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Kossert K, Pommé S, Stolzenberg U. Seasonal variation of background counting rates in liquid scintillation counting. Appl Radiat Isot 2024; 210:111342. [PMID: 38729091 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
A liquid scintillation background sample was measured daily in a custom-built TDCR counter for more than 17 months. The double and triple coincidence counting rates exhibit an annual sinusoidal fluctuation with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer. Possible correlations with air temperature, air humidity, radon concentration and secondary cosmic radiation were investigated. The observation of a correlation with the ambient dose equivalent rate [Formula: see text] originating from the charged component of secondary cosmic radiation and an anti-correlation with the effective atmospheric temperature Teff suggest that the seasonal fluctuations in the background counting rate may be primarily driven by temporal variations in the muon flux at ground level. Additionally, a correlation was found with the indoor 222Rn concentration in air.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karsten Kossert
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany.
| | - Stefaan Pommé
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Geel, Belgium
| | - Ulf Stolzenberg
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, 38116, Braunschweig, Germany
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Yamamoto K, Shindo R, Ohno S, Konta S, Isobe R, Inaba Y, Suzuki M, Hosoi Y, Chida K. Basic Performance Evaluation of a Radiation Survey Meter That Uses a Plastic-Scintillation Sensor. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:2973. [PMID: 38793828 PMCID: PMC11125092 DOI: 10.3390/s24102973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011, many types of survey meters were used, including Geiger-Müller (GM) survey meters, which have long been used to measure β-rays. Recently, however, a novel radiation survey meter that uses a plastic-scintillation sensor has been developed. Although manufacturers' catalog data are available for these survey meters, there have been no user reports on performance. In addition, the performance of commercial plastic-scintillation survey meters has not been evaluated. In this study, we experimentally compared the performance of a plastic-scintillation survey meter with that of a GM survey meter. The results show that the two instruments performed very similarly in most respects. The GM survey meter exhibited count losses when the radiation count rate was high, whereas the plastic-scintillation survey meter remained accurate under such circumstances, with almost no count loss at high radiation rates. For measurements at background rates (i.e., low counting rates), the counting rates of the plastic-scintillation and GM survey meters were similar. Therefore, an advantage of plastic-scintillation survey meters is that they are less affected by count loss than GM survey meters. We conclude that the plastic-scintillation survey meter is a useful β-ray measuring/monitoring instrument.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keisuke Yamamoto
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
- Department of Radiation Biology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan;
| | - Ryota Shindo
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
| | - Saya Ohno
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
| | - Satoe Konta
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
| | - Rio Isobe
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
- Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 468-1 Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Japan
| | - Yohei Inaba
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
- Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 468-1 Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Suzuki
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
- Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 468-1 Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Japan
| | - Yoshio Hosoi
- Department of Radiation Biology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan;
| | - Koichi Chida
- Course of Radiological Technology, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8575, Japan; (K.Y.); (R.S.); (S.O.); (S.K.); (R.I.); (Y.I.); (M.S.)
- Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 468-1 Aramaki Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Japan
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Abstract
AbstractRadionuclides, whether naturally occurring or artificially produced, are readily detected through their particle and photon emissions following nuclear decay. Radioanalytical techniques use the radiation as a looking glass into the composition of materials, thus providing valuable information to various scientific disciplines. Absolute quantification of the measurand often relies on accurate knowledge of nuclear decay data and detector calibrations traceable to the SI units. Behind the scenes of the radioanalytical world, there is a small community of radionuclide metrologists who provide the vital tools to convert detection rates into activity values. They perform highly accurate primary standardisations of activity to establish the SI-derived unit becquerel for the most relevant radionuclides, and demonstrate international equivalence of their standards through key comparisons. The trustworthiness of their metrological work crucially depends on painstaking scrutiny of their methods and the elaboration of comprehensive uncertainty budgets. Through meticulous methodology, rigorous data analysis, performance of reference measurements, technological innovation, education and training, and organisation of proficiency tests, they help the user community to achieve confidence in measurements for policy support, science, and trade. The author dedicates the George Hevesy Medal Award 2020 to the current and previous generations of radionuclide metrologists who have devoted their professional lives to this noble endeavour.
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