan Song
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  3. Maoyi Luo
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  4. Xiongxin Dai
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  5. Xiliang Guo
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Correspondence to Xiongxin Dai.

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Yang, Y., Song, L., Luo, M. et al. A rapid method for determining 90Sr in leaching solution from cement solidification of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 314, 477–482 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-017-5380-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-017-5380-1

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