RE: Measurement of Tritium by Liquid Scintillation

[tmohaupt@wright.edu]

Radsafers:

A significant problem with measuring tritium in urine is quench.  
What I do is run replicate samples by liquid scintillation 10 ul, 
50 ul, 100 ul, and 1 ml of urine in 7 ml of scintillation fluid.  If 
they all read background, I stop there.  If the readings are linear, 
then quench is not a significant factor.  If the readings are 
nonlinear, I either take the most conservative value or spike a sample 
with a known activity of tritium or both.

Running several samples of varying concentration is a quick and easy 
way to evaluate whether quench is significantly affecting sample 
counting.

Tom
Tom Mohaupt, MS, CHP
Wright State University
Radiation Safety Officer

Voice:  (937) 775-2169
Fax:  (937) 775-3301
E-mail:  tmohaupt@wright.edu
Address:  104 Health Sciences Bldg, Wright State University
          Dayton, OH 45435