(210)Bi - from interference to advantage in (210)Pb determination with liquid scintillation counter.

A novel method for determination of (210)Pb activity concentration using a liquid scintillation counter (LSC) in environmental samples is presented. After radiochemical separation of (210)Pb on Eichrom Sr Resin column, the decay product (210)Bi starts to in-grow and interfere with the (210)Pb during measurement with LSC. Instead of eliminating this interference, a novel method utilises (210)Bi in-growth to improve the detection efficiency and subsequently to lower the minimum detectable activity (MDA). This allows for substantial reduction of the MDA compared to conventional methods.

Assessment of measurement result uncertainty in determination of (210)Pb with the focus on matrix composition effect in gamma-ray spectrometry.

Reference materials were used to assess measurement result uncertainty in determination of (210)Pb by gamma-ray spectrometry, liquid scintillation counting, or indirectly by alpha-particle spectrometry, using its daughter (210)Po in radioactive equilibrium. Combined standard uncertainties of (210)Pb massic activities obtained by liquid scintillation counting are in the range 2-12%, depending on matrices and massic activity values. They are in the range 1-3% for the measurement of its daughter (210)Po using alpha-particle spectrometry. Three approaches (direct computation of counting efficiency and efficiency transfer approaches based on the computation and, respectively, experimental determination of the efficiency transfer factors) were applied for the evaluation of (210)Pb using gamma-ray spectrometry. Combined standard uncertainties of gamma-ray spectrometry results were found in the range 2-17%. The effect of matrix composition on self-attenuation was investigated and a detailed assessment of uncertainty components was performed.

A new method for stable lead isotope extraction from seawater.

A new technique for stable lead (Pb) isotope extraction from seawater is established using Toyopearl AF-Chelate 650M(®) resin (Tosoh Bioscience LLC). This new method is advantageous because it is semi-automated and relatively fast; in addition it introduces a relatively low blank by minimizing the volume of chemicals used in the extraction. Subsequent analyses by HR ICP-MS have a good relative external precision (2σ) of 3.5‰ for (206)Pb/(207)Pb, while analyses by MC-ICP-MS have a better relative external precision of 0.6‰. However, Pb sample concentrations limit MC-ICP-MS analyses to (206)Pb, (207)Pb, and (208)Pb. The method was validated by processing the common Pb isotope reference material NIST SRM-981 and several GEOTRACES intercalibration samples, followed by analyses by HR ICP-MS, all of which showed good agreement with previously reported values.

Standardisation of (210)Pb by Cerenkov counting.

A standard of (210)Pb in solution was produced at the National Physical Laboratory by a novel technique combining Cerenkov counting with the established liquid scintillation efficiency tracing technique known as the CIEMAT/NIST method. Coincidence counting was applied in order to validate the measurements and the activity concentrations of the solution determined with each technique are shown to be in agreement. Radiochemical separation of the (210)Pb from its daughters was also necessary and the scheme for the separation is described. After performing this two-stage standardisation, the uncertainty was successfully lowered to 0.66% (k=1). This uncertainty is approximately a factor of four lower than previously achieved at NPL by the classical method of standardisation of radionuclides, i.e. coincidence counting.

The 1999 Lauriston S. Taylor lecture--back to background: natural radiation and radioactivity exposed.

I am profoundly grateful for being chosen as the twenty-third presenter of the Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture, and I share this honor with a list of distinguished scientists, including my husband, who pay tribute to the premier leader in radiation protection. In 1938, Laurie was working for the National Bureau of Standards and chaired the Advisory Committee on X-ray and Radium Protection, a group of 8 persons, who set the pace for all forthcoming radiation standards. NBS had, since 1913, been standardizing essentially all of the radium offered for sale in the U.S., and the problem arose to revise the handbook on proper conditions for handling radium based on the then current knowledge. This resulted in Handbook 23 (1938) superseding the 1934 work. At the time Laurie was a scientist working in the measurements side of radiation and though he contributed much to that field, his name is inseparably linked with guidance in radiation protection. Today we pay tribute for his leadership that he carried out with intelligence, grace, and personal warmth. My talk today deals mostly with measured data for naturally occurring internal radiation emitters and how these data can be used for predictive purposes in estimating the dose and risk from internal body contamination. This stresses the "and Measurements" part of the Council's title. The topic of this year's NCRP Annual Meeting is "Radiation Protection in Medicine: Contemporary Issues." I believe that physicians and State and Federal agencies will have to cope with complaints following various exposure situations resulting from the cleanup of background radionuclides during closure at nuclear facilities, military use of radioactivity, and occurrences of high natural background in some locations. They will find comfort in the knowledge that existing background radiation data can be the basis for predictions of realistic dose and risk in most situations.