ASTM_D_1890_-_15.pdf

Designation:D189015Standard Test Method forBeta Particle Radioactivity of Water1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D1890;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S.Department of Defense.1.Scope1.1 This test method covers the measurement of beta par-ticle activity of water.It is applicable to beta emitters havingmaximum energies above 0.1 MeV and at activity levels above0.02 Bq/mL(540 pCi/L)of radioactive homogeneous water formost counting systems.This test method is not applicable tosamples containing radionuclides that are volatile under con-ditions of the analysis.1.2 This test method can be used for either absolute orrelative determinations.In tracer work,the results may beexpressed by comparison with a standard which is defined to be100%.For radioassay,data may be expressed in terms of aknown radionuclide standard if the radionuclides of concernare known and no fractionation occurred during processing,ormay be expressed arbitrarily in terms of some other standardsuch as137Cs.General information on radioactivity and mea-surement of radiation may be found in the literature2,3,4,5andPractice D3648.1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded asstandard.No other units of measurement are included in thisstandard.1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:6D1129 Terminology Relating to WaterD1193 Specification for Reagent WaterD2777 Practice for Determination of Precision and Bias ofApplicable Test Methods of Committee D19 on WaterD3370 Practices for Sampling Water from Closed ConduitsD3648 Practices for the Measurement of Radioactivity3.Terminology3.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.1.1 Becquerela unit of radioactivity equivalent to 1nuclear transformation per second.3.1.2 beta energy,maximumthe maximum energy of thebeta-particle energy spectrum produced during beta decay of agiven radioactive species.3.1.2.1 DiscussionSince a given beta-particle emitter maydecay to several different quantum states of the productnucleus,more than one maximum energy may be listed for agiven radioactive species.3.1.3 counterbackgroundinthemeasurementofradioactivity,the counting rate resulting from factors otherthan the radioactivity of the sample and reagents used.3.1.3.1 DiscussionCounter background varies with thelocation,shielding of the detector,and the electronics;itincludes cosmic rays,contaminating radioactivity and electri-cal noise.3.1.4 counter beta-particle effciencyin the measurementof radioactivity,that fraction of beta particles emitted by asource which is detected by the counter.3.1.5 countereffciencyinthemeasurementofradioactivity,that fraction of the disintegrations occurring in asource which is detected by the counter.3.1.6 radioactive homogeneous waterwater in which theradioactive material is uniformly dispersed throughout the1This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D19 on Waterand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D19.04 on Methods of Radiochemi-cal Analysis.Current edition approved Jan.1,2015.Published February 2015.Originallyapproved in 1961.Last previous edition approved in 2012 as D1890 05(2012).DOI:10.1520/D1890-15.2Friedlander,G.,et al.,Nuclear and Radiochemistry,3rd Ed.,John Wiley andSons,Inc.,New York,NY,1981.3Price,W.J.,Nuclear Radiation Detection,2nd Ed.,McGraw-Hill Book Co.,Inc.,New York,NY,1964.4Lapp,R.E.,and Andrews,H.L.,Nuclear Radiation Physics,4th Ed.,Prentice-Hall Inc.,New York,NY,1972.5Overman,R.T.,and Clark,H.M.,Radioisotope Techniques,McGraw-HillBook Co.,Inc.,New York,NY,1960.6For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 volume of water sample and remains so until the measurementis completed or until the sample is evaporated or precipitatingreagents are added to the sample.3.1.7 reagent backgroundin the measurement of radioac-tivity of water samples,the counting rate observed when asample is replaced by mock sample salts or by reagentchemicals used for chemical separations that contain noanalyte.3.1.7.1 DiscussionReagent background varies with thereagent chemicals and analytical methods used and may varywith reagents from different manufactu