Different methods for tritium determination in surface water by LSC

Abstract

The main aim of this paper was to compare different methods of preparing water samples for tritium analysis by ultra-low-level background liquid scintillation counter, Quantulus 1220. Three methods of sample preparation for low-level tritium measurement have been implemented in the Nuclear Physics Laboratory in Novi Sad: electrolytic enrichment, direct method without electrolytic enrichment and sample Oxidizer 307 method. The examined fresh water samples were rainfall collected during 6 months and water from a stream in the Vinca nuclear research center collected over 3 months. The obtained results using these three methods showed satisfying agreement. The appropriate measuring time by LSC for each sample prepared according to different methods has been determined. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.