Evaluation of different methods for measuring Sr and Sr: Measurement uncertainty for the different methods as a function of the activity ratio.

In case of a radiological emergency situation involving e.g. fission of uranium or plutonium, analysis of radioactive strontium will be of importance. The primary radionuclides of interest are Sr, its progeny Y and Sr. A few days following an event, Sr will be the predominant radioisotope of strontium. Most methods found in the literature are valid and applicable when measuring Sr, but when samples contain both Sr/Sr interference problematics arise. How these interferences are dealt with will have an effect on the uncertainty of the Sr determination. This work aims at evaluating three measurement approaches, all mentioned in the literature, with respect to the measurement uncertainty when determining Sr in an emergency preparedness situation and to propose a suitable measurement strategy.