⁶³Ni Measurement by Liquid Scintillation Method

抄録

Measuring of ⁶³Ni (t_1/2 = 100.1 y) produced by fast neutron induced reaction of ⁶³Cu(n,p)⁶³Ni enables us to evaluate the fast neutron fluence even at present. In order to determine the amount of ⁶³Ni produced in an exposed copper sample, we employed liquid scintillation method for the measurement of beta-rays from ⁶³Ni. The copper samples analyzed in this work were two rain gutters collected from Hiroshima University (slant range: 1502 m). The nickel in the copper sample was chemically extracted by electrolysis, solvent extraction and ion exchange methods. The chemical yield was determined to be 60-70% by ICP-AES. As a result, the ⁶³Ni produced in a copper sample exposed by Hiroshima Atomic Bomb was clearly detected by liquid scintillation method for the first time. [J Radiat Res 44:383 (2003)]