Development of separation techniques for analysis of Nb-94 in radwaste samples

A chemical separation technique for removing interfering gamma-ray radionuclides by combined precipitation of Nb pentoxide and anion exchange was proposed, thereby allowing detection of trace 94Nb in low-level radwastes. The detection limit for 94Nb was improved by a factor of 10-103, and the scaling factor (94Nb/60Co) of the radwastes was estimated to be less than 10−5. This technique can be used for low-level radwaste classification and power reactor decommissioning.