Reusability of plastic scintillators used in beta emitter activity determination.
The use of plastic scintillation in the measurement of beta emitter activity is a suitable alternative to classical detection techniques in spite of the high cost and potential memory effects. Reuse of the plastic scintillator beads after a cleanup procedure would overcome both drawbacks. In the present paper, we tested several cleaning solutions (water, HCl 0.1M, commercial soap, EDTA 0.01 M pH=3, citric acid 0.1 M pH=3). The recommended procedure consists of the immersion of the beads in three consecutive citric acid baths for 24 h. If this protocol is followed, plastic beads contaminated with 90Sr/90Y, 14C, and 3H recover their initial condition, and can be used in successive determinations.
Tarancón
A
A
Departament de Química Analítica, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 647, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain. alex.tarancon@apolo.qui.ub.es
García
J F
JF
Rauret
G
G
D001610:Beta Particles; D019343:Citric Acid; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid; D008863:Microspheres; D010969:Plastics; D011850:Radioactive Waste / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012588:Scintillation Counting / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012915:Soaps
D010969:Plastics; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012915:Soaps; D019343:Citric Acid; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid