Speaker
Description
CERN's accelerator and experimental facilities face activation due to the presence of radiation fields stemming from losses of high-energy beams. The characterization of this activation is complex, demanding the application of sophisticated methods to distinguish materials as radioactive or non-radioactive. Materials exhibiting activation levels near or below legal limits pose significant challenges to be classified correctly. To facilitate this process, CERN employs zoning samples sets of commonly used materials like aluminium, steel and copper to assess the activation of equipment caused by the radiation environments being present in the vicinity of the samples.
The threshold allowing to classify zoning samples as non-radioactive can be very low (e.g. 0.1 Bq/g for Mn-54 and Co-60) and therefore difficult to be measured. So far, gamma spectroscopy has been the primary tool for accurate classification. Recognizing the large number of zoning samples at CERN and acknowledging the time-intensive nature of this analysis, we have developed an innovative solution based on a pure counting measurement. This system integrates a shielded BGO detector and uses computer simulations (FLUKA and ActiWiz), enabling swift and precise classification for the vast majority of samples in less than 100 seconds.
The paper provides details about the shielded BGO setup and the simulation details of the energy dependent response functions of this detector system. Additionally, it details the ActiWiz/FLUKA-based calculations that establish measurement decision criteria, allowing for determining whether a sample is radioactive or non-radioactive. Notably, this integrated simulation-measurement approach extends its coverage beyond gamma-emitting isotopes, effectively encompassing pure beta emitters that are otherwise challenging to identify using conventional gamma spectroscopy methods.
| Scientific Topic 5 | Induced radioactivity and decommissioning |
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