Determination of radium in water
Water Supply Paper
1696-B
By: Franklin Butt Barker and J. O. Johnson
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Abstract
Radium isotopes are common radioactive constituents of natural waters. The concentration of radium-226 in potable water is of particular significance because this isotope is generally considered the most hazardous of all radionuclides with respect to ingestion.
The approximate concentration of radium-226 is determined after coprecipitating radium with barium sulfate. The short-lived daughters of radium are allowed to grow for 10-12 days, then the alpha activity of the precipitate is measured and compared with that of a precipitate containing a known amount of radium-226. Concentrations of the individual alpha-emitting isotopes of radium-223, radium-224, and radium-226, are determined by coprecipitating radium first with lead sulfate, then with barium chloride, and finally with barium sulfate. This final precipitate is initially free of other alpha-emitting nuclides, thus permitting the isotopic composition to be determined by measuring the growth and decay of the alpha activity of the precipitate.
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Determination of radium in water |
| Series title | Water Supply Paper |
| Series number | 1696 |
| Chapter | B |
| DOI | 10.3133/wsp1696B |
| Edition | - |
| Year Published | 1964 |
| Language | ENGLISH |
| Publisher | U.S. G.P.O., |
| Description | iii, 29 p. :ill. ;23 cm. |
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