Separation and determination of the difficult-to-measure radionuclide 99Tc in radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants by using extraction chromatography and radiometric techniques

Abstract

A radiochemical separation and purification of 99Tc is proposed for radioactive wastes from Brazilian nuclear power plants. The method uses anion exchange and extraction chromatography employing a TEVA resin. The radiometric determination was performed by liquid scintillation counting using a Quantulus 1220 spectrometer. Rhenium is used as a yield monitor and the chemical recovery was in the range of 70–90 %. The limit of detection, Ld, obtained was 3.15 Bq L−1.