Sorption-scintillation determination of 90Sr in natural water Original Research Article

A porous composite material is described for determination of radionuclides in aquatic objects of the environment. Possibilities have been studied for the use of this material in monitoring of 90Sr content in natural waters. The composite is a scintillator with through pores, the surface of which is impregnated by a sorbent that is selective with respect to strontium. The structure of the material allows combination of two processes—concentrating the radionuclide and measuring its activity. Studies were carried out using both model systems based on reference radioactive solutions and samples of natural water contaminated with radionuclides. It is shown that the use of the proposed method for analysis of natural water allows determination in water of 4×10−2 Bq l−1 of 90Sr, which is by two orders of magnitude lower than its maximum acceptable concentration.