Counting system and resultant data from field determinations of radium-226 at twelve uranium mill tailings sites
A nuclear counting system has been developed and placed in service to determine the Radium-226 content of soils within and beneath uranium mill tailing piles. Minimum detectable activity is approximately 3 pCi Ra-226/g of soil in a 0.5 mr/hr background with a 3-min count. The counting system consists of a lead shield for holding core barrel samplers, a NaI crystal coupled to a photomultiplier (PM) tube, a preamplifier and amplifier, two single channel analyzers (SCAs), a programmable calculator, and a 500 W portable generator. The counting system, installed in a delivery van, was used to count 2773 samples during 10 months under extreme field conditions. Approximate cost of the system excluding vehicle is $8000 US. Vertical profile holes of the tailing piles exhibited Ra-226 activities from over 2000 pCi/g to 15 pCi/g. Ra-226 contamination levels in the soil beneath the tailings varied from 1000 pCi/g to background.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 5214431
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-81-2645C; CONF-820552-3; IAEA-SM-262/45; ON: DE82014506; TRN: 82-013934
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International symposium on management of waste from uranium mining and milling, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 10 May 1982; Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Radium-226 measurements below uranium-mill-tailings piles
Radium-226 measurements below uranium mill tailings piles
Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
ABANDONED SITES
MILL TAILINGS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIUM 226
MEASURING METHODS
COST
DESIGN
EQUIPMENT
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
SAMPLING
SOILS
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DATA
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
MONITORING
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIUM ISOTOPES
SOLID WASTES
TAILINGS
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
510301* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects