通道式车辆放射性监测系统活度响应及测量结果的不确定度分析

介绍了通道式车辆放射性监测系统的重要计量性能参数-活度响应及其测量方法,并且以137Cs核素为例对测量结果的不确定度进行了评定,评价了对测量结果的影响因素.     

井型电离室轴向响应对放射性活度测量的影响

用~(137)Cs核素溶液实验测量最常用两种型号放射性活度计的井型电离室轴向深度与活度测量示值的关系,从中反映响应灵敏度的轴向变化情况。CRC-25R型活度计响应最灵敏区域为井型电离室底部向上5 cm范围内,区域内活度计示值变化为0.3%;RM-905a型活度计响应最灵敏区域为井型电离室内距底面9～11 cm范围内,区域内示值变化小于1%。     

不同能量放射性核素在井型电离室中轴向响应的实验

为了验证井型电离室对不同能量放射性核素溶液轴向响应及其对放射性活度测量的影响,利用CRC-25R型放射性活度计,将~(125)I、~(131)I、~(18)F、~(137)Cs四种不同能量的放射性核素溶液源在井型电离室内沿中心轴向上移动,测量其放射性活度值的变化,得到轴向位置不同处放射性活度计示值与井型电离室底部的参考示值之比的变化规律,分析轴向响应对不同能量放射性核素放射性活度测量的影响。实验结果表明,不同能量放射性核素溶液其井型电离室轴向响应有明显差异,γ射线能量越高,放射性核素的放射性活度示值极大值的轴向位置越接近井底参考位置;对于γ射线能量较低的~(125)I核素,放射性活度示值极大值的轴向位置接近于井型电离室中部,其示值极大值与参考示值的相对偏差达到了8%,而接近井口处位置时放射性活度计示值与井底参考位置的相对偏差仅-2.9%。     

塑闪型车载式放射性探测系统的最小可探测活度的估算

根据塑闪型车载式放射性探测系统的性能特点,通过理论模型和实验相结合的方法研究最小可探测活度的测量与估算方法。结果表明:(1) 估算塑闪型车载式放射性探测系统最小可探测活度时,探测系统的参考活度响应应在距离车体20m范围内进行测量;(2) 参考活度响应与距离x之间的关系模型为2个e指数相加模型,可据此模型估算具体位置处的最小可探测活度,也可在参考源活度已知的情况下,估算该车载式放射性探测系统的可探测距离。研究建立的最小可探测活度估算方法可为塑闪型车载式放射性探测系统技术性能评价与应用提供参考。     

125I放射性溶液活度测量国际比对

2004年6—8月，中国计量科学研究院电离辐射处参加了国际计量局（BIPM）组织的5I放射性溶液活度测量国际关键比对。我们采用KX射线和γ射线的探测效率符合相加原理，选用4π井形NaI晶体测量装置对^125I的活度进行绝对测量。测量结果与平均值相差1．3％．     

放射性薄层扫描仪检测用参考源研制与性能测试

采用半衰期较长、能量与PET-CT常用核素18F接近的137Cs核素,设计制作用于放射性薄层扫描仪检测的参考源,其中纯度检测参考源的活度量级为105 Bq,最小分辨距离检测参考源活度量级为104 Bq.实验表明:该参考源适用于检测放射性薄层扫描仪.检测结果显示,对于活度所占比例相差较大的样品,放射性薄层扫描仪的测量准确...     

放射性计量

放射性这一名词是指某些核素发射辐射核粒子,并经受自发变化的能力。这些辐射在穿过物质时失去它们的能量并产生离子、电子和光子。放射性计量就是基于探测这些二级产物。它的目的是测定每秒核转化(通常称为衰变)的平均数,即源的活度。 放射性计量工作包括制备放射源,即放射性计量标准、死时间的测量、α粒子能带测量、X、γ射线的测量和照射量标准的建立、吸收剂量的计量、中子测量等等。放射性计量     

~(125)I放射性溶液活度测量国际比对

2004年6-8月,中国计量科学研究院电离辐射处参加了国际计量局(B IPM)组织的125I放射性溶液活度测量国际关键比对。我们采用KX射线和γ射线的探测效率符合相加原理,选用4π井形NaI晶体测量装置对125I的活度进行绝对测量。测量结果与平均值相差1.3%.     

4πγ井型NaI(Tl)晶体探测器性能研究和初步实验结果

介绍了中国计量科学研究院用于测量放射性核素活度的4πγ井型NaI(Tl)晶体装置。通过分析测量得到的60Co放射源发射的γ射线能谱发现,采用4πγ井型NaI(Tl)晶体对衰变纲图较为复杂的核素进行测量时存在相加峰效应。当放射源从井型NaI(Tl)晶体井口附近逐渐移至井底的过程中,相加峰的计数率逐渐增加,从而使得对60Co特征γ射线全能峰探测效率逐渐降低;此外,由于在井口附近探测器对放射源所张立体角相对较小,对γ射线的探测效率也较低;放射源在井型晶体内的位置发生变化也会对探测器的能量刻度带来影响。     

低水平β(或α)放射性绝对测量装置

本文介绍一个低水平β(或α)放射性的绝对测量装置,并对~(90)Sr-~(90)Y、~(137)Cs和~(241)Am等核素的测量进行了研究。装置对β能量大于0.3MeV、浓度约3.7Bq/g的放射性核素的溶液绝对标准化,总不确定度小于10％。     

Non-destructive method of characterisation of radioactive waste containers using gamma spectroscopy and Monte Carlo techniques

During the decommissioning of the SATURNE accelerator at CEA Saclay (France), a number of concrete containers with radioactive materials of low or very low activity had to be characterised before their final storage. In this paper, a non-destructive approach combining gamma ray spectroscopy and Monte Carlo simulations is used in order to characterise massive concrete blocks containing some radioactive waste. The limits and uncertainties of the proposed method are quantified for the source term activity estimates using 137Cs as a tracer element. A series of activity measurements with a few representative waste containers were performed before and after destruction. It has been found that neither was the distribution of radioactive materials homogeneous nor was its density unique, and this became the major source of systematic errors in this study. Nevertheless, we conclude that by combining gamma ray spectroscopy and full scale Monte Carlo simulations one can estimate the source term activity for some tracer elements such as 134Cs, 137Cs, 60Co, etc. The uncertainty of this estimation should not be bigger than a factor of 2-3.     

Environmental radioactivity measurements in Greece following the Fukushima Daichi nuclear accident

Since the double disaster of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that affected hundreds of thousands of people and seriously damaged the Fukushima Daichi power plant in Japan on 11 March 2011, traces of radioactive emissions from Fukushima have spread across the entire northern hemisphere. The radioactive isotope of iodine (131)I that was generated by the nuclear accident in Fukushima arrived in Greece on 24 March 2011. Radioactive iodine is present in the air either as gas or bound to particles (aerosols). The maximum (131)I concentrations were measured between 3 and 5 April 2011. In aerosols the maximum (131)I values measured in Southern Greece (Athens) and Northern Greece (Thessaloniki) were 585±70 and 408±61 μΒq m(-3), respectively. (131)I concentrations in gas were about 3.5 times higher than in aerosols. Since 29 April 2011, the (131)I concentration has been below detection limits. Traces of (137)Cs and (134)Cs were also measured in the air filters with an activity ratio of (137)Cs/(134)Cs equal to 1 and (131)I/(137)Cs activity ratio of about 3. Since 16 May 2011, the (137)Cs concentration in air has been determined to be about the same as before the Fukushima accident. Traces of (131)I were also measured in grass and milk. The maximum measured activity of (131)I in sheep milk was about 2 Bq l(-1) which is 5000 times less than that measured in Greece immediately after the Chernobyl accident. The measured activity concentrations of artificial radionuclides in Greece due to the Fukushima release, have been very low, with no impact on human health.     

Post-Chernobyl investigations of radiocaesium activity concentrations in Adriatic Sea pilchards

Investigations in the post-Chernobyl period (1986-2009) of radiocaesium activity concentrations in Adriatic pilchards are presented. Compared with pre-Chernobyl period, the Chernobyl nuclear accident caused increase of (137)Cs activity concentrations in pilchards. By fitting the measured (137)Cs activity concentrations to the theoretical curve was estimated to be 1.5±0.4 y for 1986-90 and 5.8±0.4 y for 1991-2009 and the bimodal behaviour for the ecological half-life of (137)Cs in pilchards has been observed. Estimated annual effective doses received by (134)Cs and (137)Cs intake due to consumption for an adult member of Croatian population are small. Collective dose for the 1986-2009 period was 4.9+0.3 person-Sv. The observed (134)Cs/(137)Cs activity ratio in pilchards was similar to the ratio that has been found in other environmental samples. The concentration factor for pilchards was roughly estimated to be 93.7±39.2 l kg(-1), which is consistent with the values observed elsewhere.     

A comparison of skyshine computational methods

A variety of methods employing radiation transport and point-kernel codes have been used to model two skyshine problems. The first problem is a 1 MeV point source of photons on the surface of the earth inside a 2 m tall and 1 m radius silo having black walls. The skyshine radiation downfield from the point source was estimated with and without a 30-cm-thick concrete lid on the silo. The second benchmark problem is to estimate the skyshine radiation downfield from 12 cylindrical canisters emplaced in a low-level radioactive waste trench. The canisters are filled with ion-exchange resin with a representative radionuclide loading, largely 60Co, 134Cs and 137Cs. The solution methods include use of the MCNP code to solve the problem by directly employing variance reduction techniques, the single-scatter point kernel code GGG-GP, the QADMOD-GP point kernel code, the COHORT Monte Carlo code, the NAC International version of the SKYSHINE-III code, the KSU hybrid method and the associated KSU skyshine codes.     

Remains of 137Cs contamination in the city of Goiânia, Brazil

The results of measurements, performed in 1999, of the remaining 137Cs contamination in some of the sites where fragments of a radioactive source of a teletherapy unit had been manipulated in 1987 are presented. This episode occurred in the city of Goiania, during Brazil's worst radiological accident ever reported. Using the technique of gamma ray spectrometry, analyses of both surface and profile soil and vegetable samples were made. High values of 137Cs activity per unit mass were found in soil layers at depths between 10 and 40cm from the surface. Some values exceeded by up to eight times the action level of 22.5 kBq x kg(-1) proposed by the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) during the decontamination process at the time of the accident, for the first year after the accident. Absorbed dose rates at 1 m above the ground were calculated from the data of 137Cs concentration in the soil and compared with those obtained from in situ gamma ray spectrometry and from thermoluminescence dosimetry.     

Development of a wireless radioactive material sensor network

Our team at the United States Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has designed and developed a low-power, compact, wireless-networked gamma sensor (WGS) array. The WGS system provides high sensitivity gamma photon detection and remote warning for a broad range of radioactive materials. This sensor identifies the presence of a 1 μCi Cs137 source at a distance of 1.5 m. The networked array of sensors presently operates as a facility and laboratory sensor for the movement of radioactive check sources. Our goal has been to apply this architecture for field security applications by incorporating low-power design with compact packaging. The performance of this radiation measurement network is demonstrated for both detection and location of radioactive material.     

Localization of activities in the human body with a whole-body counter

The whole-body counter of the Radiation Protection Unit at the ARC Seibersdorf research GmbH has two HP Ge-detectors for measuring radionuclides, which are internally deposited in the human body. The detector system has a scanning geometry, where one detector is placed below the bed and the other detector above the bed. The body counter is placed in a massive shielded chamber. This device is especially used for measuring radioactive exposed workers with the possibility of intake by inhalation and ingestion. In the most cases whole-body counters are calibrated with anthropomorphic phantoms where activity is homogenously distributed. However, in some cases radioactivity can be located as a 'Hot Spot' in an organ. The localisation of 'Hot spots' at least in one dimension was the topic of this work. Experiments were done by means of a water-filled bottle phantom where three point sources ((137)Cs, (133)Ba and (60)Co) were placed at different positions. Measurements show that these radionuclides can be located within 1.5 cm along the longitudinal axis of the phantom with activities for (137)Cs of at least 240 Bq, (133)Ba of at least 670 Bq and (60)Co of at least 140 Bq.     

Treatment of Gaseous Medium to Remove Radioactive Aerosols CsOH and Cs2MoO4 Labeled with Cesium-137

Radiochemistry - The process of the gas phase treatment to remove CsOH and Cs2MoO4 radioactive aerosols labeled with cesium-137 (hereinafter, 137CsOH and 137Cs2MoO4) was studied using a setup...     

A comparison between Monte Carlo-calculated and -measured total efficiencies and energy resolution for large plastic scintillators used in whole-body counting

The measured total efficiency for several source positions has been determined for a large, plastic scintillation detector (NE 102A, 91.5 × 76.0 × 24.5 cm(3)) used for whole-body counting gamma spectrometry. The results have been compared with Monte Carlo-calculated total efficiencies; the code used was MCNPX 2.60. For (137)Cs, there was a good agreement between the measured and calculated total efficiencies. MXNPX was also used to calculate the electron light yield for (137)Cs; for the detector material NE 102A, Birks' constant kB was found to be 9.6 mg cm(-2) MeV(-1). The effect of light losses on spectrum resolution has been investigated for (65)Zn.     

Radioactivity concentration in soil samples in the southern part of the West Bank, Palestine

The activity concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials such as (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K were measured for 38 soil samples collected from diverse zones in the southern area of West Bank, Palestine using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The measured activities of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K were found to range from 32.9 to 104.7, 14.5 to 76.6 and 297 to 962 Bq kg(-1) with averages value of 68.7, 48.0 and 630 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The obtained values of activity concentrations are higher than the world average of 35, 30 and 500 Bq kg(-1) for (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively. The measured (137)Cs activity concentration was found to range from 1.8 to 36.1 Bq kg(-1) with an average value of 8.5 Bq kg(-1). The detected activities were attributed to the fallout of (137)Cs, which is the only man-made radionuclide. The calculated average of the total gamma-radiation dose rate of natural radionuclides, (137)Cs and cosmic radiation is 121.4 nGy h(-1). The radium equivalent activity (R(aeq)), dose rate (D(r)), external hazard index (H(ex)) and radioactivity level index (I(gamma)) in all samples are presented. Some values were found to be in the range of worldwide values, whereas others were above the worldwide values.