1997 Volume 46 Issue 3 Pages 161-164
207Bi has been detected in a BGO scintillator by a Ge spectrometer. The concentration of 207Bi was found to be 3.1 mBq/Bi-g. Metallic samples of pure bismuth, produced recently and commercially available also contain 207Bi of 2 to 9 mBq/Big. A lead concentrate of PbS containing 0.30 % of bismuth and being a raw material of Bi metal has been measured for gamma-emitting radionuclides. An upper limit on the concentration was estimated to be 2 mBq/Bi-g Besides 207Bi, the presence of a fission product, 137Cs, in the concentrate was examined. The possible origin and route of the 207Bi contamination is discussed.
