Determination of 210Po in low-level wild bilberries reference material for quality control assurance in environmental analysis using extraction chromatography and α-particle spectroscopy

Certified reference materials (CRM) are being widely used for quality control assurance in environmental analysis. For certain CRM, the analytes and/or the range of concentrations are not be available or certified at all. The Joint Research Centre - Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (JRC-IRMM) of the European Commission has issued a CRM of Wild Berries (IRMM-426) in order to validate radionuclide measurement methods for activity concentrations of the natural radionuclide K-40 and the anthropogenic nuclides Sr-90 and Cs-137, but not for Po-210. The aim of the work was to determine low-level activity concentration of Po-210 in these wild berries. The activity concentration of Po-210 was assessed by alpha-particle spectroscopy after dissolution of the sample by wet digestion and chemical isolation of Po by extraction chromatography. According to the time elapsed since sample collection, the results here shown can be useful not only for ultra low-level analysis of Po-210 but also for Pb-210 in the reference material.