Calibration and operation of the PNL Barrel Assayer
Pacific Northwest Laboratory operates a Barrel Assayer to measure the radionuclide content of 208-liter waste drums. This mobile apparatus is designed to provide quantitative information on each radioisotope in a drum and to recognize and locate hot spots within the drum. A lead-collimated intrinsic-germanium detector mounted on a moveable platform vertically scans a rotating drum for gamma-ray activity while 62 stationary {sup 10}BF{sub 3} tubes measure neutrons emitted by transuranic isotopes within the waste. Several approaches have been used to document the controls under which the Barrel Assayer has been operated from February 1989 through December 1990. Resin-filled 208-1 calibration barrels containing known quantities of {sup 60}Co, {sup 137}Cs, and {sup 134}Cs were measured by the Barrel Assayer and found to be well within 25% of the known values. A thorium nitrate standard that served as the secondary, or field, standard verified that the detector has been within calibration during the period from February 1989 through December 1990. In previous testing, 23 waste drums were assayed at several commercial nuclear power plants. Subsequently, aliquots from the top, middle, and bottom of the barrels were analyzed. The ratio of grab-sample concentration to direct-assay concentration averaged {minus}1.6 for one plant and +1.3 for another. Results using the Barrel Assayer were also comparable to those obtained using Safeguards Security's Segmented Gamma-ray Scanner (SGS) system in a cross-calibration experiment performed by a third party on several drums containing TRU wastes. 6 refs., 6 figs., 9 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 5514575
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-7739; ON: DE91016053
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
CONTAINERS
RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
BORON FLUORIDES
CESIUM 134
CESIUM 137
COBALT 60
GAMMA SPECTRA
GE SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
PLUTONIUM 239
PORTABLE EQUIPMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOISOTOPES
TESTING
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BORON COMPOUNDS
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COBALT ISOTOPES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
EQUIPMENT
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HEAVY NUCLEI
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
SPECTRA
SPONTANEOUS FISSION RADIOISOTOPES
STORAGE
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOT
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
440101* - Radiation Instrumentation- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage