Organization of commercial neutron activation analysis at the Interfaculty Reactor Institute

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:5882376

Bode, P ^[1]

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1. Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Delft (Netherlands)

In a period of declining funds, curriculum reconsiderations, and unpopular image among the general public of anything nuclear related, (university) research reactor establishments should have strategies to justify the existence and continuation of their expensive facilities. At the Interfaculty Reactor Institute (IRI), part of this strategy is to focus the potential of instrumental neutron activation analysis (NAA) on problems of economical and social importance. Development and application of NAA is one of the principal research tasks of the radiochemistry department of the institute. A multidisciplinary team of nine (analytical) chemists, physicists, computer experts, electronic engineers, and technicians is responsible for innovative developments and maintenance of the INAA facilities. For long, the facilities have been made available for [open quotes]routine[close quotes] use to non-radiochemists from other universities. Interactively operating software and manuals enable these guests to perform INAA independently after a short introductory period. No special demands were set for the educational level of the users; universities did not have to pay for use of the facilities. In the early 1980s, other (governmental) research institutes became interested in the potential of INAA, and cooperation started on projects with a large sample throughput; in these projects, some financial support was included. Over the years, the number of requests for multielement determinations via INAA grew steadily, not only from the universities, which were charged for a part of the total analysis' cost, but also from industry.

• OSTI ID: 5882376
• Report Number(s): CONF-930601--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 68
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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