Low-level counting: Past—Present—Future

Low-level counting deals today with a large variety of radioisotopes in different fields, measured with different types of detectors. A short overview is given with the aim of describing its present state, that is frequently limited by insufficient studies in the past, and discussing briefly future possibilities. The main emphasis is on low-level beta and gamma systems and the background per sensitive mass (cmp g−1) of different types of detectors is compared.