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Title: Radon daughter plate-out measurements at SNOLAB for polyethylene and copper

Abstract

Polyethylene and copper samples were exposed to the underground air at SNOLAB for approximately three months while several environmental factors were monitored. Predictions of the radon-daughter plate-out rate are compared to the resulting surface activities, obtained from high-sensitivity measurements of alpha emissivity using the XIA UltraLo-1800 spectrometer at SMU. From these measurements, we determine an average $$^{210}$$Pb plate-out rate of 249 and 423~atoms/day/cm$$^{2}$$ for polyethylene and copper, respectively, when exposed to radon activity of 135 Bq/m$$^{3}$$ at SNOLAB. A time-dependent model of alpha activity is discussed for these materials placed in similar environmental conditions.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [4]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX (United States). Department of Physics
  2. Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  4. SNOLAB, Lively, Ontario (Canada)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
OSTI Identifier:
1413518
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1418151; OSTI ID: 1549438
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-129611; arXiv:1708.09476; FERMILAB-PUB-17-353-AE
Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9002; PII: S0168900217311361; TRN: US1800446
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830; AC02-07CH11359; CAREER - NSF 1151869
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 880; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9002
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Radon; Plate-out; Dark matter; Backgrounds; Material assay; 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

Citation Formats

Stein, Matthew, Bauer, Dan, Bunker, Ray, Calkins, Rob, Cooley, Jodi, Loer, Ben, and Scorza, Silvia. Radon daughter plate-out measurements at SNOLAB for polyethylene and copper. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2017.10.054.
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Stein, Matthew, Bauer, Dan, Bunker, Ray, Calkins, Rob, Cooley, Jodi, Loer, Ben, & Scorza, Silvia. Radon daughter plate-out measurements at SNOLAB for polyethylene and copper. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.10.054
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Stein, Matthew, Bauer, Dan, Bunker, Ray, Calkins, Rob, Cooley, Jodi, Loer, Ben, and Scorza, Silvia. Sat . "Radon daughter plate-out measurements at SNOLAB for polyethylene and copper". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.10.054. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1413518.
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@article{osti_1413518,
title = {Radon daughter plate-out measurements at SNOLAB for polyethylene and copper},
author = {Stein, Matthew and Bauer, Dan and Bunker, Ray and Calkins, Rob and Cooley, Jodi and Loer, Ben and Scorza, Silvia},
abstractNote = {Polyethylene and copper samples were exposed to the underground air at SNOLAB for approximately three months while several environmental factors were monitored. Predictions of the radon-daughter plate-out rate are compared to the resulting surface activities, obtained from high-sensitivity measurements of alpha emissivity using the XIA UltraLo-1800 spectrometer at SMU. From these measurements, we determine an average $^{210}$Pb plate-out rate of 249 and 423~atoms/day/cm$^{2}$ for polyethylene and copper, respectively, when exposed to radon activity of 135 Bq/m$^{3}$ at SNOLAB. A time-dependent model of alpha activity is discussed for these materials placed in similar environmental conditions.},
doi = {10.1016/j.nima.2017.10.054},
journal = {Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment},
number = ,
volume = 880,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Sat Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2017.10.054
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Cited by: 8 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: SOURCES-4C neutron spectrum from 1 Bq of 210Pb contamination in each gram of polyethylene (assuming 210Po is in secular equilibrium).
All figures and tables (11 total)
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Works referenced in this record:

Radon permeability through nylon at various humidities used in the Borexino experiment
journal, May 2004

  • Wójcik, M.; Zuzel, G.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 524, Issue 1-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2004.01.064

SRIM – The stopping and range of ions in matter (2010)
journal, June 2010

  • Ziegler, James F.; Ziegler, M. D.; Biersack, J. P.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 268, Issue 11-12
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2010.02.091

Measurement of radon diffusion in polyethylene based on alpha detection
journal, February 2012

  • Rau, Wolfgang
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 664, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2011.10.012
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Background assessment for the TREX dark matter experiment
    journal, September 2019

    Background assessment for the TREX Dark Matter experiment
    text, January 2018

    210Pb measurements at the André E. Lalonde AMS Laboratory: Potential for the radioassay of materials used in rare event search detectors
    journal, January 2022

    • Vivo-Vilches, Carlos; Weiser, Benjamin; Zhao, Xiaolei
    • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 511
    • DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2021.11.001

    Evaluation and mitigation of trace $^{210}$Pb contamination on copper surfaces
    text, January 2020

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      Figures / Tables found in this record:

      Figure 1 (p. 2)figure
      Figure 2 (p. 2)figure
      Table 1 (p. 2)table
      Table 2 (p. 2)table
      Figure 3 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 4 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 5 (p. 4)figure
      Figure 6 (p. 4)figure
      Table 3 (p. 4)table
      Figure 7 (p. 5)figure
      Table 4 (p. 5)table
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