Compa ison o he pe o mance o he Quan ulus GCT 6220 and he
Quan ulus 1220 o he de e mina ion o
55
Fe and
63
Ni
J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on
a,*
, M. Ga cía-Le´
on
b
, G. Manj´
on
a
a
Uni e sidad de Se illa, Depa amen o de Física Aplicada II, Escuela T´
ecnica Supe io de A qui ec u a, A . Reina Me cedes 2, 41012, Se illa, Spain
b
Uni e sidad de Se illa, Depa amen o de Física A ´
omica, Molecula y Nuclea , Facul ad de Física, A . Reina Me cedes S/n, 41012, Se illa, Spain
ARTICLE INFO
Handling Edi o : Ch is Chan le
ABSTRACT
An expe imen al s udy o he esponse o he newe Quan ulus GTC 6220 liquid scin illa ion spec ome e has
been conduc ed wi h he objec i e o de e mining he pe o mance o his coun e o he de e mina ion o
55
Fe
and
63
Ni in he en i onmen . I s esponse has been compa ed o ha o he well-es ablished Quan ulus 1220. Fo
his, Gua d Compensa ion Technology (GCT) was used o educe he Lowe Limi o De ec ion (LLD in wha
ollows). Two scin illa ion cock ails, Hidex P oSa e HC+and Re i y Op iPhase HiSa e 3 we e compa ed in his
wo k. The pa ame e s employed o his assessmen we e backg ound coun a e, coun ing e iciency, and LLD.
1. In oduc ion
The impo ance o measu ing
55
Fe and
63
Ni ac i i ies is due o hei
p esence in he cons uc ion ma e ials o nuclea powe plan s ha a e
ea ed du ing decommissioning asks. Addi ionally,
55
Fe and
63
Ni a e
p esen in ypical was e p oduced du ing egula ope a ion o nuclea
eac o s such as spen esin, il e s, and e luen wa e (Lee e al., 2023).
55
Fe and
63
Ni a e o med by neu on ac i a ion o hei s able iso-
opes. Typically, neu ons p oduced in he eac o co e a e cap u ed by
he s able Fe and Ni p esen in he conc e e o he biological shield o he
eac o o in he s eel o he eac o componen s.
55
Fe (T
1/2
=2.747 ±
0.008 y) decays by elec on cap u e (B´
e e al., 2006; Casse e, 2024;
Kosse , 2020) and
63
Ni is a weak β emi e wi h E
βmax
=66.977 keV and
T
1/2
=101.2 ±1.5 y (Audi e al., 2003; Coll´
e e al., 2008; Lee, 2005).
The use o liquid scin illa ion spec ome e s is usually conside ed he
be e choice o he measu emen o he ac i i y o he men ioned
adionuclides.
Howe e , liquid scin illa ion spec ome e s mus be ca e ully applied
o he measu emen in he case o low-le el ac i i y, which is usually
ound in he en i onmen .
Indeed,
55
Fe and
63
Ni a e eleased du ing he ope a ion (Mikelic
e al., 2007; Na a e e e al., 1995) and decommissioning (Hou e al.,
2005; Leskinen e al., 2024) o nuclea acili ies. This aises he need o
use a sensi i e echnique capable o measu ing bo h adionuclides o
assess he en i onmen al impac o bo h he ope a ion and decom-
missioning o such acili ies.
Ou i s app oach was o use a Quan ulus 1220 liquid scin illa ion
spec ome e o his pu pose. Nowadays, his sys em is o limi ed
a ailabili y, and o he liquid scin illa ion spec ome e s mus be al e -
na i ely used o
55
Fe and
63
Ni de e mina ions. In his pape , we explo e
he possibili y o employing he newe Quan ulus GCT 6220 o he
measu emen o bo h adionuclides. The pe o mance o he wo LSC
sys ems has been compa ed along wi h wo di e en scin illa ion
cock ails, Hidex P oSa e HC+and Re i y Op iPhase P oSa e 3. The
e ec o quenching on he coun ing e iciency and LLD has been s udied
o bo h scin illa ion cock ails.
2. Expe imen al
The de ails ega ding he measu emen o he ac i i y concen a ions
o
55
Fe and
63
Ni wi h a Quan ulus 1220 ha e al eady been published in
(Ga cía-Le´
on e al., 2023). In his pape , using a simila expe imen al
p ocedu e, i s esponse o bo h adionuclides is compa ed o ha o he
newe Quan ulus GCT 6220 liquid scin illa ion sys em. Thus, se s o
blank ials and ials spiked wi h known ac i i ies o
55
Fe and
63
Ni and
di e en amoun s o a colo quenching agen , Na
2
C O
4
, we e sys em-
a ically p epa ed and measu ed in bo h liquid scin illa ion spec ome-
e s o he wo scin illa ion cock ails included in ou s udy. This
quenching agen was selec ed due o i s wide a ailabili y, ease o dye he
mix u e inside he scin illa ion ial wi h a yellow colou using a small
and con olled amoun o eagen . On he o he hand, i has been used
p e iously by o he au ho s o simila s udies (Zhai e al., 2022). In eal
* Co esponding au ho .
E-mail add ess: [email p o ec ed] (J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on).
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
Radia ion Physics and Chemis y
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/ adphyschem
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j. adphyschem.2025.112704
Recei ed 29 Oc obe 2024; Recei ed in e ised o m 23 Janua y 2025; Accep ed 14 Ma ch 2025
Radia ion Physics and Chemis y 233 (2025) 112704
A ailable online 14 Ma ch 2025
0969-806X/© 2025 The Au ho s. Published by Else ie L d. This is an open access a icle unde he CC BY-NC license (
h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-
nc/4.0/ ).
samples, colo ing is p oduced by he s able Fe ha is added in he
beginning o he adiochemical p ocedu e (Hou e al., 2005) o is
na u ally p esen in he ma ix, while in ou case such e ec is eplica ed
by adding Na
2
C O
4
.
2.1. Vial p epa a ion
Polye hylene ials p o ided by Me idian Bio echnologies L d. we e
used. 17.5 ml o one o he scin illa ion cock ails we e added in o he
ial. Then i was spiked and illed up o 20 ml using 1 M H3PO4 o
55
Fe
ials and 3 M HNO3 o
63
Ni ials. The eason o his choice is ha Fe is
usually dissol ed in 1 M H
3
PO
4
and Ni in 3 M HNO
3
, acco ding o he las
s ep o ou adiochemical p ocedu e o choice (Hou e al., 2005).
As o blank ials, hey we e p epa ed simila ly, bu spike solu ion
was no added. Acid solu ions we e p epa ed employing low- i ium
wa e ob ained by dis illa ion o mine al wa e known o be low in
i ium o educe he i ium signal and u he diminish he backg ound
coun a e. The spiked ials we e measu ed o 15 min in he Quan ulus
1220 and 10 min in he Quan ulus GCT 6220, while he backg ound
measu emen s las ed 10 h each.
2.2. Scin illa ion cock ails
We ha e compa ed he pe o mance o wo scin illa ion cock ails:
Re i y Op iPhase HiSa e 3 and Hidex P oSa e HC+. Re i y Op iPhase
HiSa e 3 is a mul ipu pose scin illa ion cock ail ypically used in ou
labo a o y o LSC measu emen s, while Hidex P oSa e HC+is a newe
Nonylphenol E hoxyla es(NPE)- ee solu ion ha is also mul i-pu pose.
Ou objec i e is o e alua e he di e ence be ween he wo in e ms o
backg ound, e iciency, and LLD.
Acco ding o he REACH egula ion (EU, 2017), NPE-based sub-
s ances equi e au ho iza ion o be manu ac u ed due o en i onmen al
and heal h conce ns, making he sea ch o NPE- ee scin illa ion
cock ails a p io i y in some cases. I is o ou in e es o de e mine
whe he comme cially a ailable solu ions can be compe i i e o he
de e mina ion o
55
Fe and
63
Ni in en i onmen al samples.
2.3. T ace solu ions
T ace solu ions we e ob ained om Labo a oi e E alons d’Ac i i ´
e
(LEA) (F ance).
55
Fe ac i i y concen a ion was (127.662 ±6.383) Bq/g
as o No embe 04, 2020, being he se ial numbe o he sample
797251/3.
63
Ni ac i i y was (209.945 ±7.348) Bq/g as o No embe
04, 2020, wi h a se ial numbe 7767D1/2.
2.4. Quenching agen
Colo quenching was conside ed as i is known o a ec he esponse
o liquid scin illa ion spec ome e s (Ga cía-Le´
on e al., 2023). Amoun s
o Na
2
C O
4
anging om 0 o 100
μ
mol we e added o spiked and blank
ials o examine he backg ound beha io and e iciency depending on
he quenching, spec ome e , and scin illa ion cock ail o choice.
2.5. Liquid scin illa ion spec ome e s
The sui abili y o wo liquid scin illa ion spec ome e s o
55
Fe and
63
Ni de e mina ions has been s udied and compa ed in his wo k:
Quan ulus 1220 and Quan ulus GCT 6220. The i s spec ome e was
analysed in a p e ious wo k (Ga cía-Le´
on e al., 2023), and i s pe o -
mance compa ed o he new Quan ulus GCT 6220 spec ome e .
Fo he de e mina ion o low adioac i i y concen a ions, he
backg ound o he coun e is a key pa ame e . I is a ele an con ibu o
o he Lowe Limi o De ec ion, which can be de ined as ollows (Eq.
(1)) (Cu ie, 1968):
LLD =4.66
B
/
√
ε
[Eq. 1]
Whe e B is he backg ound o he coun e , he measu emen ime and
ε
is he coun ing e iciency de ined as shown in Eq. (2):
ε
=N−B
A[Eq. 2]
Whe e N is he coun a e ob ained o he spiked ial and B is he
backg ound coun a e measu ed wi h a blank. N and B a e exp essed in
coun s pe second (cps). A is he ac i i y added o he spiked ial in Bq.
The echniques used o educe he backg ound by bo h spec ome e s
a e undamen ally di e en . The Quan ulus 1220 is a widely known
liquid scin illa ion spec ome e model ha achie es a low backg ound
by employing adi ional echniques: A hea y shielding con aining a
hick lead block, in e nally lined wi h coppe and cadmium, oge he
wi h wo gua d pho omul iplie ubes (PMTs) in an icoincidence wi h
he wo main pho omul iplie ubes a e used as passi e and ac i e
shielding espec i ely.
The app oach o backg ound educ ion in he Quan ulus GCT 6220 is
inno a i e and di e en om ha in he mo e adi ional Quan ulus
1220. I does no ely on hick passi e shielding o on he use o addi-
ional gua d PMTs. Ins ead, i has a hinne 2 cm lead laye , wi h an
addi ional solid bismu h-ge manium oxide (BGO) scin illa o ha wo ks
as ac i e shielding. The signal emi ed by his scin illa o can be caugh
by he coincidence PMTs. I is dis inguishable om he ligh signal
emi ed by he liquid scin illa o , allowing be e disc imina ion be-
ween ue and backg ound e en s (Pe kin Elme , 2005).
This disc imina ion p ocess is no comple ely e ec i e, making i
necessa y o use he Gua d Compensa ion Technology (GCT), which
wo ks by calcula ing a gua d e iciency ha accoun s o missed back-
g ound e en s. Th ee GCT se ings a e a ailable: O , low, and high.
Acco ding o he manu ac u e , low is be e used o measu e adionu-
clides ha emi adia ion in he 0–112 keV window, while high is ec-
ommended o 0–28 keV (Pe kin Elme , 2005). GCT was se o high o
all he measu emen s p esen ed he e due o he ene gy o he emissions
o ou adionuclides o in e es , pa icula ly o
55
Fe, wi h all emissions
wi hin his ene gy egion due o being low-ene gy X- ays and Auge
Elec ons (B´
e e al., 2006). This choice o GCT se ing was made as an
op imiza ion o educe he backg ound in he ene gy egion o
55
Fe
emissions, which usually has a highe LLD han ha o
63
Ni since he
coun ing e iciency is lowe (Eq. (1)) due o he low ene gy o he a-
dia ion i emi s.”
A GCT calib a ion mus be pe o med be o e he measu emen i GCT
is se o low o high. This is scin illa o -dependen , so wo GCT cali-
b a ion iles we e ob ained and used, one o P oSa e HC +measu e-
men s and he o he o Op iPhase HiSa e 3 measu emen s.
2.6. Quenching de e mina ion
Each spec ome e has a speci ic p o ocol o de e mine he quench-
ing o each sample. Fo he Quan ulus 1220, quenching is quan i ied
wi h a pa ame e called Spec al Quench Pa ame e o he Ex e nal
s anda d o SQP(E). This ac o is he end channel o he Comp on
spec um ob ained wi h he measu emen o he ial o in e es while
exposed o a
152
Eu ex e nal sou ce (Casse e and Ta `
es, 2014)
The Quan ulus GCT 6220 uses a di e en quenching indica o called
T ans o med Spec al Index o Ex e nal s anda d o SIE. I s alue is
calcula ed o each sample pa ing om a simila Comp on spec um o
ha explained p e iously, his ime ob ained wi h a
133
Ba ex e nal
sou ce (Casse e and Ta `
es, 2014; Pe kin Elme , 2005)
2.7. Op imal window de e mina ion
The LLD is e alua ed using he coun ing e iciency and he back-
J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on e al.
Radia ion Physics and Chemis y 233 (2025) 112704
2
g ound o he spec ome e o each adionuclide o in e es . The bes
measu emen condi ions a e ob ained when a highe Figu e o Me i
(FOM) is achie ed. Usually, FOM is de ined as shown in Eq. (3):
FOM =(
ε
⋅V)2
B[Eq. 3]
V being he olume o he sample o he amoun o he sample in
gene al e ms.
Fo ha , he selec ion o a coun ing window in he spec um o
coun a e de e mina ion is a ele an ask. The expe imen al p ocedu e
ollowed o ind he op imum coun ing window has al eady been pub-
lished (Ga cía-Le´
on e al., 2023), whe e a ull accoun o he me hod can
be ound. A summa y is shown in wha ollows.
Two ials, one con aining a solu ion spiked wi h he adioiso ope o
in e es and he o he con aining a solu ion ep esen ing a blank p o-
cedu e, bo h wi h simila quenching indica o s a e selec ed and
measu ed. A e he measu emen o bo h ials, he FOM is calcula ed
using combina ions o s a ing and ending channels o he summing
window in he spec a. Maximizing he FOM allows o he selec ion o
he measu emen window and he LLD may be (Eq. (1)) e alua ed. This
p ocedu e is applied o di e en alues o he quenching indica o , as
his LLD-op imizing window migh depend on quenching.
3. Resul s and discussion
3.1. FOM and op imal window
Using he me hod desc ibed abo e (Ga cía-Le´
on e al., 2023), he
op imal window has been de e mined om he analysis o he spiked
and blank ials spec a, bo h wi h simila quenching ac o . The op imal
windows o
55
Fe and
63
Ni we e selec ed independen ly o di e en
amoun s o quenching agen . An unquenched
55
Fe spec um and i s
co esponding blank spec um a e shown in Fig. 1. Simila ly, a
63
Ni
unquenched spec um and i s co esponding blank spec um a e shown
in Fig. 2. In bo h cases, he op imal window, de e mined by he highes
FOM is ema ked in each igu e.
3.2. Backg ound
Blank spec a ha e been compa ed o bo h spec ome e s: Quan u-
lus 1220 and Quan ulus GCT 6220. Fo he i s , wo blank spec a
co esponding o unquenched ials con aining each o he s udied
scin illa ion cock ails (P oSa e HC+and Op iPhase HiSa e 3) a e
depic ed in Fig. 3. The co esponding esul s o he Quan ulus GCT
6220 a e shown in Fig. 4.
Despi e he ac ha he wo spec ome e s use di e en echniques
o backg ound educ ion, he ela i e esponse be ween he wo scin-
illa o s is simila . Indeed, he blank spec a ob ained wi h he P osa e
HC +scin illa o p esen highe coun a es, esul ing in a g ea e
backg ound in he
55
Fe and
63
Ni egions in bo h spec ome e s. Al e -
na i ely, smoo he backg ound spec a a e ob ained when using he
scin illa ion cock ail Op iPhase HiSa e 3. Backg ound le els (in coun s
pe minu e), co esponding o he ou spec a o Figs. 3 and 4, a e
p esen ed in Table 1.
Acco ding o Table 1, he use o he Quan ulus GCT 6220 in he GCT
high se ing and he scin illa o Op iPhase HiSa e 3 p oduces consis-
en ly lowe backg ounds. The highe backg ound p esen ed by he
P oSa e HC +scin illa o in he Quan ulus 1220 in channels 1–150 in
Fig. 3 is e ec i ely educed by he GCT echnology when compa ed o
Fig. 1. Backg ound and
55
Fe spec a ob ained wi h he Quan ulus GCT 6220
plo ed wi h he op imal window in e ms o LLD. The ep esen ed window
includes channels 2–6. These spec a we e ob ained om ials wi h P o-
Sa e HC+.
Fig. 2. Backg ound and
63
Ni spec a plo ed wi h he op imal window in e ms
o LLD. The ep esen ed windows include channels 2–23. These spec a we e
ob ained om ials wi h Op iPhase HiSa e 3 in he Quan ulus GCT 6220.
Fig. 3. Low ene gy egion o he unquenched backg ound spec a co e-
sponding o bo h scin illa ion cock ails in he Quan ulus 1220 liquid scin illa-
ion spec ome e .
J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on e al.
Radia ion Physics and Chemis y 233 (2025) 112704
3
Fig. 4.
3.3. E iciency and quenching
Once he op imal window has been selec ed o he co esponding
quenching ac o , he e iciency e sus quenching pa ame e empi ical
unc ions may be conside ed. Indeed, he coun ing e iciency dec eases
when quenching is highe , i.e., when he quenching ac o is lowe . In
ha case, spec a a e mo ed o he lowe ene gy egion, and he coun
a e wi hin he op imal window dec eases. E iciency calib a ions we e
ob ained o bo h adionuclides, as i is equi ed o pe o m a mea-
su emen in he case o samples o unknown ac i i y and o calcula e he
LLD. A high e iciency is essen ial o op imize he LLD along wi h
educing he coun ing unce ain y.
Fig. 5 shows he e iciency calib a ions ob ained om he measu e-
men o se e al spiked ials wi h di e en amoun s o quenching agen
o he measu emen o
55
Fe wi h bo h scin illa ion cock ails and spec-
ome e s, while Fig. 6 is simila , bu wi h he esul s o
63
Ni. A double
x-axis is used due o each liquid scin illa ion spec ome e employing a
di e en quench indica ing pa ame e : SQP(E) o Quan ulus 1220 and
SIE o Quan ulus GCT 6220.
In he case o
55
Fe (Fig. 5), all calib a ions ha e he expec ed
beha iou : The coun ing e iciency shows a dec ease wi h quenching.
Conside ing he empi ical unc ion o adjus he expe imen al esul s,
hese unc ions can be adjus ed as a quad a ic polynomial (some imes
linea ) shape. The highes e iciency alues a e ob ained o he com-
bina ion o he Quan ulus GCT 6220 and P osa e HC+, al hough he
e iciency dec eases quickly as he quenching ac o dec eases.
Rega ding
63
Ni (Fig. 6), he e iciency dec eases when quenching is
mos impo an as expec ed. Howe e , o he combina ion o Op iPhase
HiSa e 3 and Quan ulus GCT 6220, he coun ing e iciency does no
appea o be quenching-dependen , a leas wi hin he quenching ac o
ange used in his wo k. The cause behind his migh be he a iable
summing window selec ed o his wo k.
Due o he educ ion in backg ound when in GCT mode, he scin-
illa ion cock ail P osa e HC+in conjunc ion wi h he Quan ulus GCT
6220 p esen s a high coun ing e iciency wi h a compe i i e
backg ound.
Conside ing he coun ing e iciency and i s quenching dependence,
he use o Quan ulus GCT 6220 wi h GCT se o high has p o en o be a
be e choice han he Quan ulus 1220 o he de e mina ion o
55
Fe and
63
Ni, when using any o he wo s udied scin illa o s.
3.4. Lowe Limi o De ec ion
Once he coun ing e iciency and i s quenching dependence as well
as he backg ound ha e been es ablished, he LLD can be e alua ed. This
is pa icula ly ele an in he case o
55
Fe, as he emissions o his
adionuclide a e signi ican ly less ene ge ic han hose o
63
Ni, making
Fig. 4. Unquenched backg ound spec a o bo h scin illa ion cock ails ob ained
in he Quan ulus GCT 6220. No e ha he y-scale is iden ical o ha o Fig. 3 o
ease compa ison.
Table 1
Backg ound coun a e o e e y combina ion o adionuclides, spec ome e s,
and scin illa ion cock ails.
Cock ail and spec ome e
55
Fe BKG cpm
63
Ni BKG cpm
P oSa e – Quan ulus 1220 5.61 ±0.10 6.54 ±0.10
Op iPhase HiSa e 3 – Quan ulus 1220 0.89 ±0.04 1.82 ±0.06
P oSa e – Quan ulus GCT 6220 – GCT high 0.52 ±0.04 1.11 ±0.04
Op iPhase HiSa e 3 – Quan ulus GCT 6220 – GCT
high
0.08 ±0.03 0.38 ±0.03
Fig. 5. E iciency calib a ions o he measu emen o 55Fe in he Quan ulus
1220 and Quan ulus GCT 6220 wi h bo h scin illa ion cock ails o in e es .
Fig. 6. E iciency calib a ions o he measu emen o 63Ni in he Quan ulus
1220 and Quan ulus GCT 6220 wi h bo h scin illa ion cock ails o in e es .
J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on e al.
Radia ion Physics and Chemis y 233 (2025) 112704
4
hem less e icien o coun . Fu he mo e,
55
Fe ac i i y is o en less han
ha o
63
Ni due o i s sho e hal -li e, making decay be ween adio-
nuclide p oduc ion and analysis ele an . Fo his eason, ou aim is o
imp o e he LLD o he de e mina ion o he i s adionuclide while
s ill aking he second in o accoun . Fo ha , selec ing a combina ion o
spec ome e and scin illa o ha yield a low LLD is c ucial o con-
duc ing en i onmen al impac esea ch, as ac i i y concen a ions a e
expec ed o be low. Figs. 7 and 8 show he LLDs ob ained o di e en
le els o quenching o bo h spec ome e s and scin illa ion cock ails.
In bo h cases, he lowe coun ing e iciency when inc easing
quenching le els makes he LLD highe as expec ed acco ding o Eq. (1),
especially o measu emen s made wi h he Quan ulus 1220. This means
ha quenching should be aken ca e o du ing he adiochemical sepa-
a ion o en i onmen al samples by choosing eagen s ha will allow i
o educe i (Hou e al., 2005).
Figs. 7 and 8 suppo he idea ha swi ching o he Quan ulus GCT
backg ound educ ion echnique p oduces a lowe LLD, which is an
imp o emen in he measu emen o en i onmen al samples. Addi-
ionally, he LLD ob ained on his new machine appea s o be less
a ec ed by quenching, al hough he coun ing e iciency is s ill lowe ed
acco ding o Figs. 5 and 6. When he wo scin illa ion cock ails a e
compa ed, he g ea e backg ound ob ained wi h P oSa e HC +appea s
o be pa ially compensa ed o by he highe e iciency acco ding o Eq.
(1), leading o a compa able LLD o bo h cock ails wi h he newe
Quan ulus GCT 6220 in he case o he measu emen o
55
Fe (Fig. 7).
Howe e , his g ea e backg ound is no compensa ed o by he in-
c ease in e iciency in he case o he
63
Ni measu emen (Fig. 8).
4. Conclusions
The in e es in measu ing
55
Fe and
63
Ni has inc eased in he las ew
yea s due o he decommissioning o nuclea powe plan s. Liquid
scin illa ion spec ome y has been conside ed a compe en echnique
o measu ing he ac i i y o bo h adionuclides. The Quan ulus 1220
sys em has been used ex ensi ely o his pu pose, bu ecen ly he
newe liquid scin illa ion spec ome e Quan ulus GCT 6220 has been
in oduced in he ma ke , and ou aim was o ind whe he i is sui able
o he p oblems add essed by he olde , now discon inued Quan ulus
1220. In his wo k, bo h LSC sys ems ha e been s udied and compa ed
o he measu emen o
55
Fe and
63
Ni wi h he use o wo di e en
scin illa o s. The expe imen al de e mina ion o he backg ound and
e iciency was p eceded by an exhaus i e s udy on he op imal window
o measu emen s based on he op imiza ion o FOM. I has been p o en
ha he newe Quan ulus GCT 6220 spec ome e may be compe en in
e ms o LLD and coun ing e iciency, e en hough his new sys em e-
qui es a mo e demanding main enance, as well as a daily sel -
no malizing calib a ion and six-mon h las ing GCT calib a ion. This
s udy will be ollowed by he measu emen o eal samples, which a e
expec ed o p oduce sa is ac o y esul s as he adiochemical p ocedu e
o ou choice has p o en o yield adiologically pu e (Hou, 2018) and
chemically eplicable
55
Fe and
63
Ni ials. This means ha i is expec ed
o p oduce ials ha do no con ain in e e ing adionuclides ha would
o he wise need o be conside ed, while he e ec o he combina ion o
all ypes o quenching in eal samples emains o be assessed.
Two scin illa o s ha e been compa ed in his wo k. The e ec o
using a mul ipu pose NPE- ee scin illa ion cock ail on he measu emen
o
55
Fe and
63
Ni has been assessed h ough backg ound, coun ing e i-
ciency, and LLD and compa ed o he use o a adi ional NPE-based
cock ail. The NPE- ee scin illa ion cock ail o his s udy, Re i y P o-
Sa e HC+, has shown an o e all imp o emen in coun ing e iciency,
wi h he d awback o a g ea e backg ound in he low-ene gy egion
leading o highe LLDs in mos cases. Howe e , he LLD o he de e -
mina ion o
55
Fe may be simila o ha o NPE-based cock ails when he
summing window is limi ed o he lowes channels and he measu emen
is made se ing he GCT o high.
CRediT au ho ship con ibu ion s a emen
J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on: W i ing – o iginal d a , Visualiza ion, So wa e,
Me hodology, In es iga ion, Fo mal analysis, Da a cu a ion, Concep u-
aliza ion. M. Ga cía-Le´
on: W i ing – e iew & edi ing, Supe ision,
Resou ces, P ojec adminis a ion, Funding acquisi ion, Fo mal analysis.
G. Manj´
on: W i ing – e iew & edi ing, Supe ision, Resou ces, P ojec
adminis a ion, Me hodology, Funding acquisi ion, Fo mal analysis,
Concep ualiza ion.
Decla a ion o compe ing in e es
The au ho s decla e he ollowing inancial in e es s/pe sonal e-
la ionships which may be conside ed as po en ial compe ing in e es s:G.
Manjon-Collado epo s inancial suppo was p o ided by Nuclea
Sa e y Council. M. Ga cia-Leon epo s inancial suppo was p o ided
by Go e nmen o Spain. I he e a e o he au ho s, hey decla e ha
hey ha e no known compe ing inancial in e es s o pe sonal e-
la ionships ha could ha e appea ed o in luence he wo k epo ed in
Fig. 7. LLDs in Bq/ ial ob ained o he measu emen o 55Fe o bo h liquid
scin illa ion spec ome e s and scin illa ion cock ails o s udy.
Fig. 8. LLDs in Bq/ ial ob ained o he measu emen o 63Ni o bo h liquid
scin illa ion spec ome e s and scin illa ion cock ails o s udy.
J.L. Ga cía-Le´
on e al.
Radia ion Physics and Chemis y 233 (2025) 112704
5
his pape .
Acknowledgemen s
This wo k has been pa ially unded by he Go e nmen o Spain
h ough he p ojec PID2022-140680NB-I00 o MCIN/AEI/10.13039/
501100011033 and he Consejo de Segu idad Nuclea (Spanish Nuclea
Sa e y Council). The scien i ic suppo o P o . Ra ael Ga cía-Teno io has
been essen ial o his wo k.
Da a a ailabili y
Da a will be made a ailable on eques .
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