Author(s) |
Dash, A.; Varma, R. N.; Sastry, K. V. S.; Patil, B. N.; Ram, R.; Nikam, S.; Venkatesh, M.
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An attempt to recover and purify 4.66 TBq(126
Ci) of 137Cs as solution from a 20-year-old doubly
encapsulated sealed source containing 137CsCl was
made successfully. The primary capsule was first cut open to
retrieve the secondary capsule. The top end of the secondary SS
capsule was then cut to render it as an open cylinder and the
137CsCl pellet inside was dissolved in small aliquots
of water. Each aliquot of the 137CsCl solution was
dispensed into glass vials, sealed, assayed and stored. Barium
formed during the radioactive decay of 137Cs was
removed by carbonate precipitation. Chloride was removed by
heating with HNO3 and evaporation. About 91.8% of the
total activity could be recovered and used subsequently for
making brachytherapy sources.
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