Safeguards instrument to monitor spent reactor fuel

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5952569

Nicholson, N; Dowdy, E J; Holt, D M; Stump, C

A hand-held instrument for monitoring irradiated nuclear fuel inventories located in water-filled storage ponds has been developed. This instrument provides sufficient precise qualitative and quantitative information to be useful as a confirmatory technique to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, and is believed to be of potential use to nuclear fuel managers and to operators of spent-fuel storage facilities, both at reactor and away-from-reactor, and to operators of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. Because the Cerenkov radiation glow can barely be seen by the unaided eye under darkened conditions, a night vision device is incorporated to aid the operator in locating the fuel assembly to be measured. Beam splitting optics placed in front of the image intensifier and a preset aperture select a predetermined portion of the observed scene for measurement of the light intensity using a photomultiplier (PM) tube and digital readout. The PM tube gain is adjusted by use of an internal optical reference source, providing long term repeatability and instrument-to-instrument cnsistency. Interchangeable lenses accommodate various viewing and measuring conditions.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5952569
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-81-3077; CONF-811012-20; ON: DE82002373
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
055001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability-- Technical Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
AWAY-FROM-REACTOR STORAGE
CHERENKOV COUNTERS
CHERENKOV RADIATION
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FUEL POOLS
FUELS
IAEA SAFEGUARDS
INVENTORIES
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORING
NUCLEAR FUELS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIATIONS
REACTOR MATERIALS
SAFEGUARDS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SPENT FUELS
STORAGE