Determination of beta emitters (90Sr, 14C and 3H) in routine measurements using plastic scintillation beads

Plastic scintillation has recently been shown to be a powerful alternative to liquid scintillation and Cherenkov techniques in radionuclide determination due to the good values obtained for the measurement parameters and the low amount of wastes generated. The present study evaluated the capability of plastic scintillation beads and polyethylene vials for routine measurements of beta emitters ( 90Sr, 14C, 3H). s show that high- and medium-energetic beta emitters can be quantified with relative errors less than 5% in low-activity aqueous samples, whereas low-energetic beta emitters can only be quantified in medium-activity samples.