Evaluation of procedures for determination of Ra-226 in water by α-particle spectrometry with emphasis on the recovery

Radium-226 is one of the best known long-lived α-emitters abundantly present in the environment. The determination of radium isotopes in environmental samples usually requires a demanding chemical separation before measurement and quantification. Each step in the chemical separation process can involve losses of the analyte, therefore it is of vital importance that the recovery of the whole radiochemical procedure is evaluated. The emphasis of the work presented was determination of the chemical recovery using the different yield tracers Ra-223, Ra-225 and Ba-133.