Simultaneous measurement of tritium and radiocarbon by ultra-low-background proportional counting

Journal Article · Wed Dec 21 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Applied Radiation and Isotopes

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.APRADISO.2016.12.033· OSTI ID:1343944

Mace, Emily ^[1]; Aalseth, Craig ^[1]; Alexander, Tom ^[1]; Back, Henning ^[1]; Day, Anthony ^[1]; Hoppe, Eric ^[1]; Keillor, Martin ^[1]; Moran, Jim ^[1]; Overman, Cory ^[1]; Panisko, Mark ^[1]; Seifert, Allen ^[1]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Use of ultra-low-background capabilities at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory provide enhanced sensitivity for measurement of low-activity sources of tritium and radiocarbon using proportional counters. Tritium levels are nearly back to pre-nuclear test backgrounds (~2-8 TU in rainwater), which can complicate their dual measurement with radiocarbon due to overlap in the beta decay spectra. In this paper, we present results of single-isotope proportional counter measurements used to analyze a dual-isotope methane sample synthesized from ~120 mg of H₂O and present sensitivity results.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830; PNNL-SA-120393
• OSTI ID: 1343944
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1550634
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-120393; PII: S0969804316305668
• Journal Information: Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 126; ISSN 0969-8043
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
Tritium
Radiocarbon
Ultra-low-background
Proportional counting
Dual-isotope measurements