A comparative study of the gross alpha and beta sample preparation method with a liquid scintillation counter

Abstract Gross alpha and beta (GAB) measurements provide a rapid screening tool for assessing radionuclide contamination in water. This study aimed to establish a sensitive, simple method for low-level GAB detection using a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). Different sample preparation approaches (direct, co-precipitation with Fe(OH) 3 , Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 , MnO 2 , and evaporation) were tested on four water samples containing natural and anthropogenic radionuclides from the IAEA 2022 proficiency test. Results, evaluated by recoveries and Zeta-scores, showed preparation methods influence recovery and quenching. Co-precipitation with Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 and evaporation performed best, though GAB remains a complementary rather than absolute analytical method, as not all radionuclides can be detected simultaneously.