Determining the natural radium isotopes in waters by gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector

IF 2.3 3区工程技术 Q1 NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Annals of Nuclear Energy Pub Date : 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111814

Marta Lilian Victorino Patricio, Daniel Marcos Bonotto

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper describes a novel technique for measuring the activity concentration of the four natural radium isotopes (²²⁶Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²³Ra, and ²²⁸Ra) in water samples using gamma ray spectrometry with a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). A ²²⁶Ra standard solution with an activity concentration of 74 Bq/L was prepared, and seven dilutions (ranging from 74 Bq/L to 0.074 Bq/L) were performed to create a calibration curve free of matrix effects. Theoretical curves for the other radium isotopes were derived from this calibration curve by employing the detector’s efficiency. Additionally, isotopic separation was performed using the natural proportions of ²³⁸U and ²³⁵U to determine the specific activity of ²²⁶Ra and ²²³Ra, ensuring more precise and reliable activity results. The developed analytical protocol was applied to quantify radium activity concentration in groundwater samples from different aquifer systems across three Brazilian states.

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用HPGe探测器用伽马射线光谱法测定水中天然镭同位素

本文介绍了一种利用高纯度锗探测器（HPGe）的伽马射线能谱法测量水样中四种天然镭同位素（226Ra、224Ra、223Ra和228Ra）活度浓度的新技术。制备活度浓度为74 Bq/L的226Ra标准溶液，在74 Bq/L至0.074 Bq/L范围内进行7次稀释，建立无基质效应的校准曲线。利用探测器的效率，推导出了其他镭同位素的理论曲线。此外，利用238U和235U的自然比例进行同位素分离，以确定226Ra和223Ra的比活度，确保更精确和可靠的活度结果。开发的分析方案被用于量化来自巴西三个州不同含水层系统的地下水样品中的镭活度浓度。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Annals of Nuclear Energy 工程技术-核科学技术

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

21.10%

发文量

632

审稿时长

7.3 months

期刊介绍： Annals of Nuclear Energy provides an international medium for the communication of original research, ideas and developments in all areas of the field of nuclear energy science and technology. Its scope embraces nuclear fuel reserves, fuel cycles and cost, materials, processing, system and component technology (fission only), design and optimization, direct conversion of nuclear energy sources, environmental control, reactor physics, heat transfer and fluid dynamics, structural analysis, fuel management, future developments, nuclear fuel and safety, nuclear aerosol, neutron physics, computer technology (both software and hardware), risk assessment, radioactive waste disposal and reactor thermal hydraulics. Papers submitted to Annals need to demonstrate a clear link to nuclear power generation/nuclear engineering. Papers which deal with pure nuclear physics, pure health physics, imaging, or attenuation and shielding properties of concretes and various geological materials are not within the scope of the journal. Also, papers that deal with policy or economics are not within the scope of the journal.