Detection capability of environmental alpha spectrometry: I. Precision and accuracy
摘要
A comprehensive study was performed to assess the detection capability of alpha spectrometry of water samples spiked with 239Pu and U-nat (234U, 235U, 238U) isotopes at activities below 100 mBq. Isotope dilution with the 236Pu and 232U tracers and radiochemical separations preceded alpha spectrometry using silicon detectors. The results were subjected to a variety of quantitative criteria and statistical significance tests to evaluate precision and accuracy of the results. State-of-the-art alpha spectrometry passed most of these tests as a robust and reliable radioanalytical technique for Pu and U determinations.