Measurement of 99Tc in low-level radioactive waste from reactors using 99mTc as a tracer

A radiochemical procedure has been developed for measuring 99Tc in major low-level radioactive waste streams from commercial nuclear power facilities which contain numerous potential contaminants. Separation was by alkaline precipitation and anion exchange chromatography; trace amounts of 60Co and other radioactive contaminants were removed by solvent separation. Pure separations were obtained with average radiochemical yield of 47.3 +/- 4.3% determined by a 99mTc tracer. The lower limit of detection for 99Tc was found to be 0.16 pCi/g based on 10-g sample and a 100-min counting time.