8. Analysis of non-gamma emitting radionuclides

The analysis of pure α or β emitters generally involves their extraction from the matrix in which they are incorporated. This extraction involves radiochemical operations, which are often time-consuming and tricky to implement.

It is generally difficult to radically reduce analysis times involving a radiochemical step. The IAEA offers freely available procedures ( http://www.iaea.org/ ) for the rapid determination of plutonium isotopes and ²⁴¹ Am in soils and sediments by α spectrometry