The potential application of beta-backscattering to the investigation of the formation and dissolution of thin layers in electrochemical cells is discussed. As an illustrative example the backscattering of the radiation emitted by a Tc-99 layer was used to study the changes in radiation intensity caused by the electrodeposition of Bi, Ag, Cu and Re species on the Tc-99 support. Evidence demonstrating the applicability of the method to the opposite process, i.e. the dissolution of the electrodeposited layer, is also presented.