Dissolution of [226Ra]BaSO4 as part of a method for recovery of 226Ra from aged radium sources

Growing interest in the research of radium chemistry, its use as target material in nuclear reaction studies and preparation of calibration sources leads to higher demand for 226Ra in readily available soluble form. Aged radium needle sources containing very insoluble radium-barium sulphate may serve as source material of 226Ra and its decay products (e.g. 210Pb). We describe here several methods for [226Ra]BaSO4 dissolution including microwave assisted reactions and compare their efficiency in model experiments.