skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Counting system for field determination of radium-226 in soils

Abstract

A counting system has been developed to determine the Radium-226 content of soils in core barrel samplers either on or near uranium mill tailings piles. More than 3000 samples have been counted to determine the Ra-226 activity of tailings and of soils beneath the tailings. Minimum detectable activity is about two pCi Ra-226/gm of soil in a 0.5 mr/hr background with a three minute count. The counting system consists of a 136 kg lead shield, a 5 cm x 2.5 cm NaI crystal coupled to a photomultiplier tube, a preamplifier and amplifier, and two single channel analyzers (SCAs). The window on one SCA is set to pass gamma energies between 150 KeV and 380 KeV. To determine contribution of Th-232 daughters the second SCA is set to pass gamma rays between 225 and 260 KeV. The counts from the two SCAs, a standard source and background are entered into a programmable printing calculator to perform the necessary calculations. The system is mounted in a delivery van. Power is supplied by a 500 W gasoline-powered generator. This system operated reliably under field conditions for over nine months in temperatures from below freezing to over 40/sup 0/C. Approximate cost of the systemmore » excluding vehicle is $8000. Problems concerning sampling, calibration, radiation standards, statistical analysis and operational difficulties and the solutions to these problems will be discussed.« less

Authors:
; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
5292311
Report Number(s):
SAND-82-0287C; CONF-820655-2
ON: DE82016809; TRN: 82-015710
DOE Contract Number:  
AC04-76DP00789
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: Health Physics Society annual meeting, Las Vegas, NV, USA, 27 Jun 1982; Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; ABANDONED SITES; RADIATION MONITORING; FEED MATERIALS PLANTS; MILL TAILINGS; NAI DETECTORS; DESIGN; RADIUM 226; COUNTING TECHNIQUES; CALIBRATION; COST; COUNTING CIRCUITS; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; GAMMA DETECTION; GAMMA RADIATION; LEAD; PULSE DISCRIMINATORS; SAMPLING; SHIELDING; SOILS; ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES; ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; DATA; DETECTION; DISCRIMINATORS; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS; ELEMENTS; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; HEAVY NUCLEI; INDUSTRIAL PLANTS; INFORMATION; IONIZING RADIATIONS; ISOTOPES; MEASURING INSTRUMENTS; METALS; MONITORING; NUCLEAR FACILITIES; NUCLEI; NUMERICAL DATA; PULSE CIRCUITS; RADIATION DETECTION; RADIATION DETECTORS; RADIATIONS; RADIOISOTOPES; RADIUM ISOTOPES; SCINTILLATION COUNTERS; SOLID SCINTILLATION DETECTORS; SOLID WASTES; TAILINGS; WASTES; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; 053000* - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects; 440101 - Radiation Instrumentation- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments; 510301 - Environment, Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)

Citation Formats

Minnema, D M, Rarrick, H L, and Brewer, L W. Counting system for field determination of radium-226 in soils. United States: N. p., 1982. Web.
Minnema, D M, Rarrick, H L, & Brewer, L W. Counting system for field determination of radium-226 in soils. United States.
Minnema, D M, Rarrick, H L, and Brewer, L W. 1982. "Counting system for field determination of radium-226 in soils". United States.
@article{osti_5292311,
title = {Counting system for field determination of radium-226 in soils},
author = {Minnema, D M and Rarrick, H L and Brewer, L W},
abstractNote = {A counting system has been developed to determine the Radium-226 content of soils in core barrel samplers either on or near uranium mill tailings piles. More than 3000 samples have been counted to determine the Ra-226 activity of tailings and of soils beneath the tailings. Minimum detectable activity is about two pCi Ra-226/gm of soil in a 0.5 mr/hr background with a three minute count. The counting system consists of a 136 kg lead shield, a 5 cm x 2.5 cm NaI crystal coupled to a photomultiplier tube, a preamplifier and amplifier, and two single channel analyzers (SCAs). The window on one SCA is set to pass gamma energies between 150 KeV and 380 KeV. To determine contribution of Th-232 daughters the second SCA is set to pass gamma rays between 225 and 260 KeV. The counts from the two SCAs, a standard source and background are entered into a programmable printing calculator to perform the necessary calculations. The system is mounted in a delivery van. Power is supplied by a 500 W gasoline-powered generator. This system operated reliably under field conditions for over nine months in temperatures from below freezing to over 40/sup 0/C. Approximate cost of the system excluding vehicle is $8000. Problems concerning sampling, calibration, radiation standards, statistical analysis and operational difficulties and the solutions to these problems will be discussed.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5292311}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1982},
month = {Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1982}
}

Conference:
Other availability
Please see Document Availability for additional information on obtaining the full-text document. Library patrons may search WorldCat to identify libraries that hold this conference proceeding.

Save / Share: