Non-Destructive Methods of 90sr Measurement

A new technique for 90 Sr activity measurement in fuel-containing materials with no radiochemical methods was developed.90 Sr content was measured in fuel fragments of various types.Probability of Kx-radiation formation during the radioactive decay with the emission of 90 Sr and 90 Y electrons was measured.A comparison to radiochemical research data was made.A non-radiochemical technique of simultaneous measurements of 90 Sr and 137 Cs activity in environmental samples based on spectrometric measurement of the electrons accompanying the isotope decay was proposed for measurements in situ (directly in places of radioactive contamination) and in vitro (in small living objects).Taking into account the contribution of 40 K electrons to the total activity of test samples, up to 15-20% improvement of the measurement accuracy for living beings is allowed, with ratio A ( 137 Cs)/A( 90 Sr) being between 2 and 100.Also, the improvement of up to 10-15% for soil samples with changing the sample's activity by four orders of magnitude is observed.The results of spectrometric measurements were confirmed by traditional radiochemical research.The proposed methods allow us to execute prompt mass measurements of environment objects and small living objects directly in the places of radiation accidents.This is very important for the tasks of radioecological monitoring.