(210)Bi - from interference to advantage in (210)Pb determination with liquid scintillation counter

A review of 210Pb and 210Po in moss

Among environment contaminants, 210Pb and 210Po have gained significant research attention due to their radioactive toxicity. Moss, with its exceptional adsorption capability for these radionuclides, serves as an indicator for environmental 210Pb and 210Po pollution. The paper reviews a total of 138 articles, summarizing the common methods and analytical results of 210Pb and 210Po research in moss. It elucidates the accumulation characteristics of 210Pb and 210Po in moss, discusses current research challenges, potential solutions, and future prospects in this field. Existing literature indicates limitations in common measurement techniques for 210Pb and 210Po in moss, characterized by high detection limits or lengthy sample processing. The concentration of 210Pb and 210Po within moss display substantial variations across different regions worldwide, ranging from Collapse

Key Words

• (210)Pb
• (210)Po
• Environmental contamination
• Measurement method
• Moss bioindication

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MESH Headings

• Lead Radioisotopes/analysis
• Polonium/analysis
• Bryophyta/chemistry
• Radiation Monitoring/methods

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Grants Collapse

Affiliation(s)

Chenlu Ding College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, PR China
Qiang Yang College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, PR China; Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China.
Xue Zhao Chongqing Radiation Environment Supervision and Management Station, Chongqing, 400015, PR China
Lipeng Xu Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China
Hui Tang College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, PR China; Sichuan Management and Monitoring Center Station of Radioactive Environment, Chengdu, 611139, PR China
Zhengshang Liu College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, PR China
Juan Zhai College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, PR China
Qingxian Zhang College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, PR China

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Recent progresses in analytical method development for 210Pb in environmental and biological samples

As a decay product of uranium series, 210Pb spreads widely in the nature and imposes strong radiological and chemical toxicity. It is vital to establish reliable and efficient radioanalytical methods for 210Pb determination to support environment and food radioactivity monitoring programs. This article critically reviews analytical methods developed for determining 210Pb in environmental and biological samples, especially new development in recent years. Techniques applied throughout different analytical steps including sample pretreatment, separation, purification, and detection are summarized and their pros and cons are discussed to provide a holistic overview for 210Pb environmental and biological assay.

Direct analysis of 210Pb in drinking water by liquid scintillation counting after sulfate precipitation

Lead-210 in drinking water can be rapidly determined by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) using a new sulfate precipitation method. In this method, ²¹⁰Pb was first preconcentrated from water using iron hydroxide co-precipitation followed by sulfate precipitation to decontaminate most of non-alkaline earth elements. The Pb in the sulfate precipitate was then dissolved in strong alkaline solution, while alkaline earth elements (Sr, Ba, Ra) were separated as the sulfate/carbonate precipitate. To optimize the method, the influences of different acids and sulfate concentration on sulfate precipitation as well as the effects of pH, the added SO₄^2-/CO₃^2- concentrations and the Sr/Ba contents in the sulfate precipitate on the dissolution of PbSO₄ were studied. In addition, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis was applied for rapid determination of the chemical recovery and triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) quench correction curve for counting of ²¹⁰Pb by LSC was established. The method was validated using 5 L of tap water samples and minimum detectable activity concentration (MDC) of ∼0.016 Bq·L^-1 was achieved, which is sufficiently sensitive to meet the guidance level of 0.1 Bq·L^-1 for ²¹⁰Pb in drinking water as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Effects of sodium salicylate on the determination of Lead-210/Bismuth-210 by Cerenkov counting

Due to the nature of Cerenkov radiation and instrumental limitations, detection efficiencies of ²¹⁰Bi by Cerenkov counting are generally quite low (~15%). Sodium salicylate, acting as a wavelength shifter, has been used to improve the detection efficiency of Cerenkov photons. In this study, we found that the addition of sodium salicylate could significantly increase the counting efficiencies of ²¹⁰Pb/²¹⁰Bi in aqueous samples. Meanwhile, a sharp increase of the counting efficiency for the alphas from ²¹⁰Po was also observed with the addition of high concentration of sodium salicylate, implying that scintillation light rather than Cerenkov photons from the alphas has been produced. Detailed studies about the effects of sodium salicylate on the counting of ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Bi and ²¹⁰Po were conducted. At low concentration (< 0.5 mg g^-1) of sodium salicylate, only a small increase in Cerenkov counting efficiency for ²¹⁰Bi by the wavelength-shifting effect could be observed. Meanwhile, the counting efficiency for ²¹⁰Bi at high concentration (> 1 mg g^-1) of sodium salicylate would significantly increase due to the scintillation effect.