Rapid screening of 90Sr activity in water and milk samples using Cherenkov radiation

A method for screening 90Sr in milk samples is proposed. This method is based on a liquid scintillation technique taking advantage of Cherenkov radiation, which is produced in a liquid medium and then detected by the photomultipliers of a Liquid Scintillation Counter (LSC). Twenty millilitres of water and milk samples spiked with various concentrations of 90Sr/90Y in equilibrium were added in plastic vials and then were measured with an LSC (TriCarb 3170 TR/SL). The derived efficiencies were 49% for water samples and 14% for milk samples. The detection limit was 470 mBq L−1 90Sr for water, without any pretreatment. Milk contains potassium, which also produces Cherenkov radiation due to the presence of 40K. For this reason, the interference of 40K in the measurements of 90Sr in milk samples was also investigated. The detection limit for milk was 1.7 Bq L−1 90Sr.