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Rapid screening technique for gross α and gross β estimations in aqueous samples during radiation emergency

  • Sonali Paresh Deogaonkar-Bhade ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Rajesh Sankhla and Pramilla D. Sawant
Published/Copyright: April 10, 2024

Abstract

A portable liquid scintillation counting system has been used as a rapid screening tool for radiological characterization and in situ measurements of aqueous samples. The methodology was standardized based on the Pulse Length Index for gross α and gross β activity determinations in aqueous solutions by means of a portable Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC). This single compact PMT system yielded precise results for aqueous test samples, which were validated against a conventional HIDEX 300SL LSC system. The sensitivity of the portable LSC for gross measurements was investigated thoroughly for various combinations of scintillation cocktails and sample proportions, and found to be well below the Operational Intervention Levels (OILs) recommended by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) during radiation emergency scenarios. Gross α- and β-activity measurements by means of the portable LSC system have shown this procedure to be effective for preliminary screening and evaluating the total radioactivity in aqueous samples during such radiation emergencies.


Corresponding author: Sonali Paresh Deogaonkar-Bhade, Radiation Safety Systems Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India, E-mail:

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Author contributions: Sonali P.D.Bhade: Perfomed the mesaurements, processed the experimental data, drafted the manuscript. Rajesh sankhla: Supervised the work, helped in verifying the results. Dr. Pramilla D. Sawant: Planned and conceptualized the research, Interpreted the data, reviewed the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

  3. Competing interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  4. Research funding: None declared.

  5. Data availability: All relevant data is included in the paper and the supporting data will be available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Received: 2023-08-09
Accepted: 2024-03-04
Published Online: 2024-04-10
Published in Print: 2024-08-27

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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