Nondestructive high-sensitivity measurement method for activation estimation in accelerator room concrete

This study established a method for easily and quickly estimating the specific activity produced in the concrete walls and floors of accelerator rooms during long-term operation of accelerator,for advanced zoning of activated/non-activated areas in planning the decommissioning of an accelerator.We propose a new,highly sensitive method for nondestructively estimating the specific activity in concrete that can be applied to activation zoning.In this method,instead of direct determination of the specific activities of important long-half-life radionuclides for decommissioning,such as ¹⁵²Eu and ⁶⁰Co,we determine the specific activities of short-half-life radionuclides,²⁴Na and ⁵⁶Mn,in situ to obtain neutron flux.The obtained neutron flux and accelerator operation history yield the specific activities of ¹⁵²Eu and ⁶⁰Co for the advance zoning of activated/non-activated concrete.This method is a powerful long-term prediction tool for concrete activation.