Comparison of ultrasonic assisted digestion with traditional methods for alpha/beta analysis

An ever-increasing priority of many customers in the radiochemistry field is the turn-around time of sample analysis. While modern instrumentation provides acceptable detection limits with relatively short count times, the sample preparation step remains the time-consuming step in radiochemical analysis. We have developed fast sample preparation techniques for gross alpha/beta analysis based on ultrasonically assisted digestion as part of a mobile radiological analytical laboratory program in place at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). (author)