Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water
Nuclear sites require regular measurements of the air, soil, and groundwater to ensure the safety of the surrounding environment from potentially hazardous levels of contamination. Although high-energy beta and gamma emitters can often be detected instantly using fixed dosimeters, the detection of l...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Radiation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/3/4/17 |
| _version_ | 1797379598720172032 |
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| author | Nile E. J. Dixon Stephen D. Monk James Graham David Cheneler |
| author_facet | Nile E. J. Dixon Stephen D. Monk James Graham David Cheneler |
| author_sort | Nile E. J. Dixon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nuclear sites require regular measurements of the air, soil, and groundwater to ensure the safety of the surrounding environment from potentially hazardous levels of contamination. Although high-energy beta and gamma emitters can often be detected instantly using fixed dosimeters, the detection of low-energy beta emitters is a difficult challenge, especially in groundwater, as its radiation is easily self-absorbed by the surrounding medium. Therefore, it is common practice to sample groundwater and transfer it to a laboratory for analysis using Liquid Scintillation Counting. This work demonstrates a new detector design for the real-time monitoring of tritiated water, a weak beta emitter. This design utilizes a flow cell filled with a granulated scintillator to maximize the surface area of the sample. The cavity is made from plastic sheets, which allow rapid manufacture using readily available lamination sheets. A column of SiPMs in coincidence counting mode has been implemented to reduce noise and allow future extensions to the flow cell for greater detection rates while allowing the detector to fit within limited spaces such as groundwater monitoring boreholes. Using multiple concentrations of tritiated water, this detector has been validated and calibrated, obtaining a minimum detection activity of 26.356 ± 0.889 Bq/mL for a 1-day counting period. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:25:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6b73a145ebe41549ba1416a1f0ad2b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-592X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:25:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Radiation |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6b73a145ebe41549ba1416a1f0ad2b92023-12-22T14:38:13ZengMDPI AGRadiation2673-592X2023-11-013421122510.3390/radiation3040017Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated WaterNile E. J. Dixon0Stephen D. Monk1James Graham2David Cheneler3Engineering Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKEngineering Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKNational Nuclear Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Sellafield CA20 1PG, UKEngineering Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UKNuclear sites require regular measurements of the air, soil, and groundwater to ensure the safety of the surrounding environment from potentially hazardous levels of contamination. Although high-energy beta and gamma emitters can often be detected instantly using fixed dosimeters, the detection of low-energy beta emitters is a difficult challenge, especially in groundwater, as its radiation is easily self-absorbed by the surrounding medium. Therefore, it is common practice to sample groundwater and transfer it to a laboratory for analysis using Liquid Scintillation Counting. This work demonstrates a new detector design for the real-time monitoring of tritiated water, a weak beta emitter. This design utilizes a flow cell filled with a granulated scintillator to maximize the surface area of the sample. The cavity is made from plastic sheets, which allow rapid manufacture using readily available lamination sheets. A column of SiPMs in coincidence counting mode has been implemented to reduce noise and allow future extensions to the flow cell for greater detection rates while allowing the detector to fit within limited spaces such as groundwater monitoring boreholes. Using multiple concentrations of tritiated water, this detector has been validated and calibrated, obtaining a minimum detection activity of 26.356 ± 0.889 Bq/mL for a 1-day counting period.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/3/4/17flow-cell detectortritiated watergranulated scintillator |
| spellingShingle | Nile E. J. Dixon Stephen D. Monk James Graham David Cheneler Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water Radiation flow-cell detector tritiated water granulated scintillator |
| title | Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water |
| title_full | Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water |
| title_fullStr | Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water |
| title_full_unstemmed | Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water |
| title_short | Laminated Flow-Cell Detector with Granulated Scintillator for the Detection of Tritiated Water |
| title_sort | laminated flow cell detector with granulated scintillator for the detection of tritiated water |
| topic | flow-cell detector tritiated water granulated scintillator |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/3/4/17 |
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