The
present work examines the validity of using barium as a carrier for radium-226 determination and optimizes the amount
added during the radiochemical separation from rock samples. The activity
concentration of Ra-226 is determined in rock samples by liquid scintillation
spectrometer via its short-lived daughters after the radiochemical separation.
The activityof Ra-226 was calculated based on the counts
measured in a window set for Po-214 peak. The activity measured by Liquid
Scintillation Counter, LSC using Pulse Shape Analysis, PSA. Ba-133 was
used for chemical yield. The applied method was tested using a Certified
Reference Material, CRM ore number-Dl-1a which shows a good agreement with the
certified values. The applied method for measuring Ra-226 has been adapted to
be used in rocks such as monazite. The average activity for Ra-226 in rock
samples collected from the commercial grade Egyptian monazite was 13.85 ± 2.05
Bq/g with a detection limit 9.58 mBq/g. The optimum conditions have been
established during the present work such as precision, cost and time
preparation which makes the method useful for radio chemists and the decision
makers.
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