Production of polystyrene-based scintillation microspheres for the measurement of radioactivity by spray-drying

The use of plastic scintillation microspheres (PSm) is an innovative technique for measuring the radioactivity of beta-emitting radionuclides. PSm can be produced via different methods; none of which has been assayed at the industrial scale. In the present paper, we evaluate the production of PSm by spray-drying on an industrial scale. Our results indicate that fluorescent solutes were indeed encapsulated within polystyrene producing spherical particles of 10 μm in diameter. Detection efficiencies for the measurement of 3H and 14C were 3–5 % and 60–75 %, respectively. These efficiencies are comparable to those of PSm produced via other methods