STUDY ON LIQUID SCINTILLATION TECHNIQUE FOR BIOASSAY OF PLUTONIUM

Simple, rapid and sensitive methods are very important for the bioassa y of plutonium. In this work, modem liquid scintillation technique com bined with selective extraction separation and alpha/beta pulse decay discrimination were studied and evaluated for the bioassay of plutoniu m. After sample decomposition and partial evaporation, cyclohexanone a nd trialkylphosphine oxide (TRPO) were used for the separation of plut onium from matrix. Several different cocktails were tested for liquid scintillation analysis of urine samples. The minimum detectable activi ty (MDA) of this method was estimated to be 0.01 Bq/500ml urine with 1 00 minutes measuring time and 3 sigma confident level.