A thalium-doped sodium iodide well counter for radioactive tracer applications with naturally-abundant 40K

Parker, Andrew and Boxall, Colin and Joyce, Malcolm and Schotanus, Paul (2013) A thalium-doped sodium iodide well counter for radioactive tracer applications with naturally-abundant 40K. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 722. pp. 5-10. ISSN 0168-9002

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Abstract

The use of a thallium-doped sodium-iodide well-type scintillation detector for the assay of the low-activity radioisotope 40K, in open-source potassium chloride aqueous solutions, is described. The hazards, safety concerns and radiowaste generation associated with using open-source radioactive isotopes can present significant difficulties, the use of hot cells and escalated costs in radioanalytical laboratory research. A solution to this is the use of low-hazard alternatives that mimic the migration and dispersion characteristics of notable fission products (in this case 137Cs). The use of NaI(Tl) as a detection medium for naturally-abundant levels of 40K in a range of media is widespread, but the use of 40K as a radioactive tracer has not been reported. The use of such low-activity sources is often complicated by the ability to detect them efficiently. In this paper a scintillator detector designed to detect the naturally-abundant 40K present in potassium chloride in tracer applications is described. Examples of the use of potassium chloride as a tracer are given in the context of ion exchange and electrochemical migration studies, and comparisons in performance are drawn from literature with hyper pure germanium semiconductor detectors, which are more commonly utilised detectors in high-resolution counting applications.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3100/3105
Subjects:
?? sodium iodide well-counterpotassium 40 non-hazardous radioactive tracer low-activity countinginstrumentationnuclear and high energy physics ??
ID Code:
65914
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
07 Aug 2013 10:29
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
21 Feb 2024 00:39