Scintillation counting technetium

Liquid scintillation counting has been used frequently for the measurement of environmental technetium. The specimens to be analyzed are treated by chemical procedures to obtain a technetium-bearing sample solution, which is mixed with a cocktail for scintillation counting. A low background scintillation counter with an anticoincidence system can be used for high precision measurements at a detection limit of 1-25 mBq. 

In a procedure reported by Jordan [25], the soil extract is enriched on an anion exchange column, ashed, fused with sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and then "technetium is determined by conventional liquid scintillation counting. 

The importance of technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals stimulated numerous studies related to the basic chemistry of long-lived technetium Tc. A great number of technetium complexes reviewed in the preceding sections has been synthesized and characterized. Exact technetium analyses in these compounds have been needed to confirm their composition. Besides the traditional determinations of Tc by conductometric titrations of pertechnetate or by liquid scintillation counting, neutron activation of Tc has also been... 

The utility of bead injection SIA for separation and preconcentration has been well demonstrated by the selective determination of strontium-90, americium-241, and technetium-99 along with various isotopes of plutonium and curium whose radionuclide activity was determined in nuclear waste samples using liquid scintillation counting. 

C1539. (2002). Standard test method for determination of technetium-99 in uranium hexafluoride by liquid scintillation counting. West Conshohocken, PA ASTM. 

Historically, measurement of technetium-99 in environmental matrices has been carried out by radiometric methods such as liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and gas flow proportional counting (GFPC). ln order to successfiilly quantify " Tc by these techniques, analytical methods involve protracted purification schemes to isolate Tc from other beta emitters. Additionally, the measurement of environmental levels of Tc requires long count times. 

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