| Alpha spectrometry is a versatile analytical technique that can be optimized for a wide variety of applications. When used as a high-resolution technique, it is capable of very precise determinations of alpha particle intensities, and was used to determine the alpha branching ratio for 226Ra. The new 226Ra alpha emission probabilities for Palpha (0) and Palpha(186) are (93.84 +/- 0.11)% and (6.16 +/- 0.03)%, respectively. This also gives a new value for Palpha (186) of (3.64 +/- 0.04)%, which is in good agreement with direct determinations of the gamma ray intensity of 226Ra mass standards. It is also possible to determine 240Pu/239Pu isotopic ratios by using a combination of high-resolution alpha spectrometry and spectral deconvolution software. This method was used to determine the 240Pu/239Pu isotopic ratio in the tissue of a worker occupationally exposed to Pu, which was found to be 0.0583 +/- 0.0013. This value is in good agreement with the known isotopic ratio of 0.06 +/- 0.006 for the weapons grade Pu the worker was handling. When low detection limits for alpha emitters is required, then low-resolution alpha spectrometry is the method of choice. The in vitro dissolution rates of 238U, 230Th, and 231Pa were determined for eight soils contaminated from uranium ore processing activities. The amount of each radionuclide that had dissolved was determined at nine intervals over a 100 day dissolution experiment. These dissolution rates were then used to assign a solubility class to each radionuclide in each soil according to ICRP 30 guidelines. Alpha spectrometry was combined with neutron activation analysis and gamma spectrometry techniques to determine the in vitro dissolution rates of 232Th and its progeny, 228Ra and 228Th from ThO2. This experiment showed that the age of the ThO2 will determine the dissolution rate of 232Th, and that the dissolution characteristics of 228Ra and 228Th are distinctly different from those of 232 Th. |
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