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A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR THE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF ALPHA EMITTERS RELEASED DURING A RADIOLOGICAL INCIDENT.
Citation:
A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR THE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF ALPHA EMITTERS RELEASED DURING A RADIOLOGICAL INCIDENT. HEALTH PHYSICS. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 91(4), (2006).
Impact/Purpose:
Currently there are no standard radioanalytical methods applicable to the initial phase of a radiological emergency, for the early identification and quantification of alpha emitting radionuclides. This knowledge would help to provide guidance for the development of sampling plans for use during emergency response operations.
Description:
Currently there are no standard radioanalytical methods applicable to the initial phase of a radiological emergency, for the early identification and quantification of alpha emitting radionuclides. Of particular interest are determinations of the presence and concentration of isotopic plutonium, uranium, and americium. The standard methodologies used by the low-level radiation laboratories are difficult and labor-intensive, involving wet chemical elemental separations. Commercial and government laboratory personnel throughout the world are investigating rapid methods for analyzing plume-borne alpha emitters; in air samples the major interferences come from radon and its progeny. A novel approach using everyday packaging tape to sample surface deposition was tested in May 2003, during the TOPOFF II exercise in Seattle, Washington. The objective was to use the tape to lift recently deposited material from solid surfaces such as automobiles and roads, then to use these deposition samples for qualitative and semi-quantitative laboratory analyses. These analyses sought to identify alpha and gamma emitters, and to determine their relative concentrations and estimate their activity per unit area. For TOPOFF II, the EPA's Laboratory in Las Vegas prepared spiked samples by treating the tape's adhesive side with 137Cs, 241Am, 238Pu, and 239Pu. Once the Washington State Department of Health's Radiation Laboratory in Seattle received these samples, they quickly identified all four contaminants with sequential alpha and gamma-ray spectroscopy techniques, without chemical separations. The tools used were basic but provided very good data for the major alpha and gamma emitting dose contributors for decision makers and incident controllers.
