Applied Radioanalytical Chemistry

Abstract

A radioanalytical chemistry procedure is a series of steps that leads to the measurement of radiation (or sometimes mass), with the goal of unambiguously identifying the radionuclide of interest and determining its amount in a sample. The chemistry component of the analysis begins with the sample collection and handling described in Chapter 5 and ends with the source preparation discussed in Chapter 7. The radiation emitted by the radionuclide is then measured (i.e., the sample is “countedY”), as discussed in Chapter 8. This chapter addresses the practical aspects of the chemical and radiochemical separation processes surveyed in Chapters 3 and 4, which are central to separating interfering radionuclides and solids from a radionuclide in preparation for counting.