Decommissioning of nuclear facilities represents a significant challenge due to the range of radionuclides that must be measured in different sample types. Inaccurate measurement of the activity content could lead to incorrect waste classification, which in turn could have significant economic implications.
A major challenge facing operators is that a number of radionuclides do not have established procedures for sample preparation and quantification, or the existing procedures are time-consuming and labour intensive. There is a need to develop rapid and robust procedures for a range of radionuclides, which would contribute to faster assessment of waste and clean-up of nuclear sites.