In situ, high sensitivity, measurement of in ground water using Cherenkov light

Autor: R.R. Hansen, Todd W. Hossbach, Bruce D. Geelhood, W.A. Wilcox, T.W. Bowyer
Rok vydání: 2000
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 441:577-582
ISSN: 0168-9002
DOI: 10.1016/s0168-9002(99)00975-4
Popis: The measurement of 90 Sr in soils and ground water is important for characterization and remediation of radioactively contaminated sites. Measuring the 90 Sr content to a few pCi/g of soil has been accomplished based on a design of scintillating fibers in a multilayered configuration measuring the high-energy beta emitted from 90 Y decay (when in secular equilibrium with 90 Sr ), but has not been applied to water because the technique is sensitive to only the first few mm of soil. The volume of the source to which the detector is sensitive limits the theoretical sensitivity of such a detector, unless chemical preprocessing to strip the 90 Sr from the water is performed. 90 Sr activity in water can be quantified by detecting the high-energy beta particle by the Cherenkov light it produces when the high-energy beta from 90 Y passes through the medium. We have used this phenomenon to sensitively measure 90 Sr ( 90 Y ) from a volume of water large enough (765 cm 3 ) to make very sensitive measurements with short count times. For counting intervals of about 1000 s, we were able to achieve a minimum detectable concentration (MDC) (at 4.65 σ above background) of 14 pCi/L, and for 3000 s counts the MDC dropped to the drinking water limit of 8 pCi/L.
Databáze: OpenAIRE