Rapid preparation of polonium counting sources for alpha spectrometry using copper sulfide microprecipitation

Thin-layer polonium (Po) sources for alpha spectrometry counting can be rapidly prepared using copper sulfide (CuS) microprecipitation. Polonium was coprecipitated with CuS, filtered onto Eichrom Resolve filters, and counted. This simple procedure is faster, cheaper, and more convenient than traditional spontaneous plating on metallic discs, and similar yields were obtained (80-90%). The experimental conditions for the microprecipitation technique were optimized (0.05 mg of Cu(2+) in 10 mL of 1 M HCl); these compare advantageously with conventional preparation and purification procedures for polonium samples (0.1 to 1 M HCl). The results showed that the most likely potential radionuclide interferences (Ra, Th, U, Np, Pu, and Am) for long-lived polonium isotopes ((208)Po, (209)Po, (210)Po) are effectively removed during processing. The effects of several transition metals (Cu(2+), Ag(+), Fe(3+), Fe(2+), Pb(2+), and Ni(2+)) on the yield and the resolution of the alpha peaks obtained were also assessed. Little interference was found, demonstrating the versatility of the present microprecipitation technique for environmental and biological matrices. The procedure has been successfully applied to different amounts of (210)Po using (209)Po as a yield tracer.