Fishing for isotopes in the Brookhaven Lab Isotope Producer (BLIP) cooling water
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Collider Accelerator Dept.
Be-7 has been used in environmental studies; the isotope is produced during BLIP irradiations and accumulates in the 320 gallons of cooling water. Be-7 has a 53.24 day half-life, so the optimal production/purification time is at the end of the BLIP run season. To purify Be-7 fifteen to twenty gallons of BLIP cooling water are removed and pumped through ion exchange columns that retain Be-7. This labor intensive approach captures ~15 mCi of Be-7, but the solution requires further purification. The method can lead to increased radiation exposure to staff. The ideal way to capture isotopes from large volumes is to reach in to the solution and selectively pull out the desired isotope. It is a lot like fishing.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0012704
- OSTI ID:
- 1340357
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-112153-2016-NE; R&D Project: KBCH139; KB0202011
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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