Berkeley Low Background Facility
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California-Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
- Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA 94720 (United States)
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA 94720 (United States)
The Berkeley Low Background Facility (BLBF) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, California provides low background gamma spectroscopy services to a wide array of experiments and projects. The analysis of samples takes place within two unique facilities; locally within a carefully-constructed, low background laboratory on the surface at LBNL and at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD. These facilities provide a variety of gamma spectroscopy services to low background experiments primarily in the form of passive material screening for primordial radioisotopes (U, Th, K) or common cosmogenic/anthropogenic products; active screening via neutron activation analysis for U,Th, and K as well as a variety of stable isotopes; and neutron flux/beam characterization measurements through the use of monitors. A general overview of the facilities, services, and sensitivities will be presented. Recent activities and upgrades will also be described including an overview of the recently installed counting system at SURF (recently relocated from Oroville, CA in 2014), the installation of a second underground counting station at SURF in 2015, and future plans. The BLBF is open to any users for counting services or collaboration on a wide variety of experiments and projects.
- OSTI ID:
- 22488699
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1672, Issue 1; Conference: LRT 2015: 5. international workshop in low radioactivity techniques, Seattle, WA (United States), 18-20 Mar 2015; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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