Quality assurance manual plutonium liquid scintillation methods and procedures

Nose swipe analysis is a very important tool for Radiation Protection personnel. Nose swipe analysis is a very fast and accurate method for (1) determining if a worker has been exposed to airborne plutonium contamination and (2) Identifying the area where there has been a possible plutonium release. Liquid scintillation analysis techniques have been effectively applied to accurately determine the plutonium alpha activity on nose swipe media. Whatman-40 paper and Q-Tips are the only two media which have been evaluated and can be used for nose swipe analysis. Presently, only Q-Tips are used by Group HSE-1 Radiation Protection Personnel. However, both swipe media will be discussed in this report