Calibration of monitors used for surveillance of radioactivity in effluent water from CERN's accelerator installations

Water released into the environment from CERN's accelerator installations may contain both long-lived ( 7Be, 22Na) and short-lived ( 11C, 13N, 24Na) gamma radioactivity. Each potential release point is equipped with an on-line monitor for short-lived radionuclides, which consists of a scintilla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied radiation and isotopes 2001-07, Vol.55 (1), p.81-88
Main Author: Vojtyla, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Beryllium - analysis
Carbon Radioisotopes - analysis
Computer Simulation
Efficiency calibration
Effluent water
Environmental Pollution - analysis
Monitoring of radioactivity
Nitrogen - analysis
Radiation Monitoring - methods
Radioactive Fallout - analysis
Radioisotopes - analysis
Sodium - analysis
Spectrum Analysis
Water - analysis
Water Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis
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Summary:Water released into the environment from CERN's accelerator installations may contain both long-lived ( 7Be, 22Na) and short-lived ( 11C, 13N, 24Na) gamma radioactivity. Each potential release point is equipped with an on-line monitor for short-lived radionuclides, which consists of a scintillation probe immersed in a tank filled with monitored water. Whilst calibration standards are available for long-lived radioactivity, computer simulations are the only feasible way to determine the monitor efficiency for the short-lived radionuclides. The paper describes computer simulations using the Monte Carlo code GEANT 3.21. An excellent agreement between measured and computed efficiencies was obtained for the long-lived radionuclides, validating the computer model. A calibration method is proposed for light positron emitters, which combines an experimental calibration for 7Be and correction factors obtained in the simulations.
ISSN:0969-8043
1872-9800
DOI:10.1016/S0969-8043(00)00361-4