ABSTRACT
For those, wishing to do alpha counting and spectrometry by liquid-scintillation methods, three types of instrumentation are now commercially available: those designed for beta counting and spectrometry; those designed for both beta and alpha spectrometry; and those designed for alpha spectrometry. This chapter evaluates each type of instrumentation in regard to alpha energy resolution, effective background (including beta/gamma energy from the sample itself), and rejection of beta/gamma pulses. Although some standardization of sample composition can be effected by chemical pretreatment of the aqueous sample, this is not a practical solution in many cases for problems associated with alpha counting using beta-liquid-scintillation instrumentation because of background and quenching considerations. Most beta-liquid-scintillation spectrometers are now equipped with a means of viewing the energy spectrum of the sample, and this provides a basis for judgment as to the relative amount of alpha and beta/gamma energy being counted.
