Selectivity analysis of 99Tc determination by LSC in the field of nuclear decommissioning

Vol.:(0123456789)
1 3
Jou nal o Radioanaly ical and Nuclea Chemis y
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s10967-022-08317-x
Selec i i y analysis o 99Tc de e mina ion byLSC in he ield o nuclea
decommissioning
Sa oaRozas1 · JulenLópez1· RaquelIdoe a1· Ma ga i aHe anz1
Recei ed: 1 Decembe 2021 / Accep ed: 7 Ap il 2022
© The Au ho (s) 2022
Abs ac
In his wo k, wo Tc adiochemical isola ion me hods—a con en ional me hod by T iskem TEVA® esin and a apid me hod
by Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk—a e compa ed in he ield o nuclea decommissioning and 99Tc assessmen . The con en ional
me hod esul s mo e selec i e han he apid one, being able o emo e almos 100% o he main adiological in e e e s wi h
he excep ion o he 90Y; howe e , he apid me hod ob ains highe chemical yields (97% s. 80%) and sligh ly lowe de ec ion
limi s (0.025Bq s. 0.030Bq) han he con en ional. Bo h me hods a e simila wi h ega ds o equipmen and eagen cos s.
Keywo ds 99Tc de e mina ion· Nuclea decommissioning· T iskem TEVA® esin· Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk· Selec i i y
analysis· Me hod compa ison
In oduc ion
99Tc is one o he mos signi ican he mal neu on ission
p oduc s o 235U in nuclea eac o s, wi h ela i ely high
ission yield (6.1%) [1], and a hal -li e o 2.115 × 105 yea s
[2]. I is one o he usual iso opes in he adionuclide in en-
o y o nuclea powe plan s (NPPs) [3–6] and disposal o
nuclea was es; and he e o e, mus be conside ed in bo h he
adiological cha ac e iza ion and he en i onmen al impac
o he nuclea ins alla ions unde decommissioning and dis-
man ling (D&D) p ocesses.
Ou o D&D p ocesses, and due o i s excellen p ope -
ies as a low empe a u e supe conduc o and an i-co osi e
ma e ial, 99Tc is some imes also p esen in ca bon s eel [7].
In he en i onmen , i occu s na u ally in small quan i ies
in he Ea h’s c us [7] and i can be eleased om nuclea
weapon es s and nuclea uel cycle ope a ions, especially
hose om nuclea eac o s and uel ep ocessing plan s [1].
Indeed, 99Tc is mobile and soluble in oxygen condi ions,
and hence, i is p esen a ace le el in solid o liquid o m
in di e en en i onmen al compa men s, such as seawa-
e , sedimen s, soil, ege a ion and aqua ic and e es ial
o ganisms [1, 7]. Among i s possible chemical o ms
(TcO4
−, TcO2+, TcO(OH)+, TcO(OH)2 and TcO(OH)3
−), he
pe echne a e ion (TcO4
−) is he mos widesp ead in na u e,
due o i s high mobili y be ween en i onmen al componen s
[8]. I is also a semi ola ile elemen [1].
99Tc is a medium-ene gy be a emi e (maximum ene gy
o 293.8keV, a e age ene gy o 94.6keV) [2], so i s meas-
u emen is commonly ca ied ou by liquid scin illa ion
coun ing (LSC), a e sample ea men and Tc adiochemi-
cal isola ion. Measu emen is also possible by induc i ely
coupled plasma mass spec ome y (ICP-MS), p o iding
de ec ion limi s o wo o de s o magni ude lowe han LSC
(0.017Bq o wo coun ing hou s), bu is mo e expensi e
and he e o e, less commonly-used o his pu pose [1].
The sample ea men usually equi es di ec e apo a-
ion o wa e , ashing o o ganic ma e o lixi ia ion o acid
diges ion o solid samples; and is ca ied ou unde speci ic
condi ions o a oid losses o ola ile Tc [1].
The Tc adiochemical isola ion implies di e en possi-
ble chemical echniques like ion exchange, liquid ex ac-
ion, selec i e p ecipi a ion, ex ac ion ch oma og aphy o
combus ion [1]. As he e is no s able iso ope o Tc o use as
a ca ie , chemical yield o he abo emen ioned Tc adio-
chemical isola ion me hods can be assessed using di e en
ace s: s able henium (Re), elec on cap u e 95mTc and
gamma-emi ing 99mTc [1].
Howe e , i should be conside ed ha Re and Tc
could exhibi di e en chemical beha iou s unde ce ain
* Sa oa Rozas
[email p o ec ed]
1 Depa men o Ene gy Enginee ing, Facul y o Enginee ing
inBilbao, Uni e si y o  heBasque Coun y UPV/EHU,
Plaza Ingenie o To es Que edo 1, 48013Bilbao, Spain
Jou nal o Radioanaly ical and Nuclea Chemis y
1 3
condi ions [1] and he e o e Re will no always simula e
he beha iou o Tc o be able o assess he chemical yield
o he la e . Al hough 95mTc and 99Tc a e measu ed by
LSC, 95mTc is a sho -li ed adionuclide, wi h a hal -li e o
61 days [9] and 99mTc equi es a 99Mo-99mTc gene a o and
gamma spec ome y, so i s use is complex and expensi e.
As a esul , all hese possible ace s ha e some cons ain s
o labo a o y use on a egula basis.
Among all hese possibili ies, in he labo a o y o low
ac i i y measu emen s (LMBA) o he Uni e si y o he
Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), he me hod applied o he
99Tc de e mina ion in liquid and solid samples en ails
sample ea men by di ec e apo a ion o acid diges ion
using a mic owa e o en, and Tc adiochemical isola ion
by ion exchange using T iskem TEVA® esin. To ob ain
he o e all yield ( he p oduc o chemical yield and de ec-
ion e iciency) we ha e decided o p epa e wo samples in
pa allel, one o hem aced by 99Tc, which can be applied
o he o he sample. I should be highligh ed ha cu en ly
his me hod is acc edi ed by ENAC, he Spanish Na ional
Acc edi a ion Body, unde ISO 17025 [10].
Thus, in ou ou ine en i onmen al moni o ing, adio-
chemical isola ion by ion exchange on a TEVA®column
p o ides pu e 99Tc spec a and high chemical yields.
Howe e , in he ield o decommissioning o he p oblems
a ise, no only because some o he samples a e chemically
highly complex, leading o low chemical yields, bu also
because some o he samples may con ain high ac i i ies
o o he adionuclides po en ially capable o in e e ing
wi h 99Tc du ing i s measu emen .
Fo hese easons, in his wo k an al e na i e Tc adi-
ochemical isola ion by using Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk is
s udied and compa ed wi h he con en ional one by using
TEVA® esin, in e ms o selec i i y, chemical yield,
de ec ion limi and ime and inancial cos s.
Rapid de e mina ion o 99Tc using Empo e™ Tc Rad
Disks (Me hod RS551) [11] in ol es Tc adiochemical iso-
la ion wi h no p io p epa a ion o he sample o he disk
and measu emen by a be a de ec o : a gas p opo ional
coun e , a e d ying and placing he loaded disk in o a
planche , o a liquid scin illa o spec ome e , a e plac-
ing he we disk in o a ial. The e o e, i is a me hod wi h
g ea po en ial o compa e wi h he con en ional me hod in
e ms o ime, inancial cos s, and en i onmen al impac .
In o de o ca y ou his compa ison, syn he ic sam-
ples, aced by 99Tc, ha e been p epa ed and analysed in
he LMBA wi h a liquid scin illa ion spec ome e by ol-
lowing bo h me hods in o de o compa e he chemical
yields, de ec ion limi s as well as ime and cos s. Wi h he
aim o compa ing he selec i i y o bo h me hods, samples
con aining di e en 99Tc adiological in e e e s ha e also
been p epa ed and hen analysed in he LMBA.
Expe imen al
Ma e ial
In he analyses ca ied ou , all he chemical eagen s used
ha e been o p o-analy ical g ade and he ce i ied e e -
ence ma e ials (CRM) used ha e been p o ided by he
Na ional Ins i u e o S anda ds and Technology (NIST,
USA), he Na ional Physical Labo a o y (NPL, UK) and
he Iso ope P oduc s Labo a o y (IPL, USA).
In his s udy, o measu e 99Tc, among he di e en liq-
uid scin illa ion spec ome e s a he LMBA, an ul a-low
backg ound liquid scin illa ion spec ome e 1220 QUAN-
TULUS™, om Pe kinElme , has been used, which is able
o de ec low-, medium- and high-ene gy be a emi e s as
well as alpha emi e s.
The liquid scin illa ion cock ail (Ul ima Gold LLT) and
20mL polye hylene ials o LSC ha e been pu chased
om Pe kinElme , TEVA® esin om T iskem In e na-
ional and Empo e™ Tc Rad Disks om CDS Analy ical.
Me hods
Fi s ly, a e iew on he adionuclides p esen in ligh
wa e eac o (LWR) and p essu ized hea y wa e eac-
o (PHWR) plan s [3–6], and he e o e, suscep ible o be
measu ed in samples coming om D&D p ocesses, has
been ca ied ou . These ypes o eac o s ha e been chosen
as hey a e p esen ly he mos common wo ldwide [12,
13].
Among he adionuclides ob ained om his e iew, we
ha e selec ed hose adionuclides ha a e likely o in e -
e e adiologically in he spec um o 99Tc ob ained by
LSC, when analysing D&D samples. In o de o expe i-
men ally analyse hese in e e e s, no all hese adionu-
clides ha e been conside ed, bu only hose ha mee he
ollowing h ee condi ions: hei expec ed ac i i y should
be almos > 0.1 99Tc ac i i y; hei decay mode would
be be a o elec on cap u e; and hei hal -li e would be
g ea e han 1.0 yea (as decommissioning o NPPs akes,
on a e age, om 15 o 60 yea s o be comple ed [3, 13]).
Sho -li ed adionuclides ha e only been conside ed when
being in secula equilib ium wi h hei adioac i e pa en .
A e es ablishing his lis o in e e e s, syn he ic sam-
ples con aining hese adionuclides ha e been p epa ed in
o de o s udy he le el and impac o hese adiological
in e e ences in he p esence o 99Tc. In his ega d, di e -
en 100mL o 0.2M HCl solu ions ha e been p epa ed and
each has been spiked wi h a ound 30Bq o each in e e e ,
an ac i i y ha is 1000 imes g ea e han he expec ed
99Tc de ec ion limi (0.030Bq). In addi ion, a simila
Jou nal o Radioanaly ical and Nuclea Chemis y
1 3
solu ion aced wi h 99Tc has been p epa ed. The selec-
ion o HCl o a oid he a achmen o Tc o he glass wall
o a olume ic lask has been ca ied ou conside ing he
i ness o bo h s udied Tc ex ac ion ma e ials: T iskem
TEVA® esin [14] and Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk [11].
Hal o each dissolu ion has been passed h ough a col-
umn con aining TEVA® esin, being inally added in o a
20mL polye hylene ial, oge he wi h 10mL o Ul ima
Gold LLT scin illa ion cock ail om Pe kinElme , o LSC
coun ing.
The o he hal o each dissolu ion has been il e ed using
an Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk, a a low a e o 5–10mL min−1.
This alue is a ound 10 imes lowe han he nominal low
a e o 50mL min−1 [11]. Howe e , acco ding o D. M.
Beals e al. [15], he bes 99Tc e en ion (almos 100%) is
achie ed wi h low a es below 20mL min−1. Finally, he
we disk has been placed in o a 20mL polye hylene ial,
acco ding o Fons-Cas ells e al. [16], and mixed wi h 20mL
o Ul ima Gold LLT o LSC measu emen .
To conclude he p ocess, ials ha e been s o ed o 6h in
he da k inside an ul a-low backg ound liquid scin illa ion
spec ome e 1220 QUANTULUS™ and measu ed by using
low and high-ene gy measu ing p o ocols (3H and 14C), o
compa e which is he mos sui able o hese ypes o meas-
u emen s when conside ing sensi i i y and igu es o me i
(e iciency2/backg ound). In he low-ene gy p o ocol, 99Tc
spec um appea s in he window de ined be ween channels
25 and 600, whe eas in he high-ene gy p o ocol, 99Tc win-
dow is de ined be ween channels 150 and 600.
Blanks and calib a ion samples a e needed o bo h me h-
ods. Blanks ha e been p epa ed in he same way as samples;
and calib a ion sou ces o 99Tc and in e e e s, when nec-
essa y, ha e been p epa ed by spiking he esin and disks
wi h a known amoun o ac i i y o 99Tc and in e e e s om
ce i ied e e ence ma e ials (CRM).
Tes samples ha e been measu ed ou inely o 6h and
blank samples o 12h.
F om he analysis o each sample aced wi h 99Tc, ol-
lowing bo h he con en ional and apid me hods, alues o
hei de ec ion limi s, ollowing he ISO s anda ds 11929
[17], and chemical yields a e ob ained.
F om he analysis o he samples aced wi h he in e e -
e s ollowing bo h con en ional and apid me hods, a sensi-
i i y s udy has been ca ied ou .
The in e e ence in 99Tc spec um o each possible adio-
nuclide in e e e (i), Ii (%), has been calcula ed acco ding
o he ollowing Eq.(1):
whe e: i is he g oss coun a e om adionuclide i in 99Tc
window, in s−1; 0i is he co esponding backg ound coun
a e, in his window, in s−1; Ai is he ac i i y o he adionu-
clide i in he hal o each dissolu ion, in Bq; Ɛi is he de ec-
ion e iciency o adionuclide i in 99Tc window.
To comple e he s udy, an analysis o he inancial cos s o
each me hod has been ca ied ou . In he analysis, only cos s
o equipmen and eagen s used a he ime o he s udy ha e
been aken in o accoun . In he equipmen , he ollowing a e
conside ed: he use o s anda d labo a o y equipmen , poly-
e hylene ials and he liquid scin illa ion spec ome e , wi h
i s amo isa ion. Among he eagen s used: acids, T iskem
TEVA® esin o Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk, Ul ima Gold LLT
and 99Tc CRM. The analysis has been pe o med o he
Spanish ma ke and he esul s ha e been no malised o 100
o gene alisa ion.
Resul s anddiscussion
Acco ding o he c i e ia desc ibed in he p e ious sec ion
and o co e a wide ange o ene gy, om 5.8988keV (55Fe)
o 2823.1keV (60Co) [2], he ollowing adiological in e e -
e s in 99Tc spec um ha e been s udied: 3H, 55Fe, 60Co, 63Ni,
90S /90Y, 137Cs and 241Pu.
Using he exis ing 14C p o ocol o measu emen in he
1220 QUANTULUS™ spec ome e , low-ene gy signals a e
neglec ed in he spec um. The e o e, adionuclides wi h
emissions o less ene gy han 66.980keV (3H, 55Fe and
241Pu) do no in e e e in 99Tc spec um, whe e he spec um
window is de ined be ween channels 150 and 600. Resul s
o he es s ca ied ou using his p o ocol a e summa ised
in he ollowing Table1.
(1)
I
i=
[(
i− 0i
)/(
Ai⋅𝜀i
)]
⋅
100
Table 1 In e e ences ob ained
in 99Tc spec um (%) caused by
60Co, 63Ni, 90S /90Y and 137Cs
using TEVA® esin, Tc Rad
Disk and 14C p o ocol [2]
Da a a e p o ided wi h i s s anda d de ia ion
No means ha he in e e ence is below 0.10%
60Co 63Ni 90S 90Y137Cs
Decay mode β−β−β−β−β−
A e age ene gy (keV) 95.6 17.434 196 926.7 188
Hal -li e (y) 5.27 98.7 28.8 2.67 d 30.1
In e e ence using TEVA esin (%) No No No 63.42 ± 1.33 No
In e e ence using Tc Rad Disk (%) 0.42 ± 0.01 No 0.14 ± 0.01 0.14 ± 0.01 0.16 ± 0.01
Jou nal o Radioanaly ical and Nuclea Chemis y
1 3
As obse ed in Table1, only 90Y is e ained in he esin,
whe eas 60Co, 90S /90Y and 137Cs a e e ained in he disk,
bu in much smalle amoun s (< 1%). Howe e , he sho e
hal -li e o 90Y allows in e e ence o educe o e ime. In
Fig.1, spec a ob ained o 99 Tc and i s in e e e s using 14
C p o ocol o measu emen a e shown.
In con as o 14C p o ocol, when 3H p o ocol is used, he
en i e ange o ene gy is measu ed and hence, low-ene gy
be a emi e s (3H, 55Fe and 241Pu) could in e e e in 99Tc
spec um, wi h a de ined window om channels 25 and 600.
Resul s o he es s ca ied ou using his p o ocol a e sum-
ma ised in he ollowing Table2.
As we can see in Table2, in he esin, apa om 90Y, 55Fe
and 241Pu a e also e ained; whe eas in he disk, apa om
60Co, 90S /90Y and 137Cs, 55Fe and 241Pu a e also e ained,
bu in much smalle quan i ies (< 1%), excep in he case o
241Pu (a ound 10%).
These esul s a e o de ined ac i i y concen a ions o
in e e e s. In he case o he esin, he esul s ha e dem-
ons a ed an aspec we al eady knew: i s incapaci y o
adequa ely sepa a e y ium. In he case o he disk, he
e en ion alues o speci ic concen a ions o in e e e s
also show ha da a may a y wi h he concen a ions o
in e e e s; bu , in all cases, he disks a e no 100% selec-
i e o 99Tc, especially o in e e e s wi h high ac i i ies,
alues expec ed in some o he samples om D&D. Thus,
we belie e ha spec al decon olu ion can be an app op i-
a e ool, while s ill in de elopmen , o his se o p oblems.
1.000950900850800750700650600550500450400350300250200150100500
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Channels
Fig. 1 Spec a o 60Co ( ed), 90S /90Y (g een), 99Tc (b own) and 137Cs (blue) using 14C p o ocol. Window o 99Tc is be ween channels 150 and
600. (Colou igu e online)
Table 2 In e e ences ob ained
in 99Tc spec um (%) caused by
3H, 55Fe, 60Co, 63Ni, 90S /90Y,
137Cs and 241Pu using TEVA®
esin, Tc Rad Disk and 3H
p o ocol [2]. (Colou igu e
online)
Da a a e p o ided wi h i s s anda d de ia ion
A: decay mode (EC: elec on cap u e), B: a e age ene gy (keV) o β− emi e s, C: hal -li e (y), D: in e e -
ence using TEVA® esin (%) and E: in e e ence using Tc Rad Disk (%). No means ha he in e e ence is
below 0.10%
3H55Fe 60Co 63Ni 90S 90Y137Cs 241Pu
A β−EC β−β−β−β−β−β−
B 5.68 – 95.6 17.434 196 926.7 188 5.8
C 12.3 2.75 5.27 98.7 28.8 2.67 d 30.1 14.3
DNo 10.60 ± 0.14 No No No 61.03 ± 1.19 No 14.30 ± 0.09
ENo 0.68 ± 0.01 0.31 ± 0.01 No 0.107 ± 0.001 0.107 ± 0.001 0.100 ± 0.003 9.86 ± 0.09
Jou nal o Radioanaly ical and Nuclea Chemis y
1 3
I is impo an o poin ou ha , al hough 241Am has no
been conside ed as a possible in e e e in 99Tc spec um
acco ding o he c i e ia es ablished in his wo k, being an
alpha-emi e [2], i s e en ion has been assessed oge he
wi h 241Pu, aking ad an age o i s p esence in 241Pu s and-
a d solu ion.
Ce ainly, 241Am is e ained in bo h esin and disk wi h
241Pu, bu essen ially does no in e e e in 99Tc spec um due
o he high ene gy (5637.82keV) o i s alpha pa icle [2].
In Fig.2, spec a ob ained o 99Tc and i s in e e e s
using 3H p o ocol o measu emen a e shown.
As shown in Fig.2, when applying he 3H p o ocol, he e
is also a clea o e lapping o signals coming om he s ud-
ied adionuclides. This highligh s he spec al in e e ence
issue ha , as men ioned be o e, may be sol ed by spec um
decon olu ion o some addi ional chemical isola ion s eps.
In o de o cla i y which p o ocol could p o ide be e
esul s when measu ing 99Tc, hey a e compa ed in e ms
o sensi i i y, e iciency, backg ound and igu e o me i
(e iciency2/backg ound) in Table3.
F om he esul s in Table3, i can be concluded ha he
14C p o ocol leads o spec a wi h ewe in e e e s han
he 3H p o ocol, wi h bo h adiochemical isola ion me hod.
Besides his, al hough 3H p o ocol p o ides a be e e i-
ciency han 14C p o ocol, he backg ound is signi ican ly
highe by using i ; and hence, he igu e o me i wi h 14C
p o ocol is be e han ha wi h 3H p o ocol, using bo h
me hods. The e o e, he 14C p o ocol esul s mo e sui able
han 3H p o ocol o measu ing 99Tc.
Finally, ocusing on he measu emen s ca ied ou wi h
14C p o ocol, he s udied Tc adiochemical isola ion me h-
ods a e compa ed ega ding sensi i i y, 99Tc chemical yield,
1,000950900850800750700650600550500450400350300250200150100500
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Channels
Fig. 2 Spec a o 55Fe ( ed), 60Co (g een), 90S /90Y (b own), 99Tc (da k blue), 137Cs (ligh blue) and 241Pu (black) using 3H p o ocol. Window o
99Tc is be ween channels 25 and 600
Table 3 Compa ison o 3H and
14C measu emen p o ocols
using TEVA® esin and Tc Rad
Disk
Da a a e p o ided wi h i s s anda d de ia ion
TEVA esin Tc Rad Disk
P o ocol 14C3H14C3H
Sensi i i y 1 in e e e 3 in e e e s 4 in e e e s 6 in e e e s
99Tc e iciency (%) 81.25 ± 1.19 97.32 ± 1.43 80.25 ± 0.35 96.12 ± 0.34
99Tc backg ound (cpm) 1.27 ± 0.06 2.48 ± 0.06 1.24 ± 0.08 3.08 ± 0.05
Figu e o me i 0.52 ± 0.02 0.38 ± 0.01 0.52 ± 0.03 0.30 ± 0.01

Jou nal o Radioanaly ical and Nuclea Chemis y
1 3
de ec ion limi , chemical isola ion ime and inancial cos s
(Table4).
99Tc chemical yield using TEVA® esin is a ound 80%,
whe eas using Tc Rad Disk is 97%, which leads o a 20%
lowe de ec ion limi , using he same sample olume
(50mL) and measu emen ime (6h) (Table4). Apa om
his, con en ional Tc adiochemical isola ion akes, on a e -
age, 3days; bu using disks, isola ion educes o 30min.
Rega ding equipmen and chemicals cos s, bo h me hods
esul simila , al hough he con en ional me hod in ol es
he use o mo e chemical eagen s.
Conclusions
Two 99Tc adiochemical isola ion me hods ha e been com-
pa ed, a con en ional one by T iskem TEVA® esin and a
apid me hod by Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk. This compa ison
has been ca ied ou in he ield o nuclea decommissioning.
In con as o samples om ou ine en i onmen al moni o -
ing, samples om nuclea decommissioning a e chemically
e y complex and may con ain high ac i i ies o o he adio-
nuclides po en ially capable o in e e ing wi h 99Tc du -
ing i s measu emen . Among hese po en ial in e e e s, 3H,
55Fe, 60Co, 63Ni, 90S /90Y, 137Cs and 241Pu ha e been chosen
a e analysing adionuclide in en o ies o ligh wa e eac-
o (LWR) and p essu ized hea y wa e eac o (PHWR).
A e ha , a se o samples con aining hese adionuclides
and o he s con aining 99Tc ha e been p epa ed and 99Tc
adiochemical isola ion ollowing bo h me hods ha e been
pe o med. Then, a se o measu emen s using 3H and 14C
p o ocols and an ul a-low backg ound liquid scin illa ion
spec ome e 1220 QUANTULUS™ has been ca ied ou .
3H and 14C p o ocols ha e been compa ed in e ms o
sensi i i y, e iciency, backg ound and igu e o me i ; 14C
p o ocol being he mos sui able o measu ing 99Tc, wi h
ewe in e e e s and achie ing highe igu es o me i han
3H p o ocol.
Focusing on he measu emen s accomplished wi h 14C
p o ocol, he con en ional me hod by T iskem TEVA® esin
esul s mo e selec i e han by Empo e™ Tc Rad Disk. In he
esin, only 90Y is e ained and i s in e e ence educes o e
ime due o i s sho hal -li e. Howe e , in he disk, 60Co,
90S /90Y and 137Cs a e e ained, bu in much lowe amoun s
(< 1%). Possible solu ions o educe hese in e e ences may
be spec um decon olu ion o he addi ion o some chemi-
cal isola ion s eps. In any case, he use o he disk makes i
a apid me hod wi h high chemical yields o 99Tc, which
allows he applica ion o lowe de ec ion limi s.
Rega ding equipmen and chemical cos s, bo h isola ion
me hods esul simila , al hough he con en ional me hod
equi es mo e chemical eagen s han he apid one. The e-
o e, he apid me hod has a lowe impac on he en i on-
men han he con en ional.
In conclusion, i applying o he measu emen ech-
niques, i is known ha he e is no in e e e in he sample,
he Rad disk me hod is as e and p esen s lowe de ec ion
limi s han he esin me hod; bu i he e a e in e e e s in
he sample, he esin has o be chosen o e he Rad disk
as i is mo e selec i e.
Acknowledgemen s We would like o acknowledge he Open Access
unding p o ided by he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y UPV/EHU.
Funding Open Access unding p o ided hanks o he CRUE-CSIC
ag eemen wi h Sp inge Na u e.
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