Using At-211 as internal alpha radiolysis source allowing for simple detection of radiolysis products

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2010

The determination of radiolysis products is an important field both for the basic understanding of the radiolysis process and for process development. The latter case mainly dealing with processes for handling radioactive wastes. There are several kinds of radiolysis processes that originate from the different kinds of radiation. Gamma rays and high-energy beta has a high ability to penetrate barriers while alpha irradiation in principle has to be performed with the radiation emitting nuclide inside the actual sample. This can be a problem since most laboratories able to identify radiolysis products cannot handle alpha contaminated samples. In this paper we suggest the use of At-211 as internal alpha emitting radionuclide. Due to its short half-life and decay to more or less stable daughters the radiolysis products may be examined using normal equipment without causing contamination.