Simultaneous determination of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in seafood samples using liquid scintillation counting

The measurement of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in seafood samples has attracted tremendous interest because of their radiotoxicity. In this study, a fast and cost-efficient method for the simultaneous determination of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in seafood samples by ultralow-level liquid scintillation counting after separation on a Sr•spec column was developed. The recoveries of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po were ~70% and ~85%, respectively. The minimum detectable activity of the proposed method for ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po was 3.85 Bq/kg and 1.50 Bq/kg, respectively, which is suitable for the determination of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in seafood samples. The radiochemical procedure was validated by measuring ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po activity concentrations in IAEA-certified reference materials and successfully applied to shrimp and clam samples.